''The Gryphon's Skull'' is a historical fiction novel written by H.N. Turteltaub (a pseudonym of

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...

). It was first published in hardcover by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese sci ...

in December 2002, and in paperback by the same publisher in December 2003. The book was reissued under the author's real name as an ebook by

Phoenix Pick Phoenix Pick is the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Arc Manor Publishers based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Phoenix Pick publishes many classic and semi-classic works of science fiction and fantasy. These include '' Dark Univ ...

in March 2014, and as a trade paperback by the same publisher in April of the same year. It is the second book in the Hellenic Traders series.

Plot summary

The book follows the adventures of Menedemos and his cousin, Sostratos, seafaring traders from Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean in the years after Alexander the Great. The plot centers around the discovery of an apparent

gryphon The griffin, griffon, or gryphon ( Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and ...

skull (in reality a skull from a dinosaur), and the efforts of Sostratos to get the skull back to scholars for study.

Reception

The book was reviewed by K. V. Bailey in ''Vector'' 227, January 2003, and Peter Heck (2003) in ''Asimov's Science Fiction'', May 2003.

References

2002 American novels Hellenic Traders novels Novels set in ancient Greece Tor Books books Novels set in the 4th century BC {{2000s-hist-novel-stub