Quicksilver

by Stephanie Spinner

Hermes—also known as Mercury, Wayfinder, and Prince of Thieves—has many talents. Wearing his famed winged sandals, he does the bidding of his father Zeus, leads the dead down to Hades, and practices his favorite arts of trickery and theft. He also sees the future, travels invisibly, loves jokes, and abhors violence. And he’s an entertaining and ideal narrator on a fast-paced journey through ancient Greek mythology—from Medusa’s cave to Trojan War battlefields to the mysterious Underworld.
Stephanie Spinner brings the famous messenger—and the best-known gods and mortals of mythology—to life with high action and spare, powerful prose.

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Young Adult, Greek Mythology, Retellings, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 12, 2005

About the author

I was born in Davenport, Iowa, and grew up in Rockaway Beach, New York. I read straight through my childhood, with breaks for food, sleep, and the bathroom. I went to college in Bennington, Vermont, moved to New York City, and took a job in publishing so I could get paid for reading. I read so much bad fiction that I needed a break, so I moved to London, and from there I traveled to Morocco, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan India, Nepal, and Ceylon. I came back to America, wandered around some more -- to Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize -- and on returning to New York decided to study Tibetan Buddhist painting (called thangka painting) in Boulder, Colorado.

I painted thangkas for many years. Each one took anywhere from several weeks to a few months to complete, and at long last I understood that this was not the ideal way for me to make a living. Only a few hundred Americans collected thangkas, and they wanted old ones, painted by Tibetan monks. It was time to make a change.

So I took another publishing job, this time in children’s books. I found that I liked children’s books a lot, and before long, I became an editor.

Years passed. I was encouraged to write. I scoffed at the idea that I had anything to write about. I edited some wonderfully talented authors -- Virginia Hamilton, Philip Isaacson, Clyde Robert Bulla, Gloria Whelan, Robin McKinley, Joan Vinge, Garth Nix, and Chris Lynch, among others -- with great enjoyment. Writing seemed like torture by comparison.

Then, to my amazement, I found myself writing a book and having a good time -- simultaneously! The book was ALIENS FOR BREAKFAST, and I enjoyed writing it because my co-author was Jonathan Etra. Jon (who died of heart disease in 1990) was a close friend with a wild sense of humor, and collaborating with him changed my opinion of writing forever. After ALIENS FOR BREAKFAST, and ALIENS FOR LUNCH, which we also co-wrote, I began to think that writing could be interesting fun.

And now that I’ve been doing it full-time for more than ten years, I can tell you why I like it better than a job. First, I can work in my bathrobe. (To the FedEx man and the UPS man, I am "the woman in the plaid flannel robe.") Second, I can eat when I’m hungry, choose when to take phone calls, and walk my dogs any time. Third, the only meetings I have -- and they’re short -- are with the dry cleaner and the post office ladies. Fourth, I can read whatever I please. I may tell people I’m doing research when I read about horse-trekking, or hunting in ancient Greece, or 16 ways to better compost, but the truth is, I’m not doing research, I’m having a good time. Which I think is still allowed.

Reviews

[Brie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous and lighthearted, simple yet clever, this quick read was cute and surprisingly deep. If you need a pick-me-up, this book will do it.

I've always liked Hermes, and when I saw that this would be another humorous mythology story, I eagerly snapped it up. It is in fact a seamless collection of myths Hermes is involved in.
- Hades and Persephone
- Perseus and Medusa
- Perseus and Andromeda
- Paris, the Trojan War, and Calypso

He is the narrator and each separate section brings more and more out of this character Spinner has crafted. In this book he is young, willing to please, dutiful, but also sympathetic, helpful, and sober at all times, seeing sense when other gods are being unmanageable. Hermes likes mortals, feels for them when the other gods don't. He dislikes cruelty, and his reactions to cruelty such as the drawn out Trojan War show the emotional toll it takes on him.

Hermes also enjoys the good company of his siblings and praises from his father Zeus. What made this book extra special is that Spinner chose to portray Zeus, especially, not as the Supreme Asshole that many stories like to portray him as, but Spinner's Zeus is more collected, more caring, and the scenes of Zeus and Hermes having some quality time together were endearing.

