This powerful, passionate, and beautifully crafted retelling of the epic tale of Achilles re-creates Homer's fated hero in a new and striking reality. Born of the Sea nymph Thetis by the mortal King Peleus, and hidden as a girl until Odysseus discovers him, Achilles becomes the Greeks' greatestr warrior at Troy. Into his story comes a cast of fascinating characters--among them, Hector, Helen, Penthiseleia the Amazon Queen, and the centaur Chiron; and finally John Keats, whose writingsform the basis of a meditation on the nature of identity and shared experience.

An forgettable and deeply moving work of fiction,Achillesis also an affirmation of the story's enduring power to reach across centuries and cultures to the core of our imagination.