07-27-2006, 11:49 AM
07-27-2006, 12:08 PM
I have read "The Gates of Fire" and "the Tides of War" by Pressfield a couple of years ago. The author draws a quite grim picture of ancient Greece, which I appreciate. In my opinion "Gates of Fire" was excellent, very athmospheric in describing the Thermopylae battle.
Also the author seems to know something about the battle tactics of antiquity which is not always so. "The Tides of War" was also good, telling about the peloponnesian war through the eyes of a mercenary and there´s also Alcibiades & Socrates, of course...
I am not an expert of the ancient fiction but these books surely belongs to the top among them.
Also the author seems to know something about the battle tactics of antiquity which is not always so. "The Tides of War" was also good, telling about the peloponnesian war through the eyes of a mercenary and there´s also Alcibiades & Socrates, of course...
I am not an expert of the ancient fiction but these books surely belongs to the top among them.
07-27-2006, 12:31 PM
Ave,
I,too, have read "Gates of Fire" and enjoyed it
very much. The opinions of Virilis are right on target.
It gave me a sense of being there and I actually
felt empathy for the characters.Highly recommended.
I,too, have read "Gates of Fire" and enjoyed it
very much. The opinions of Virilis are right on target.
It gave me a sense of being there and I actually
felt empathy for the characters.Highly recommended.
07-27-2006, 12:51 PM
OK, that's what I needed to know. I was asking because a friend of mine will in a journal interview Frank Holt on http://The land of bones, which deals with Alexander's Afghan Campaign; and he was wondering if it wad a good idea to refer to the Pressfield book. If Pressfield wasn't OK, we would not have mentioned it at all.
07-27-2006, 04:22 PM
One minor quibble with Pressfield in Gates Of Fire...
About midway through the book he has one of the characters (one of the daughters) comment that the young boy's face is a red as a tomato.
Now, perhaps I am mistaken but I was under the impression that tomatoes were unknown in Ancient Greece/Rome.
I do not have the book close to hand but as I remember it there are a couple of instances when Pressfield's characters speak in a decidedly modern idiom.
Again these are minor, though the mention of tomatoes was a bit of a surprise. However, over all I did enjoy the book and think it would be a better basis for a film than Miller's 300.
Narukami
About midway through the book he has one of the characters (one of the daughters) comment that the young boy's face is a red as a tomato.
Now, perhaps I am mistaken but I was under the impression that tomatoes were unknown in Ancient Greece/Rome.
I do not have the book close to hand but as I remember it there are a couple of instances when Pressfield's characters speak in a decidedly modern idiom.
Again these are minor, though the mention of tomatoes was a bit of a surprise. However, over all I did enjoy the book and think it would be a better basis for a film than Miller's 300.
Narukami
07-27-2006, 05:27 PM
Enjoyed Gates of Fire a lot, great book (and yes, I noticed the Tomato thingy, too, but oh well...)
Tides of War was ok, but didn't achieve Gates of Fire's greatness, I though. Probably mostly because the story is a lot less linear.
I did NOT like his Alexander novel, however: Virtues of War. Nowhere near as good as the other two books. I haven't read the Afghan campaign one yet.
Tides of War was ok, but didn't achieve Gates of Fire's greatness, I though. Probably mostly because the story is a lot less linear.
I did NOT like his Alexander novel, however: Virtues of War. Nowhere near as good as the other two books. I haven't read the Afghan campaign one yet.
08-06-2006, 10:27 AM
I have read Pressfield's "Gates of Fire," "Tides of War," and "Last of the Amazons." I enjoyed all of them, but "Gates of Fire" was by far the best of the three. Pressfield writes well and obviously researches his subjects thoroughly, but his technique of character narration can be a bit annoying.
I am looking forward to "The Afghan Campaign."
I am looking forward to "The Afghan Campaign."
12-28-2006, 12:55 PM
well i just finished Afgan Campaign. I had all good intentions but the only words that come in to my mind in order to characterize it is, boring, mediocre (which is worse than bad to me), out of order.