The ending of this book actually made me smile and go "aww" to myself. It is the perfect comfort read, readable in just a couple hours. I recommend it to all Greek myth fans.

[Gaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really love reading about Greek mythology.

Hermes is definitely an interesting character that doesn’t get as much attention as the rest of his immortal relatives.

This book is a quick read, it’s funny and also a bit profound.

10/10 recommended if Greek myths are your jam

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. This book is the equivalent of calling someone you meet 'nice.' Nothing's wrong, but nothing stands out. It's split into 5 episodes all narrated by Hermes--there's the Persephone/Hades story, Perseus vs. Medusa, Paris and the golden apple, retrieving Hector's body, and Odysseus and Calypso. Getting inside Hermes' head to see these events would be a great way for anyone unfamiliar with the myths to access and understand them. It did make me feel closer to the stories than when I read more traditional retellings, but...I already knew all the stories the author was retelling. Consequently, I was bored for much of the book, though I was able to fly through it quickly. There were a few minor elements in the author's technique, however, that were irritating (though not terrible): 1)Too often she throws in lots of exposition, and in her note at the end, emphasizes that she is trying to stay true to the original stories. That's fine, but I think paying more attention to style would have made for a more interesting read. The reader could figure out who characters are and some of their backstories if the author had a more engaging style; 2) Too often Hermes is simply an onlooker in how things play out (e.g. The Trojan War). This lack of action made for some dull reading at many points; 3) It would be fine if the emphasis on Hermes' thoughts and feelings made him an interesting character, but he comes across as rather bland. His main attribute that stands out: he feels guilty a lot--which again makes for boring reading. After mentioning that he's a trickster, a thief, a joker, those aspects barely get mentioned. If they had, it would have made for a much better book! For someone unfamiliar with these stories, however, this is a quick, painless, and more emotional introduction than most.

[Laney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything from the first paragraph to the ending word was a hilarious and enchanting tale. The first paragraph goes like this...

"It's dark and gloomy, and it smells like dead sheep, but when Zeus says go to Hell, I go. The Lord of All Creation is not a Patient deity. Have you ever seen his hands clench and unclench when he's kept waiting? I call it the Thunderbolt Reflex. Best not trigger it is my advice, unless you long to burst into flames and explode.
I do not." (Quiver by Stephanie Spinner, page 3)

After that paragraph I was ready to kill for more! I LOVED this book and can't even tell how much I enjoyed it. Hopefully you'll find out for yourself!

[Ken · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bleh. Episodic retread of Greek myths where Hermes is involved. Fairly shallow, even for YA. Hard to get excited about any characters, sketchy plots, and the tired rehashings which are served up separately and kept lukewarm under the heating lamp. Might be enjoyed by kids who really like Greek mythology, but I think the old stories themselves are preferable to this "cover."

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read, a view on the Greek myths shown through the eyes of Hermes. I would recommend this for younger audiences who are just getting into mythology and don't know much about it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Good introduction to or review of Greek mythology.

Using it for summer reading.

[Macco Dreher · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner, I felt like I already knew the main character. The way this character is written is fascinating as he is an eternal Greek God, but he has the personality of a rebellious teenager.

[Ricki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago, but I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Greek mythology. It is very humorous and makes Greek mythology enjoyable and fun to learn about.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

An alternate side of mythology is masterly shown in this stunning novel by Spinner. With new light on a lesser known myth, it's one that will have you begging for more.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book for my Q in my A-Z challenge. I’m so happy with my choice! I have never read about the Gods before. I loved how it was written and set up.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a well done little read! I’m super impressed.

The snapshots of Hermes’ adventures gave a great progression of character development (although the reader pretty much loves Hermes right off the bat.) I’m a Classical Mythology nut, so I loved all of the little peeks into different mythological stories. However, I think that if a reader had no previous knowledge of Greek mythology, this would be a great introduction.

