Before they were heroes...

`Rescue? Is that what you call it? Throw a rock and then run? And I bet that's as far ahead as you'd planned.' Penelope made a face. `Boys! Always thinking about heroics and never about what needs to happen day to day.'

Odysseus, Prince of Ithaca, has always been safe, sheltered, protected - and bored! The Age of Heroes is past. The wars are over. The monsters have all been slain. Or so he believes. Are there any adventures left for a thirteen-year-old boy who wants, more than anything, to be a hero?

His time comes when Odysseus, his best friend Mentor, a spoiled princess named Helen and her outspoken cousin Penelope are kidnapped by pirates. It is the start of an adventure-filled journey that leads them to the ancient island of Crete. There, Odysseus must face the deadly secret in the Labyrinth, where the Minotaur once devoured all who were unfortunate enough to enter. Now another, more deadly monster roams the maze.

There the boy destined to fight in the Trojan War and survive the perilous voyage of the Odyssey discovers the hardest part of being a hero: living long enough to tell the tale.

This book features in the following series: Before They Were Heroes, Young Heroes .

There are 256 pages in this book. This book was published 2002 by HarperCollins Publishers .

Robert J. Harris was born and raised in Scotland. He studied Greek and Latin at university and has had a varied career. He designed the best-selling fantasy board game Talisman and is the author of numerous short stories. Jane Yolen has written almost three hundred books, many of them awardwinners. She lives in St. Andrews, Scotland, and Hatfield, Massachusetts.