Tel's Odyssey

Tel's Odyssey is a re-imagining of Homer's Odyssey told from the viewpoint of Odysseus's twelve-year-old son, Telemachus ("Tel"). With no knowledge of how Odysseus triumphed over the Sirens, Circe, Cyclops, or Scylla and Charybdis, Tel must devise his own solutions while searching for his father. SETTING: Ancient Greece, one year after the end of the Trojan War. SUMMARY: During King Odysseus's absence, Ithaca has fallen under the control of a group of escaped prisoners known as the Damnati. They're the worst of the worst, all eternally damned. Their leaders are Lykos the Wolf and Zenzes the Unredeemable. Both want to kill Tel before he can claim the throne or find his father, then they plan to force Queen Penelope into marriage. Several of Odysseus's most trusted companions from the Trojan War - Ajax, Three Toe, and Two Blade - safely arrived on Ithaca's shores even though their leader did not. But with the Damnati in control, they're forced to live on the streets. Worse, Lykos the Wolf has neutralized the effectiveness of Ajax, second only to Achilles among the Grecian warriors, by blinding him. These three bond with Odysseus's twelve-year-old son Tel while searching for their missing king. After reuniting with a father he barely remembers, our young hero must rush home to Ithaca to save his mother from a forced marriage, then defeat the Damnati. AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: www. LeeSmyth.com