If you're unfamiliar with the various stories surrounding the ancestors and players in The Trojan War, you might find this book a readable aggregator of the characters and myths. I ended up skimming most of it because I knew the myths and Clarke added nothing new to it. It seems the antithesis of Gemmell, who completely rewrote the War and well-known characters in a way that almost parodied itself. Clarke is very conservative and, IMO, unimaginative. Hoping to find something in the happy middle one of these days.