Book Review - Gates of Fire By Steven Pressfield

A review of

Gates of Fire

By

Steven Pressfield

This is a novel set around the events of the battle of Thermopylae in Ancient Greece, the same battle that inspired the well-known 300 Graphic novel and film. A tale that still captures the imagination of people thousands of years after the events took place. We all know the story; the 300 brave Spartans who stood against the hordes of Persia, hugely outnumbered and yet, still fought and died bravely to the last man, taking a massive toll on the Persian army.

So going into this book I knew how it was going to end, but what I didn’t expect is just how immersed I would become in the lives of the book’s characters. This book gives us a very well researched glimpse into Spartan life and Ancient Greek culture through the eyes of its main protagonist Xeones. Xeones is not a Spartan himself, but through fate he ends up living amongst them. Unable to become a full Spartan warrior, but still a free man he instead becomes the battle squire for the Spartan commander Dienekes. The story flashes forwards and backwards in time, from his childhood, through parts of his life in Spartan Greece, and of course, to the events surrounding the final battle itself. We see his life, learn how they thought, get a glimpse at the Spartan philosophy and mind-set. We meet his family and friends, his comrades in arms. There were so many amazing characters in this book, from his friend Alexandros, to his master Dienekes, to his rivals, each and every one takes an emotional toll by the end of the novel.

One point I found quite jarring at first, but by the end, I found quite fantastic was Pressfield’s use of Ancient Greek words and phrases throughout the novel. I actually learnt quite a lot of the language by the end, so when it was used I really understood the dialogue on a deeper level. This element shows an incredible level of research from the author and brought a real sense of authenticity.

In short this book was fantastic, there are some heavy emotions involved in the read, but is definitely a must read. There is such bravery and valour, and yet, shows the deep philosophical undercurrent of Ancient Greece and the Spartan culture. By the end I felt I truly understood the characters sacrifice.

If you enjoy ancient Greece, or are a fan of any form of military fiction I can recommend… Hell, everyone should just go and read this book. It’s amazing. Do it, but prepare yourself, it hits hard.

Thanks for reading

Lee

Book Review - 300 by Frank Miller

A review of

300

by

Frank Miller

I’ll keep this brief, Spartan, you could say.

I love Frank Miller’s work, and I decided to re-read and review his epic graphic novel 300. Its impact has not lessened from my first reading many years ago.

In case you don’t know, it is the story of the battle of Thermopylae in Ancient Greece. We should all know the story; most of us have seen the excellent film. Three hundred kick-ass Spartan warriors stand against hordes of Persian invaders under the command of King Leonidas. They slaughter the Persians but are eventually overwhelmed and die to last man. We all know the story. But it’s Millers re-telling that makes this so special. The dialogue pulls no punches; it’s snappy and bad-ass. The art style is also on another level, and with the epic ancient story, it all combines to make a truly classic graphic novel. It’s an amazing modern re-telling of an epic story that has endured the ages and inspired us for thousands of years.

If you haven’t read it, and you enjoy graphic novels this is a must. The art is stunning, the writing makes you grimace and smile all at once. It’s simply BAD ASS.

(In the words of Leonidas from the Film)

THIS IS SPARTA!

Thanks for reading,

Lee

Book Review - Along the Razor’s Edge (The War Eternal #1) By Rob J Hayes

A review of

Along the Razor’s Edge

By

Rob J Hayes

Along the Razor’s Edge is the first book of Rob J. Hayes’ new series, The War Eternal. It follows the story of a young girl called Eska. A child Sourcerer (yes, I spelt that right), who fights on the losing side of a great war between empires. She is captured, stripped of her magic and imprisoned deep within an underground prison known as The Pit. A prison mine, full of murders and scum, where they toil their lives away digging, doomed never to see the light of day.

Eska is quite a grim, but badass young woman. Eska burns through her friends as quickly as she does her enemies. A great character, and she just doesn’t know when to quit. I quickly found myself invested in her character, and situation, very quickly.

This book is dark (literally dark, they are underground) and Hayes does a great job of capturing the hopelessness of the subterranean gloom. This book is also violent, the Pit is not a nice or particularly safe place for a young lady – or anybody for that matter. Yet, she meets allies, you could even call them friends at a push, and together they must find some way to survive life in The Pit.

This book is a master class in foreshadowing. Hayes literally tells us major events from the later in the series, perhaps even how it will end, within the first couple of pages. We constantly get drip fed glimpses of Eska’s future exploits as she recounts her youth and time in The Pit. The timeline skips between Eska’s past as a child and trainee at a magic academy to her present day narrative in The Pit.

That reminds me, the magic system of Sourcerers and the sources which Hayes has created here is quite something in itself, refreshingly different, yet brutal to those able to wield it. Liked it!

Despite the choice to reveal those glimpses of the future story, I found myself totally wrapped up in finding out how those mentioned events come about, as I say, a master class in foreshadowing. This book is excellently written, and I particularly enjoyed some of the more creative and colourful language used in this book, some of the curses made me chuckle as I read them.

An excellent and action packed opening novel to his new series. I will be looking forward to continuing Eska’s journey to find out how that foreshadowing works out in the remaining books of The War Eternal series. Check this book out as soon as you can and remember,

No one escapes the Pit!

Thanks for reading,