This book is part of Grupo Editorial Luis Vives’ series Colección Mitos Clasicos. It retells the story of Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur, with special focus on the Minotaur and the creation of his Labyrinth prison. The Minotaur gets a name and a back story. He isn’t a sympathetic character, but it’s clear that King Minos is the real culprit in the story. The Labyrinth is so vividly drawn that it almost becomes a character in its own right. The book ends with Ariadne and Theseus sailing off together and promises more of their adventures in later parts of the series. The sixth book, El Vuelo de Icaro, picks up in Crete where this story leaves off, but the series has yet to revisit Theseus and Ariadne. 

Award-winning illustrator Iratxe López de Munáin provides the illustrations for this book. Colección Mitos Clasicos is full of excellent artwork, and López de Munáin’s is outstanding. Her composition does as much storytelling as Ricardo Gómez’s text. In the beginning, the text describes an oracle, but the image of a woman seated on a tripod is clearly the famous Pythia of the oracle at Delphi. The Minotaur is ever-present, but he is never seen clearly until he bursts onto the page for his final epic showdown with Theseus. 

The book is published in Spain, which makes it a little hard to find in the United States. Still, persistent searches on various online booksellers’ websites will turn up copies for sale, and you can order the book through the website of the publisher, Edelvives (Grupo Editorial Luis Vives).   – Krishni Burns