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ABOUT MINOTAUR:
Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson
Publication Date:
September 29, 2015
Publisher:
Month9books
“Where shall I start?” asked Minotaur.
Ovid made an expansive gesture with both hands. “Where else
but the beginning of course.”
Minotaur nodded his huge head. “Yes,” he said. “Yes,” his
eyes already glazing over with the weight of thousand year old memories. And
then he began.
So begins the story of Asterion, later known as Minotaur,
the supposed half bull creature of Greek legend. Recorded by the famous Roman
poet, Ovid, Asterion tells of his boyhood in Crete under the cruel hand of his
stepfather Minos, his adventures with his friend, Theseus, and his growing love
for the beautiful Phaedra.And of course what really happened in the labyrinth.
This is the true story of the Minotaur.
Excerpt:
I was
bored, lonely, and cold, wallowing in my own guilt and sadness. I gathered the
darkness to me and wrapped myself in it like a blanket. I tried to remember the
light of the sun, the wind on my face, but the memories were fleeting. After a
time, I gave up trying to chase them. It was like I had always been in this
place.
I did try
to mark the passage of time. At first, I did it as a matter of necessity, a way
to keep me sane, my only connection to the world above. On a wall near the
trapdoor, I used my horns to scrape marks, one for each day. I really didn’t
know for sure. I suspect that I might’ve slept and missed a few but I did my
best.
Later, it
became a game. Something to do. I started to toy with the marks, embellishing
and changing them. In my growing insanity, I thought that I was creating
fabulous works of art. Much later, when I was able to examine them properly, I
saw them for what they really were. Random marks and scratches. The work of a
madman. Or a beast.
As a
result, I really had no idea how long the first part of my imprisonment was. At
the time, I believed it might have been weeks or months, even years.
I did other
things to try and keep me sane and occupied. I exercised, wrestling imaginary
opponents. I tried to climb the walls. Sometimes, in utter rage and despair, I
attacked the limestone, knowing the feeling of wetness on my knuckles was blood
but not caring.
I assumed
that food and water came once a day, but perhaps it was every second, lowered
down in a basket from above. There wasn’t much of it—sometimes a bit of broth
or soup, occasionally a chunk of stale bread. The water tasted sour, but I
always drank it.
I only
caught glimpses of my guards. At first, I yelled at them, pleading, begging.
Later, my pleas turned into rants. They threw rocks at me and I swiftly got the
message.
It was at
this time I discovered the second of my animal friends. I would’ve preferred
the companionship of another dog like Kyon, but dogs were in short supply in
the labyrinth. It was a rat.
ABOUT
PHILLIP W. SIMPSON:
Phillip W. Simpson is the author of many novels, chapter
books and other stories for children. His publishers include Macmillan,
Penguin, Pearson, Cengage, Raintree and Oxford University Press.
He received both his undergraduate degree in Ancient History
and Archaeology and his Masters (Hons) degree in Archaeology from the University
of Auckland.
Before embarking on his writing career, he joined the army
as an officer cadet, owned a comic shop and worked in recruitment in both the
UK and Australia.
His first young adult novel, Rapture (Rapture Trilogy #1),
was shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for best Youth novel in 2012.
He is represented by Vicki Marsdon at Wordlink literary
agency.
When not writing, he works as a school teacher.
Phillip lives and writes in Auckland, New Zealand with his
wife Rose, their son, Jack and their two border terriers, Whiskey and Raffles.
He loves fishing, reading, movies, football (soccer) and single malt Whiskeys.
This looks pretty awesome, great pick!
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