The Odyssey vs A TIME OF KINGS

This weekend the new Odyssey film launched to much controversy. Pre-launch buzz complained about everything from taking liberties with the plot to casting actors who didn't fit the historical characters. I could understand how many fans wanted their expectations met - expectations groomed from school readings and past films. I just wanted an epic movie. I got one, albeit different than what I'd expected. In art we like to judge the product for itself, free from other influences. At least I do. Hence, as a movie it worked well, in my opinion - if I wasn't trying to compare it to Homer's poem. It was a good three hours of entertainment regardless of what nitpicking I may wish to do.

So how does this film and its source material relate to my forthcoming novel A TIME OF KINGS? 

First, they are both stories about war and its aftermath. In the greater picture in both the movie and my novel, the war our major players go through changes them and impacts all that follows. That is a common theme in most war stories: how the event affects the men (and women) involved in it, including those not directly on the ground for the violence, those who remain back home. In the film and poem, Odysseus strives to reach home after ten years at war but is delayed by many misadventures. In A TIME OF KINGS the war is short-lived yet devastating for those involved. The travel home is less eventful or lengthy. Yet our narrator is morally wounded by what transpires.

Second, both are stories about redemption (in my humble opinion). That is: how each hero wishes to be seen - in these cases - even after all the badness they have perpetrated. We want to return home and see it like it was before - yet we have changed in the interval and so home necessarily changes by reflection. Therefore, how do we reconcile the two versions of us - the before and the after? In A TIME OF KINGS the question permeates the second half of the novel as our narrator seeks to resolve the conflicts within him.

Third, the technical issues some critics have raised regarding events, ship design, weapons and armor, scene settings, and so on. Granted, most of us wouldn't know or care what may be historically inaccurate. What is presented on screen is engaging enough to draw us through whatever technical issues may cloud the experience. 

In A TIME OF KINGS, I have pledged to be historically accurate. As a dramatic epic set in the future, I can guarantee its accuracy. For a medieval story, I need not depend on what was historically accurate in the past; it is all in the future now and subject to change as needed. Suppose after the collapse of civilization all that remained were books on King Arthur from which to draw plans for a new civilization. (This is not the case in my novel but some might speculate.)

I've spent my time this week promoting the launch next month of A TIME OF KINGS all while entertaining various opinions about The Odyssey film. I see some parallels, as I mentioned above. Mostly, the tale of Odysseus trying to get home, to find that origin point as a place of comfort, is different from what my narrator does. 

As a boy stumbling onto a battlefield and saved by the king, "Jack" has a unique perspective. He grows up in the Court of Louis, gets training as a physician, and becomes the Royal doctor in the Court of Chicageaux - named after the Quebecker insurgency of the late 2400s. At first he's a flaneur, an observer of life, then a minor player as the drama unfolds, to master of his own story after the war. "Jack" is an adopted name; he is actually descended from the Baumann family line of the FLU SEASON SAGA, especially The Warriors Baumann. Jack becomes the hero of his own tale in the second half of the epic. It is a kind of homecoming: to return to who you once were, who you always wanted to be, fresh and without sin, everything settled.

For more background on A TIME OF KINGS, including its own origin story, click here. This epic novel about the kingdoms of the Americus in 2988 to 3079 features twin princes warring against each other, Royal deceit and Court intrigue, young love and old wisdom, the vagaries of society in that future era, and most of all: how we live our lives surrounded by forces we cannot control nor hide from. Our narrator, Jack, learns those lessons well. More on the major players in the next blog post.

A TIME OF KINGS launches on August 8, 2026 in both paperback and for Kindle.

*I would be remiss were I to not remind everyone of this modern take on the Odyssey story: After Ilium (2012).

Three thousand years ago Greek fought Trojan below the fortress of Ilium. Now it is 1993 and new college graduate Alex Parris cruises to Istanbul, seeking his own adventure at Ilium. He meets Elena, the mysterious older woman who easily draws him into an affair only to force him to fight for her. For Alex, escaping from the local jail is the first of many obstacles to returning to his lover, as the cruel odyssey across the Turkish coast tests his will to survive.

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(C) Copyright 2010-2026 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

On the Overwriting of Sex Scenes

As Ferris Bueller once said: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Or, in my corruption of that quote, Life can bowl you over and leave you flat on the road. This month has been rather like that: a lot happening, most of it overwhelming in both positive and negative ways.

Last month I mused on my Epic Fantasy novel, the one with dragons, and I promised to regale you with other random musings. Given the busy-ness of this month, I've almost missed my chance to keep a perfect record of one blog a month. But as I work on my latest novel, a post-apocalyptic tale of an [adult] boy and his [young] mother and a [heirloom] tuba, I'm reminded of another older-woman/younger-man story.

Today I celebrate my first novel published, then published again, AFTER ILIUM, in which a young college graduate named Alex tours Greece and Turkey, especially the ruins of ancient Troy, also known as Ilium. He's a History major, after all. Also naive, innocent, idealistic, and romantic - four strikes against him.

