Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Wednesday Review: Minotaur Revisited by David Gelber



Legend states that the Minotaur was confined to the Labyrinth, slain by Theseus and then laid to rest by thousands of years of Greek mythology. But, the truth is far different. Read the Minotaur’s own words as he recounts his full life as god, king, warrior, matchmaker, midwife, monk, sage, father, mother, husband and, most of all, witness. The fierce Minotaur lived to see and be a part of the best and worst of humanity during a life spanning thousands of years. Part bull, part human, the Minotaur struggled to find his place in this world and, in the end, left his unique mark on history.




 Review:

This was a tough one. I loved the concept, but felt it dragged a little. One of those on and on stories. But let's start off with the positive: Wow, what a concept! I love mythology, Greek, Roman, Viking, Native American, ancient Japanese, whatever, I love it. And to see a character from mythology working his way through history is pretty cool.

And not so cool. It may be that I've been sick, or it may be that I've been reading other things lately, but this one seemed a little bogged down in the middle. Course, he did go through quite a bit of history (like all of it) and was pretty much everything and everyone he could possibly be. Which did make for interesting changes in perspective.

 All in all, if you want something a little different, enjoy history and mythology, and don't mind it being told from the Minotaur's perspective, then this is the perfect book for you. Not that I know of another Minotaur-type book out there, but all that aside, definitely try this one.

David will be awarding a $100 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter at the conclusion of the two tours.


About David:

David Gelber, a New York native, is the seventh of nine sons and one of three to pursue medicine. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1980 and went on to graduate medical school in 1984 from the University of Rochester.

He completed his residency at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, followed by three years as attending surgeon at Nassau County Medical Center in Long Island, N.Y. Gelber has since joined Coastal Surgical Group in Houston, Texas.

Gelber has been a surgeon for more than 20 years, but over the last few years he began to pursue his passion for writing, initially with his debut novel, "Future Hope" (Emerald Book Company, January 2010). The novel speculates about future Earth and what the world might have been like if man had not succumbed to temptation in the Garden of Eden. "Joshua and Aaron" is a sequel to "Future Hope" and follows the battle of wills that transpires between unsung hero Joshua Smith and satanic Aaron Diblonski.

Dr. Gelber has added two books about surgery, "Behind the Mask" and "Under the Drapes", both of which provide the reader with a view of the world of surgery rarely seen by those outside the medical professions.

"Last Light" is an apocalyptic short story which starts off asking the question: "What would happen if nobody ever was sick or injured?"

"Minotaur Revisited" is an entertaining romp through history seen through the eyes of Quint, the famed half bull half man monster of Greek Mythology. It was in October 2012.
 

Gelber was raised in reformed Judaism, but joined the Presbyterian Church 15 years ago. He is married with three teenage children, four dogs and 24 birds of various species. His interests include horse racing, mechanical Swiss watches and, of course, writing.

16 comments:

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thank you for hosting this tour!

Mary Preston said...

I must say this is the only book I have ever come across with a Minotaur as the main character.


I can picture a reference book from my school days though.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

David Gelber said...

Thank you for taking the time to read my book and for your feedback.

Andra Lyn said...

lol Yes...I don't think I've ever heard of a Minotaur protagonist either...Does he really have a bulls head? I feel like that could have gotten him in trouble with the whole anti-witchcraft crowd in the Middle Ages right up until the late 1800's

andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

Anas said...

Thank you for your honest review, I'm impressed what kind of research must have went into this book, if it had references to all kinds of mythology.

moonsurfer123(AT)gmail(dot)com

Ami said...

Did you have to do a lot of research on mythology?

shadowrunner1987 at gmail dot com

Emiliana25 said...

This book sounds great, is there an audio book version of it as well?

emiliana25(at)web(dot)de

Unknown said...

24 birds is impressive, do they all live in your house or do you have a special place for them?

fencingromein at hotmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the honest review!

vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the chance to win :)

hense1kk@cmich.edu

David Gelber said...

Sorry, no audio version. The number of birds has dwindled a little bit. We now have about 18. Two were given away, and some of our finches and a parrotlet and lovebird have gone to the great aviary in the sky. We now have six dogs, however, 3 we bought and 3 we rescued.

I did do research on the Minotaur myth and research on history in general.

Catherine Lee said...

David...I miss our birds. We used to keep any number of budgie birds at a time and then we had to give them all away when I was being treated for leukemia. You can't be immuno-suppressed around birds! We have cats now--3 rescues and 1 born in our closet. I still miss having birds, though.

Chelsea B. said...

This definitely sounds like the most intriguing and original novel I've ever read about! I have a feeling I will be stuck in this book long after I read it...

justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

bn100 said...

Thanks for the honest review.

bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

This is something new for me. A minotaur protagonist. I love Greek mythology and this book sounds different and interesting.

anne.j2 (at) gmail.com

Sydney said...

Thanks for the lovely,honest review.
Thanks for the tour and giveaway.
Sydney W
Bookaddict100(AT)gmail(DOT)com



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