Pressfield did a good job on Gates of Fire and a better one in Tides of War. I was abit annoyed by the anachronisms and his notion to ''americanise'' many elements. But while those elements were distinctive they didnt harmed the story, just added some flavor and maybe life for some peoples opinion. In the Last Amazon he really started to spoil the recipe. he entered in an era before Trojan War and he stiched to classical era with Xena elements. the story wasnt bad at all but the element that we loved in Pressfield ''fiction interact with history in a good proportion mixture'' wasnt there any more. Virtues of War disappointed me as he tryed something very difficult and failed. to enter alexander's mind. You cant just write a valid work when we have so little clues about one of the most complex historical personalities. Alexander being the main character was a trap that he cleverly avoided with Leonidas.
Afgan Campaign instead of a good and interesting work deteriorated to another ''narrator's view'', ''given excessive names in simple things in order to present them as authentic'' Pressfield novel with one distinct characteristic.
The issue is that is a bad characteristic. Pressfield actually wrote a story about Vietnam and Iraq war in mixture but just replaced fireguns with spears and chopters with horses. He totally fails to give us a trip to another time. We are talking that the main character is a major anachronism in whole.
Pressfield did a good job on Gates of Fire and a better one in Tides of War. I was abit annoyed by the anachronisms and his notion to ''americanise'' many elements. But while those elements were distinctive they didnt harmed the story, just added some flavor and maybe life for some peoples opinion. In the Last Amazon he really started to spoil the recipe. he entered in an era before Trojan War and he stiched to classical era with Xena elements. the story wasnt bad at all but the element that we loved in Pressfield ''fiction interact with history in a good proportion mixture'' wasnt there any more. Virtues of War disappointed me as he tryed something very difficult and failed. to enter alexander's mind. You cant just write a valid work when we have so little clues about one of the most complex historical personalities. Alexander being the main character was a trap that he cleverly avoided with Leonidas.
Afgan Campaign instead of a good and interesting work deteriorated to another ''narrator's view'', ''given excessive names in simple things in order to present them as authentic'' Pressfield novel with one distinct characteristic.
The issue is that is a bad characteristic. Pressfield actually wrote a story about Vietnam and Iraq war in mixture but just replaced fireguns with spears and chopters with horses. He totally fails to give us a trip to another time. We are talking that the main character is a major anachronism in whole.
12-28-2006, 09:18 PM
Greetings,
Gates of Fire and Virtues of War, but my favourite is The Last Amazon....(maybe because I am female!)
Gates of Fire and Virtues of War, but my favourite is The Last Amazon....(maybe because I am female!)
12-28-2006, 11:13 PM
The Last Amazon while interesting tale it went completely off from ''historical fiction'' scope. Its more of a fantasy gengre. Which isnt bad by itself but thre are alot better stuff out there in that field, on top of my head the ''Song of fire and Ice'' series and ''Elric'' series. He mixed age of bronze, geometric age, classical age, mythology and personal fiction. Its in my mind in the same level as Manfredi books. Everybody has fun with them but none takes them serious.
The point is that Mr Pressfield thought that he found the goose with golden eggs and started mass production. Well.. steaks are great but if you have them everyday for lunch and dinner eventually you will be sick of them. I think he has to expand his ''media'' if i may say so for a writer, and try for a new breakthrough as Gates of Fire was or else his book will be considered geesy instead of fascinating.
Pitty. its like Metallica. Started a s great innovating band and ended up as the biggest gear in the commercial music industry.
The point is that Mr Pressfield thought that he found the goose with golden eggs and started mass production. Well.. steaks are great but if you have them everyday for lunch and dinner eventually you will be sick of them. I think he has to expand his ''media'' if i may say so for a writer, and try for a new breakthrough as Gates of Fire was or else his book will be considered geesy instead of fascinating.
Pitty. its like Metallica. Started a s great innovating band and ended up as the biggest gear in the commercial music industry.