“Robust, exciting…The most riveting retelling yet of this ancient, ageless tale.”
— Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)
"Clearly a telling for our time, but one that honors its source. Parkins captures the epic's primitive power and universal emotions in rough, broadly rendered portraits."
— Horn Book
“Rendered with simplicity and power…begs to be read aloud.”
— Booklist
"This allegory is skillfully, beautifully retold by the incomparable Ms. McCaughrean, who has won every major prize for children's literature in Great Britain."
— Children's Literature
"The power [McCaughrean] generates here is striking, taking its source in the complexity of character she gives to ancient King Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu. . . [Gilgamesh's] quest for the 'secret of immortality' becomes a believable journey through grief, and McCaughrean makes us weep and cry with Gilgamesh, with life."
— Chicago Tribune
"This has the vivid language and dialogue of an effective chapter-by-chapter readaloud. The retelling downplays the overt sexuality and bloody extremes of various translations but maintains the powerful sweep of traditional epic literature in a cohesive narrative with strong chronological momentum that drives the hero through his own story."
— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"The world's oldest recorded story . . . is here beautifully, if very freely, retold by a distinguished British children's author. . . .David Parkins's muscular woodcuts help breathe life into the tale of the passionate god-king who went in search of immortality."
— Washington Post Book World
“Dramatic.”
— Publishers Weekly
“McCaughrean's retelling is superb…this fabulous introduction to the epic tradition deserves a wide readership.”
— School Library Journal
