Pyrrhus - Mark Merlis

As modern as a mobile phone and as ancient as The Iliad, Mark Merlis's second novel occupies two worlds simultaneously.

Behold Pyrrhus - an archer's body and a hero among hustlers. Bartop stripper with the world at his feet or at least that part of which gathers nightly at the Escapade. But Destiny has scheduled him for a career change. He is the grandson of a goddess, son of the mighty Achilles, legendary fighter at the endless siege of Troy. Since his father's premature death, it is Pyrrhus who must now lead the Myrmidons to victory, or so the oracle proclaims. Only Pyrrhus can end the stalemate, only he can strike down the doddering king of Troy and deliver his city to the plundering Greeks. Unsure of quite why, Pyrrhus falls in with his fate, leaving his little stage at the Escapade for the clamorous theatre of war. Yet the challeges in store for him are not the ones he's been expecting; his journey will change him far more than he knows.

An awesome and tender novel, Pyrrhus is a contemporary classic.