Wrath of the Titans
Published under the heading of “Ray Harryhausen Presents,” this three-part saga about swashbuckling-stud Perseus picks up where the film Clash of the Titans (in which Harryhausen engineered the famous stop-motion effects) left off. The plot will challenge readers not comfortable with Greek mythology, but it basically follows Perseus as he wrestles with the concept of heroism during a quest to recover his child, abducted by the seductive sorceress Circe. Although the chesty women (and men) and their flapping scraps of clothing periodically reach Frank Frazetta heights of posturing, mostly this feels like a battle royale of DC’s Super Friends and their equally super villains. Juvenile exclamations like “Zeus’ boots!” are tempered by weighty and surprisingly well-integrated quotes from the likes of Homer, Plato, and Sophocles. The dual settings of Mt. Olympus and the mortal world interact clumsily at times, but the introduction of each key monster (a hydra, Cyclops, Typhon, Kraken) is suitably impressive—and, let’s face it, the real stars here are the beasties. Grades 7-10. --Daniel Kraus