A really fun (but also at times surprisingly poignant), charming, quick read that I will absolutely recommend to anyone who wants to have a look into the amazing world of stories from Greek mythology.

[Katelin Rice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I taught this book to my eighth graders this year, and It honestly wasn't my favorite. I understood what was trying to e accomplished with it, by incorporating mythology. A lot of my students liked the mythology aspect of it. The general action of the book wasn't bad. It's nice because it isn't a high Lexile level, and lower level readers can keep up, but it also incorporates advanced vocabulary. However, I just didn't enjoy the story. I thought too much happened and too much happened and it was difficult to navigate throughout the story. I'm going to give it a try again next year, and see if I like it better. A lot of the students seemed to enjoy it, so I guess that's what really matters.

[Shavon Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hermes is a the God of mischief and devoted son to Zeus. In this collection of stories we see his role in some of our favorite stories.

He help broker peace between Hades and Demeter after the kidnapping and marraige to Persephone.

He helped pick Paris to judge the beauty contest to start the Trojan War.

He fell in love with Calypso and helped her forget Odysseus.

Some of your favorite myths and stories retold from Hermes point of view, an overlooked God with a heart of gold.

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this retelling of Hermes’s part in some of the biggest Stories in Greek Mythology. The sense of humour was witty and fresh and made me giggle and laugh multiple times.
The story didn’t go into depth as much as I had expected it, and gave more of an overview of events sometimes. However, that narration style fit the light tone of the protagonist himself, who’s known to be more on the funny, easy-going side. It also made it an easy, fun read.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This retelling of Hermes's stories in Greek mythology was engaging enough, especially because it's told in first person, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Perhaps it's because I knew most of what was going to happen, but if it was just a little less amusing, I would have DFN'd. Now, middle grade readers or high school readers with a big interest in Greek myths would absolutely enjoy it. But it was just meh to me.

[Jaya Viswanathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give it a solid 3.5/5. A fun read, and a delightful perspective from Hermes on several of the most popular Greek mythology stories. Some of the most egregious events are a bit glossed over and deeper insight or thoughtfulness is hinted at rather than delved into, however. I did enjoy the wit, humor, and even poetic narration of several events, notably the bond between Hermes and Pegasus. Would recommend for a lighthearted read on a whimsical day.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very lighthearted and surface level look into the exploits and adventures of Hermes. It's perfect for people who are just dipping in to mythology but for those who have had more experience with it, it was pretty boring but not impossible to get through. I did appreciate the way the author told the story of the abduction of Kore and found that to be the most stirring snippet of Hermes's story.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great YA/Greek myth merge! It was fun. I love hearing the stories of familiar myths from a single point of view. And the voice of Hermes is fantastic! I'd love to hear him narrate other stories. Easy read. Worth it!

[caffeinated reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lighthearted clever romp with Hermes to Hades's underworld, Medusa's cave, the Trojan war, and Calypso's ocean's navel - I would have loved to see a segment on Circe at Aiaia and this collection of stories would have been perfect (Madeline Miller meets Stephanie Spinner)!

[Rebeca Aristimuño · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this book 0 stars I would.

It tries so hard to be funny and charming and fails so miserably. I’ve read better stuff by a 12 year old on Wattpad. Thank God I didn’t spend any money on this.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun angle on some very old stories.

[Valarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super quick read, and perfect for the Riordan fan who needs something to read while they wait for the next one.

[Tessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories of Hermes, Greek god of thievery and travels, in a closer narrative, gives light to the famous names of Greek mythology.

[Melissa T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, enjoyable read

[Aleah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of Hermes (the god of Greek mythology) adventures. It's a nice quick read for anyone interested in reading Greek mythology

[Bryson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew the stories already, but I loved reading it from a different perspective. It was from the perspective of Hermes. Greek mythology is one of my favorite genres to read!

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was dragged on too long while also having a very abruped ending. It was just kinda meh

[Sarah Nestler]

Read before September 2022 and before the Great Cleaning - therefore, I have no rating. But I remember that I read it and did not like it enough to keep it.

[Ashley White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, I really enjoyed the perspective but I wanted more developed and longer chapters.