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Books Like The Odyssey – 12 Epic Reads Filled with Adventure, Myth and Unforgettable Journeys
If you’ve just finished The Odyssey and are wondering what to read next, you may be surprised by just how many books carry echoes of Homer’s ancient epic.
At its heart, The Odyssey is not only a story about Greek gods and mythical monsters. It is a story about an exhausting journey home, the pull of the unknown, the danger of obsession, the temptation to abandon your path, and the question of who you become after years spent wandering.
Whether you loved the treacherous sea voyage, the lyrical language, the interventions of gods and monsters, Penelope’s story back in Ithaca, or Odysseus’s determination to return home, these books capture different parts of what makes The Odyssey so enduring.
Below are some of our favourite books like The Odyssey—from Greek epics and mythology retellings to literary classics and imaginative stories of survival, identity and adventure.
1. The Iliad by Homer
This is naturally one of the best places to begin. While The Odyssey follows Odysseus’s long journey home after the Trojan War, The Iliad takes readers back to the war itself.
Rather than covering the entire conflict, the poem focuses on the anger of Achilles and the devastating consequences it has for both the Greeks and Trojans. It is filled with gods, warriors, pride, grief, violence and unforgettable acts of courage.
The Iliad is darker and more concentrated than The Odyssey, but it shares the same grand language, complicated heroes and extraordinary sense of mythic scale.
2. The Aeneid by Virgil
Written centuries after Homer’s epics, The Aeneid follows the Trojan warrior Aeneas as he escapes the ruins of Troy and searches for a new homeland.
Like Odysseus, Aeneas must cross dangerous seas, resist temptation, descend into the underworld and contend with the will of the gods. However, while Odysseus is trying to return to the home he has lost, Aeneas is attempting to create a home that does not yet exist.
For readers who loved the wandering structure, divine interventions and dangerous encounters of The Odyssey, The Aeneid is an essential next read.
3. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Moby-Dick may not be based on Greek mythology, but it shares far more with The Odyssey than you might initially expect.
Both books take readers on vast and dangerous sea voyages filled with strange encounters, philosophical reflections and the overwhelming power of the natural world. While Odysseus is driven by his desire to return home, Captain Ahab is driven further from safety by his obsessive search for the white whale that once injured him.
Melville’s language is poetic, dramatic and sometimes almost biblical in scale. If you loved the sea, symbolism and larger-than-life storytelling of The Odyssey, Moby-Dick is a brilliant and surprisingly fitting choice.
4. Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe takes one of the most memorable figures from The Odyssey and finally places her at the centre of her own story.
Born among the gods but lacking their beauty and power, Circe discovers that she possesses the gift of witchcraft. Banished to the island of Aiaia, she encounters famous figures from mythology—including Daedalus, the Minotaur, Medea and, eventually, Odysseus.
Madeline Miller transforms Circe from a brief obstacle in a hero’s adventure into a complicated, lonely and fiercely independent woman. It is perfect for readers who want to return to the world of The Odyssey while seeing its characters from an entirely different perspective.
5. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
While Odysseus travels across the seas, Penelope remains in Ithaca, surrounded by suitors and uncertain whether her husband will ever return.
In The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood allows Penelope to tell her version of the story from the underworld. Her account is intelligent, witty and often deeply unsettling, particularly when she considers the fate of the twelve maids who were executed after Odysseus’s homecoming.
This is a short but powerful reimagining that questions heroism, loyalty and whose voices are preserved within famous stories. It is an excellent choice for readers who were particularly intrigued by Penelope’s side of The Odyssey.
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
James Joyce’s Ulysses is one of the most famous novels inspired by The Odyssey—and also one of the most challenging.
Rather than travelling across a mythical sea, Leopold Bloom wanders through Dublin over the course of a single day. The novel’s characters, episodes and themes loosely correspond with those found in Homer’s poem, transforming an epic adventure into an exploration of ordinary life.
Its experimental style will not be for every reader, but those who loved the poetry, symbolism and storytelling possibilities of The Odyssey may find it incredibly rewarding. Like Homer, Joyce shows that a journey does not need to cross the entire world to feel monumental.
7. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Life of Pi is another extraordinary story about survival at sea, although its hero faces a very different collection of dangers.
After a shipwreck, sixteen-year-old Pi Patel becomes stranded in a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean. His only companion is a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and survival requires courage, ingenuity and an almost impossible amount of hope.
Like The Odyssey, the novel combines physical adventure with questions about storytelling, faith and the nature of truth. It also captures the same mixture of wonder and terror that comes from being completely at the mercy of the sea.
8. The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason
The Lost Books of the Odyssey imagines that Homer’s famous story might have survived in dozens of different forms.
Across a series of short and inventive chapters, Zachary Mason reshapes familiar characters and events. Odysseus encounters alternative versions of his journey, Penelope’s role changes, and the boundaries between heroes, monsters and storytellers become increasingly uncertain.
This is a particularly good choice for readers who already know The Odyssey well and would like to see its story dismantled and rebuilt in unexpected ways. It feels less like a traditional retelling and more like discovering fragments from several strange, forgotten myths.
9. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
At first glance, Piranesi may seem very different from The Odyssey. However, both stories follow isolated men attempting to understand strange worlds while holding onto a fragile idea of home.
Piranesi lives within an apparently endless House filled with enormous statues, flooded halls and mysterious tides. As he explores its rooms and records its wonders, he begins to uncover unsettling gaps in his own memory.
The novel is dreamlike, atmospheric and beautifully written. Readers who enjoyed the mysterious islands, shifting identities and sense of wonder found throughout The Odyssey should find plenty to love here.
10. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader follows a ship sailing beyond the borders of the known world in search of seven missing lords.
Along the way, its crew discovers enchanted islands, terrifying creatures, cursed treasure, strange transformations and places governed by unfamiliar rules. Each island presents a new test, giving the book the same episodic feeling as Odysseus’s voyage.
Although written for younger readers, it remains a wonderfully imaginative adventure. It is an especially strong choice for anyone whose favourite parts of The Odyssey were its monsters, magical islands and constant sense that anything might appear beyond the horizon.
11. The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Buried Giant follows an elderly couple, Axl and Beatrice, as they travel across a mist-covered version of ancient Britain in search of a son they can barely remember.
Their journey brings them into contact with warriors, monks, ogres, dragons and the lingering consequences of an old war. However, the novel is less interested in heroic battles than it is in memory, love, forgiveness and the stories people tell themselves in order to continue living.
Like The Odyssey, it is both an adventure and a meditation on what it really means to return home after conflict. Its quiet, dreamlike style makes it an excellent choice for readers looking for something more literary and reflective.
12. Ithaca by Claire North
Ithaca returns to the island Odysseus has left behind and explores what happens there while its king is missing.
Penelope is surrounded by ambitious men who believe that Odysseus must be dead and that one of them should claim both his wife and his kingdom. Although she appears outwardly patient and obedient, she must quietly navigate political threats while protecting Ithaca from collapse.
Narrated by the goddess Hera, the novel shifts attention away from the famous warriors and towards the women who maintain kingdoms while men pursue glory. It is ideal for readers who want a fresh mythology retelling with intrigue, intelligence and a strong focus on Penelope’s experience.
Looking for More Books Inspired by Mythology and the Classics?
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Our personalised book subscriptions are designed to help you discover books you probably wouldn’t have chosen for yourself, with every selection tailored to your favourite authors, genres and themes.
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Happy reading!