The Goddess of Buttercups & Daisies

This account of the staging of Aristophanes' play Peace c421 BC may not be exactly how it went down, but it's an engaging comic novel. Aristophanes is having trouble putting on a play about peace in a warlike climate, eternally hopeful lyric poet Luxos is trying to get a break, shady generals and weapons manufacturers want the upcoming peace talks to fail, a deity is sowing discord throughout Athens, and into the middle of all this walk am Amazon and a wood nymph whose powers are not quite as advertised....

Millar writes simply and clearly, and there is a fairytale quality to his writing which makes the next thing to happen seem like the only thing that could have. This is a good read, and a decent depiction of ancient Athens and her dramatic festivals. Long time fans of his work will also be glad to know that this one has two happy endings - it's just that one of them is only halfway through and for a different book that's twenty odd years old and set thousands of years later.