Priscilla Galloway’s third book in the Tales of Ancient Lands series is an assured and well-paced retelling of the famous Greek myth. The Athenian inventor Daedalus designs a labyrinth at the Cretan palace of Knossos to conceal a royal secret: the Minotaur. The Minotaur is Queen Pasiphae’s illegitimate son, reputed by court gossip to be a monster, half-bull, half-man.

While Galloway’s novel is generally faithful to the events as related by Apollodorus, she alters some particulars to make the story more suitable for, and more appealing to, young readers. She abandons the traditional image of the Minotaur for that of a mute and deformed child, born with a huge head and lopsided eyes. The circumstances of the Minotaur’s conception – Pasiphae’s forbidden union with a bull – are never made explicit. Similarly, Icarus’s fatal fall from the sky is wisely consigned to the epilogue, as young readers will identify most strongly with this character.

Galloway breathes life into the familiar archetypes of the powerful inventor and his daring son, creating a believable and poignant relationship between them. Icarus is a loving young boy, eager to be important to someone. Daedalus is a workaholic father, heedless of others in the pursuit of his art. Nevertheless, he inspires passion for his projects in everyone around him, including his neglected son. The complexity of the characters and their interaction render them timeless.

The novel has similarities with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, in that both explore issues of creation and responsibility. Icarus articulates one dimension of the theme, commenting on the monarchs’ abandonment of their son: “Poor Minotaur – his parents are the monsters, not him.” Daedalus can also be a monstrous creator, bringing into being a son and a labyrinth without taking responsibility for them.

The illustrations are utterly appropriate as they take their inspiration from the stylized friezes that adorn the walls of Knossos. The artist, Normand Cousineau, has borrowed from the Cretan palette of rich, spicy colours, the compositions of Picasso and even Escher. Young readers accustomed to visual realism may find the gorgeous ink and gouache artwork an acquired taste, but, through it and the story, they will appreciate that many ancient cultures were anything but primitive.