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Rating:
LA RECENSIONE
After two "epic" chapters, The Oath and The Return, which retrace the sacred texts Iliad and Odyssey, in The Oracle the author returns to his writing style, that of a mystery mixed with legend.
The blend of present and past, with classical quotations, creates moments of suspense, in a mystery set between the revolution against the Greek colonels and the subsequent era of the 1980s.
From the discovery by a professor, who finds Tiresias's vase during an excavation and dies from it, to the events related to its concealment and the theories surrounding the content of the images depicted with an associated story on the artifact.
The narrative is tied to the discovery, and at the same time describes the political situation of the time; it was 1973 when this happened in Greece and the Americans supported the Chilean coup.
Surviving the massacre, some students find themselves retracing the path from which they once fled. The accurate description of the locations is a result of the author's profession, a distinguished archaeologist.
In the narration, as in previous works, Pasiphae, wife of Minos, and the dream she made her husband have, the "cover me, I'm cold," because Heleni was "buried" naked, are recalled. Even the names are continuous references to classical Greece. The difficulty encountered while reading is putting the book down, it is thrilling and with the succession of events that recall earlier passages and legends preceding the Homeric era.
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Summary by Bot
Valerio Massimo Manfredi's 'The Oracle' returns to a mix of mystery and legend, blending present events with classical Greek mythology. Set during the 1973 Greek revolution and 1980s aftermath, the novel follows a professor's discovery of Tiresias's vase and its subsequent mysteries. The author’s archaeological background enriches vivid descriptions, while historical and mythical elements create suspenseful, thrilling reading hard to put down.
Valerio Massimo Manfredi
Valerio Massimo Manfredi is an Italian archaeologist, historian, and bestselling novelist known for fast-paced narratives grounded in Classical Antiquity. His works, including Lo scudo di Talos and L’Ultima Legione, are widely translated; The Last Legion was adapted into a feature film in 2007.06 Reviews
