In a sense it is easy to understand how [The King Must Die] remained on the best-seller lists through much of 1958, for it very neatly combines those essentials of popular historical fiction: sex, adventure and a romantic setting. Theseus admirably fits the general requirements, for he is conceived of as a man small in stature but quick in his reflexes who, believing invincibly in his own destiny, compensates for his lack of height by physical and sexual aggressiveness. Furthermore, in the major episode the cruel Minotaur makes a dangerous opponent, the lovely Ariadne a desirable companion and the mysterious Labyrinth a suitable background for the action. Yet much of this action, as might be guessed, is either contrived or melodramatic, and all the characters throughout the story remain two-dimensional and never quite come alive. The style of the book also fails, for, in seeking to surround the story...