The Helmet of Horror - (Myths) by Victor Pelevin (Paperback)

About the Book

A postmodern, radical retelling of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur

Book Synopsis

When Ariadne helped Theseus escape the MInotaur's labyrinth with the aid of a ball of thread, she led the way for the bewildered victims of a twenty-first century minotaur. Trapped in an endless maze of Internet chatrooms, a group of mystified strangers find themselves assigned obscure aliases and commanded by the Helmet of Horror, the Minotaur himself. As they fumble their way back to reality through a mesmerising world of abundant information but little knowledge, we are forced to wonder - can technology itself be anything more than a myth?

From the Back Cover

When Ariadne helped Theseus escape the Minotaur's labyrinth with the aid of a ball of thread, she led the way for the bewildered victims of a twenty-first century minotaur. Trapped in an endless maze of Internet chatrooms, a group of mystified strangers find themselves assigned obscure aliases and commanded by the Helmet of Horror, the Minotaur himself. As they fumble their way back to reality through a mesmerising world of abundant information but little knowledge, we are forced to wonder - can technology itself be anything more than a myth?

Translated by Andrew Bromfield

"For a mind-expanding, surreally funny experience, it's worth getting lost here." Scotland on Sunday
"A brilliant post-modern, eclectic vision of myth, mind and meaning. And of the human dilemma and its horns,
ancient and modern." AS Byatt, The Times
"Pelevin is a highly inventive writer with a sharp, jaundiced eye and an anarchic sensibility." Guardian
"Witty, brilliant ... barking mad." Daily Telegraph

Review Quotes

A brilliant post-modern, eclectic vision of myth, mind and meaning. And of the human dilemma and its horns, ancient and modern.-- "The Times"

For a mind-expanding, surreally funny experience, it's worth getting lost here.-- "Scotland on Sunday"

It presents ideas that the wider European mind finds useful, and it is sharp, funny and, what's the word, numinous.-- "Sunday Times"

Pelevin is a highly inventive writer with a sharp, jaundiced eye and an anarchic sensibility.-- "Guardian"

About the Author

Born in Moscow, Victor Pelevin has written for the New York Times Magazine, Granta, Open City and was selected by the New Yorker as one of the 'Best European Writers Under 35' and by the Observer as one of the '21 Writers for the 21st Century'. His novel, Numbers, won the Russian Grigoriev Prize 2004.