The thing I remember most about this novella filled into novel status is the sex scene. I think I probably should have won an award for Most Overwritten Sex Scene. But I assure you the effect was entirely intentional - not simply a case of an undisciplined writer running off with the thesaurus. As everything is described from the point of view of this young, inexperienced lad in a tryst with an older woman, it seems appropriate to wax poetic in his interpretation of the acts proffered. 

After meeting on a cruise ship and suffering an awkward seduction, the woman named Elena accepts him - he might be amusing - and when they have the opportunity in a hotel she welcomes Alex into his first real sexual encounter:

“Shhhh,” Eléna whispered. She pulled him back onto the bed. “Let me enjoy you.”

He thought then that he was about to go sailing on a wild, stormy ocean. No telling what would happen! He expelled a big breath, freeing his anxiety, and the woman knew it was time to raise the anchor.

She guided him on a tour of her body, and he was willing to explore each port of entry, languishing there until she called him to continue sailing her fragrant seas. She invited him to climb her sacred hills and navigate himself into position so she could entertain him with all of the sweet delights from her bag of tricks. He found there a treasure trove of new sensations forced upon him. She coaxed him onward with sweet whispered words and dainty nibbles, and they felt the bed shaking, much like the swaying of the ship—just as ancient Helen and Paris must have felt as the two of them set sail for Troy, he imagined—now rocking them into a sacred rhythm, as her fingers raked his back and shoulders, as he willingly stretched then confidently pushed and forcefully strained and, with enraged power, released the iron gate to the gushing flood of life: all the books, all the classes, all the exams, all the rules of his parents and the stupidity of his fraternity brothers, and the church and the importance of perfect teeth and the essays for scholarships, and all the strict years and months and weeks of frustration and being a good little boy!—launching all at once into the deep, deep well of memories, lost forever in a swirling instant of naked, humbling ecstasy. She waited, shaking, until the memory had evaporated and he breathed once more, feeling the tension in his body flee in terror.

He continued collecting souvenirs as she directed him southward, showing him a lush garden of delicious, juicy fruit to sample, even daring him to taste the puckered kumquat. The festive banquet of Eden spread before him! She sighed in pleasure, like the wind in the sails, and encouraged him to gather all the treasures that he could. He responded by lapping furiously at the fountain of youth, growing not younger but older, gaining maturity. And when he feared he might finally be satiated, she called for him to return to port, to push hard into the harbor until his vessel was fully docked and his wares completely unloaded.

In the end, she was satisfied far more than she had expected to be, and much more than she had been for many years of married life. He listened to her confession as though it were a siren’s song. She had nearly forgotten how wonderful such a vacation trip could possibly be. She lovingly kissed her captain for what seemed endless days and weeks, and thanked him sincerely for the voyage. And he, spiritually exhausted and morally bankrupt beyond reason, reluctantly surrendered into her gentle hands his last ounce of gold.

However, the scene has always bothered me. Most likely, I worried what my mother might say about it. Scandalous, indeed. She was so proud, however, that she told all her church friends to read it. That would make it a bestseller for certain! Anyway, no complaints, no rough feedback. I imagined well-read folks would take exception with the lavish description, calling it pretentious, overwrought, or silly - it is silly, I'll admit, but for a purpose. 

At any rate, that was long ago in publishing time, but AFTER ILIUM still exists if you wish to read more of Alex's great adventure wooing Elena then losing her, then fighting his way back to her only to realize the catastrophic truth about the entire situation - a young man's best lesson.

I continue writing on my work-in-progress, POST, the apocalyptic story mentioned above. There has not yet been any need yet to write a sex scene, but some pre-pandemic incidents have been referred to in conversations. I know what's coming later in the book. Times are tough in an apocalypse, you know.

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(C) Copyright 2010-2021 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

Where is Alex Parris?

April is the cruelest month, says T. S. Eliot who loved April more than life itself.

It's also a great month to catch up on reading that you may have put away for Spring Break and perhaps the books you received as holiday gifts. Perhaps you got a book as a Valentine gift. Perhaps you finished all of those books and are ready for something new. Perhaps...?

Back in 2012, I offered up this short novel to try the indie publishing system and it has remained a favorite ever since. Unfortunately, it slips below the radar every few weeks or so. It's still good for a weekend read: one long evening or split between a Saturday night and a Sunday afternoon. 

AFTER ILIUM

Kindle 

Alex Parris has been fascinated by the Trojan War all his life, but when he meets the seductive Eléna on a cruise to Turkey, he cannot help but see the two of them as a modern Helen and Paris. However, following seduction in Istanbul and their tour to the ruins of Ilium, Alex is forced to fight his way back to his lover—if he can even find her, and if the rugged Turkish coast doesn’t kill him first.

It's a twisted love story, a war memorial, an action adventure, a morality tale, a blast from the past, and a tragedy with dark humor--everything you want your weekend to be!

Here is a review of AFTER ILIUM at The Dark Side. 

Available in paperback, too, which features the wonderful artwork of Ceri Clark, legendary librarian, web guru, and cover artist, not to mention fellow Myrddin author with her own YA paranormal novel and internet how-to guides. 

Or try a book from one of our other great Myrddin authors! 

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(C) Copyright 2010-2014 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.