# Paradise Lost by John Milton

3 Hacker News commenters recommended Paradise Lost by John Milton and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its dense, impressive verse, though one critic calls it unoriginal and derivative of the Bible.

## Why people recommend it

- Dense and impressive to read (1 comments): "one of the most impressive and dense, at least to me, is Milton" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49385397))

## What people warn about

- Seen as derivative of the Bible (1 comments): "The entire thing is unoriginal and fan fiction derivative work of the Bible" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46745383))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Odyssey by Emily Wilson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/odyssey-translated.md): 21 recommend
- [Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gilgamesh.md): 11 recommend
- [The Iliad by Homer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iliad.md): 9 recommend
- [The Claudyssey by Claude Fable 5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/claudyssey.md): 8 recommend
- [Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley](https://hackerapproved.com/p/beowulf.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0023582804?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780023582806) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Paradise Lost by John Milton", https://hackerapproved.com/p/paradise-lost/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).