The Hittite

By: Ben Bova

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Ben Bova brings us an exciting new take on the timeless legend of Troy.

This is the tale of Lukka, the Hittite soldier who traveled across Greece in search of the vicious slave traders who kidnapped his wife and sons. He tracks them all the way to war-torn Troy, where he proves himself a warrior to rank with noble Hector and swift Achilles.

Lukka is the man who builds the Trojan horse for crafty Odysseus, who topples the walls of Jericho for the Israelites, and who steals the beautiful Helen—the legendary face that launched a thousand ships—from her husband Menaleus, fighting his way across half the known world to bring her safely to Egypt.

©2010 Ben Bova (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Bova proves himself equal to the task of showing how adversity can temper character in unforeseen ways.” ( New York Times)

Vengeance of Orion without Orion.

I enjoy this book, but it is literally a retelling of Vengeance of Orion, without Orion. Dozens of whole passages were transplanted from the source material to The Hittite. There is some new material in this story. Helen's background is expanded upon greatly. A few characters' personalities and motivations are tweaked and enhanced from the original story.

Enjoyable story, easy to like.

Would you try another book from Ben Bova and/or Stefan Rudnicki?

Yes, While I'm am no writing master, the books language and story line was flowing, and Ben Bova did a good job of adapting the iliad's story, and incorporating it into his own.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well, It would have to be Lukka, the main character. I was always a big fan of the Iliad's Hector, and some of the morals and personality traits he represented. I found myself still thinking the same thing.

What three words best describe Stefan Rudnicki’s voice?

I Don't Know, but he did a good job conveying the emotion of the story, and added an accent that sometimes seemed goofy. Yet, In my opinion the accent added more than detracted.

Do you think The Hittite needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, I definitely checked to see if there was a sequel. I thought there might be one because it ends somewhat abruptly. I would absolutely read it.

Any additional comments?

An awesome story for Iliad fans. However, you must try not to get too entwined with the traditional storyline, and give the author some creative room for interpretation, and alternate ending.

So so...

Not bad, but pretty predictable. I hated the portrayal of the Greeks as high pitched and whiney. As for the Hittites, so much was unsaid about this incredible civilization. Not sure if I'll bother with a sequel, just wasn't that appealing.

It's a great story!

But, I don't understand why you wrote it? Was it an Epiphany? Was it a return to your roots?

A Unique perspective

I really enjoyed the flip side of the Orion story without the supernatural intervention. It was great!

If you ignore the history, its an okay listen.

We listened to the novel while on a four week holiday through Turkey. We listened to the section on Troy right around the time we were there, and Ephesus was also featured in the novel. The story holds one's interest, and the characters are believable, for the most part, but I found the novel fairly predictable and formulaic, and since we were right in the middle of learning about all of these places, the merging of more than a thousand years of history -- Helen of Troy and Ephesus at its height -- was a bit problematic. The male voice doing Helen was unintentionally amusing, but it helped pass a lot of hours on Turkish highways.