This was a nice idea - to tell the story from the viewpoint of the dog - but it didn't work for me. The story is aimed at children/YA, so not me!
I don't (on the whole) like stories told in the present tense, as much of this one was, and the format - pdf, rather than ebook - made reading it on my ereader less pleasant. ( )

aka A Dog's Life. Except the dog belongs to a legendary hero. And the dog is bestowed with godly Wonderdog powers.

This story is largely a tale told by Argos to the great hell-hound Cerberus, guardian of Hades. Argos was different than other puppies of his litter in that he was born with complete understanding of conversational ancient Greek. So the tale beings almost from his very beginning.

Argos proves to be a loyal companion to Odysseus, and each time he does something disruptive that might be chalked up to an over-excited pup, it turns out he was saving his master or family from grave consequences. Consequences in this time usually were at the behest of meddlesome gods, but Argos made himself some mortal, moral enemies as well. When Odysseus leaves for the Trojan War, Argos is left to watch over his family, which he does, again with the help of super powers bestowed by the goddess Athena.

The story takes several implausible turns, which are always explained by "godly powers." That's a danger embarking on this kind of story -- it's easy to not be overly creative when this crutch is readily available. I groaned at the end when, upon his death bed, Argos became the first dog to be welcomed into Elysium, the afterlife of heroes. Considering most of his heroics were god-augmented in the first place, this seemed to be a specious conclusion.

As a tale taking place in the world of Homer though, it's entertaining enough if you like the subject matter (which I do). You're just not going to get great literature out of the mouth of a dog, no matter how enchanted he might be. ( )

This seems like a great way to introduce pre-teen readers to Greek mythology, but a no-frills plot and unexciting prose combined with cardboard characters makes it fairly unnoticeable for adults. ( )

Argos tells the story of Odysseus' extremely loyal dog. Starting from his very earliest days, we are given an emotional, easy-to-read tale about one dog's love for his family.

While I did truly enjoy the story, I found that Argos's perspective felt a little too much like he was a person who happened to be in the body of a dog. Argos views the world in human terms, placing too much value on logic and analysis instead of relying on the instincts that a dog would have. On top of this, Argos seems to have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of Greek mythology, even going so far as too know about Aeneas, a Trojan figure that, while known by Homer, I do not think would have been known in Ithaca prior to the Trojan war.

That aside, I think that Argos is a great read if you enjoy stories about dogs, loyalty, and action, and adventure. It expands on an interesting character who is met all too briefly in the Odyssey in an interesting way.

As a huge lover of mythology in general, especially Greek mythology having studied it at university, I was extremely excited about reading Argos by Phillip W Simpson. It definitely did not disappoint! It was so refreshing to read a book that actually seems to care about keeping mythology “right,” especially when it comes to Hades.

Simpson manages to take a well known myth and enhance it by giving us a different side of what we all know. Using the loyal dog, the only one to recognize his master, Argos, to tell the story of those left behind. Through Argos, we also get a better glimpse into Odysseus, the man, instead of just Odysseus, the rogue. The loyalty of a dog is such an admirable, universal truth, that it allows Argos to connect with Cerberus in a way that no other character has been able to do. Once Argos reaches his inevitable end, you can’t help but tear up.

It’s such a lovely little companion piece and so incredibly easy to understand, a fantastic introduction. I would definitely recommend Argos by Phillip W Simpson to middle-graders and young adults who are just starting to get into mythology in general, or the Odyssey or the Iliad at school. ( )