Day of the Minotaur
core novel 1966 The Minotaur Trilogy
Record
| First published | 1966 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.59 (222 ratings, collected 2026-09-07) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780583123945 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
Day of the Minotaur, published by Thomas Burnett Swann in 1966, opens the Minotaur Trilogy amid the Achaean invasion of Bronze Age Crete. Thea and her brother Icarus, children of the dryad Kora and the Minoan prince Aeacus, flee the collapsing palace civilization of Crete as Achaean warriors overrun it, and crash into the hidden, half-mythical Country of the Beasts. There they come under the protection of Eunostos, the last Minotaur, who takes the two frightened human children in and begins teaching them how to survive among a realm populated by centaurs, dryads, and other creatures of old Aegean legend. As Achaean forces eventually push into the Country of the Beasts as well, Thea, Icarus, and Eunostos must decide how to defend a hidden world that human civilization was never meant to reach.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Minotaur Trilogy
- Series: The Minotaur Trilogy core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Thomas Burnett Swann
Awards (verified)
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 1967: finalist; Day of the Minotaur
Notes
- From the series record (The Minotaur Trilogy): Day of the Minotaur first appeared serialized in Fantastic magazine (September/October 1964-January/February 1965) before its 1966 book publication; the print-edition-first rule applies and the book year is used here.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Minotaur Trilogy: position 1 of 3: next The Forest of Forever (1971)
Sources
- Science Fiction Encyclopedia: Swann, Thomas Burnett
- ISFDB: Thomas Burnett Swann
- https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/minotaur-trilogy-thomas-burnett-swann
- The Hugo Awards - 1967
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