Rating: 
Summary: Great, entertaining read
Review: A lot of things really come together to make this book entertaining: an excellent, authentic historical setting; a gripping story; engaging characters; and excellent writing. Mr. Pressfield really brings these ancient characters to life with a sense of persepective that feels honest - by the end of the book Alexandros, Polynikes, Dienekes, "Rooster", and the rest are tremendously well-developed, intelligent, and real characters. You may not symapthise with them; these are, after all, bloody-minded Spartans living in a violent world - but this gives them some authenticity. These are not the characters of some of the later Colleen McCullogh "Masters of Rome" entries, who often just feel like 20th Century Americans in an ancient setting. Gates of Fire offers a real glimpse into Spartan culture. Combine this with an epic and detailed historical setting (Thermopolyae and the attendant ascencion of the Greeks over the Persians) and a writing style that is crisp but intelligent and extremely readable, and you have a book that comes highly reccomended. Now, I'll grant you that occasionally the plot is a little hokey, as other reviewers have commented on; the secret of Leonidis that is revealed at the end got a kind of "uh ... yeah" chuckle from me, and Dienekes intellectual study of fear occasionally didn't wash. But these are rare moments and somewhat orthogonal to what is outstanding about the book. This is great historical fiction, up there with the First Man in Rome and I, Claudius. The book is written from the perspective of Xeones, the sole Spartan survivor of Thermopolyae, telling his life story to a Persian historian. There is a nice touch at the end, in which the Persian historian finally actually meets a character ("Rooster") from Xeones' narrative and has to reconcile the fact that Rooster is perhaps not exactly as Xeones described him. It's just a passing moment in the story, but I thought it was a nice touch, a note of Mr. Pressman's respect for history.
Rating: 
Summary: TRYING TO COPY
Review: Presfiled tried here to copy David Gemmel's outstanding "LION OF MACEDON". But he didn't. Gemmel's book is much, much better.
Rating: 
Summary: SOMETIMES GOOD, SOMETIMES SILLY
Review: Pressfield is really a good writer, but the approach chosen to tell the legenday Thermopylae Battle is sometimes mistaken. The idea of saying that Leonidas chose the Three Hundred based on their wives's courage, is absurd ( but original ). There are some paralels plots that could be better ( Deomache's romance with Xeones, Rooster). Even Polynikes, the most fearless of them all, could have been more explored. Anyway, good enternainment, nothing more than that.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD, BUT NOT A MASTERPIECE AT ALL !
Review: THis book is good reading, but not the masterpiece some reviewers said it is ! Not at all ! There are a lot of flaws in it ( I'm not meaning historically, but in writing style). The battle sequences are great; the idea of a squire survivng the battle and being hold captive by the Persians is great. But sometimes the books is lost in old cliches, like the plot involving Xeones and his old cousin, Deomache. It's totally useless to the history. The chapters are divided according to the most utilyzed character in it. In the chapter called "Polynikes", the great champion almost doesn't appear at all ! ANyway, it's fun to read. Better than Gemmell, for sure !
Rating: 
Summary: The Best War Book Ever
Review: I coulnd't put it down once I picked it up. Easily, the best war story ever told.
Rating:
Summary: Could Not Put It Down
Review: An exciting, one sitting read that tells the tale of 300 of Sparta's best warriors and a few thousand allies as they valiantly sacrifice their lives to slow down an overwhelming force of invading Persians in a narrow mountain pass. After reading the gory and heroic account of these idealistic warriors, I experienced feelings of regret for having missed out on the frenzy of hacking, disemboweling, limb rending carnage, and camaraderie that was the order of the day. I mean I was really ready for a fight. The fact is, that although I have a real love of humanity, and am sometimes overwhelmed with sadness at the costs of war--especially when I see movies like, Saving Private Ryan--I still can't help but get caught up in glorified accounts of war like Gates of Fire. And that bothers me. Part of the reason it bothers me, is that-as a veteran-I should know better. This book gives you a historical glimpse at the mentality, culture, and idealism that would be required to mold a force like the one that stood, fought, and died at Thermopylae in 480 BC. I heartily recommend it to any student of history, honor, war, or adventure. If you have not already done so, I would also recommend reading Catch-22, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Johnny Got His Gun, for a less idealized perspective of war.
Rating:
Summary: Leadership, patriotism, and physical courage
Review: As an Army officer, I have found that leadership is a trait that is so easy to see, yet so difficult to put into words. The examples of outstanding leadership in this book shows exactly what yesterday's and today's soldier looks up to. Also, the absolute physical courage of these men is phenomenal. Their patriotism in the face of certain death was an inspiration to their fellow citizens. An outstanding read for a true time of greatness in the history of mankind. If you enjoy military history, historical fiction, or books that show the development of leaders and soldiers, i.e. Killer Angels, Ender's Game, or Starship Troopers -- then this is a book you'll truly enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Pressfield is he who knows of war and men
Review: Like Pressfield, I am also he who knows of war and men. I am a U.S. soldier who follows the code of the warrior, and I am also an ex-law enforcement officer and a mulitple black belt martial artist as well as a poet novelist. I am also a gay man who understands exactly how close the Greek warriors were to each other when they fought the foe. Pressfield has captured the closeness of the day and also nighttime face-to-face encounters of men who fight the wars that keep us free. This novel cannot be criticized for it is a greater work than the classics of yore. If you are a soldier or have other qualifications like I do then you will shiver and weep as you read this novel. After reading it you will stand at attention and give a perfect hand salute with tears in your eyes in honor of the Spartans who saved the western world.
Rating:
Summary: An experience into a world unkown to us
Review: You open the book and are captivated by the first page. Incredibly written with much detail and accuracy, this book sends you into a world unknow to anyone previously. I have read this book twice, and each time it has meant something different to me, the same sentences effecting my life in different ways. I am a writer and a poet, and since I am currently writing a novel, I understand how hard it is to write and how much time and effort, patience and love Mr. Pressfield must have put into this book. The style of the book takes our world today and introduces to teh Ancient Spartan World through the eyes of a commoner, a person just like us. Not only a novel about war, love, hated, peace, and self-sacrifice, this novel is about us, about the opression of the middle class, about how the world should be. As the story closes to the end, you are left with an unforgetable poem at the end, which I have memoraized. Tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, That here obidient to their laws we lie.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: This book disappointed me. It is not written with the same quality as recent historical fiction like Cold Mountain, The Year of Jubilo, Gone for Soldiers, etc. Not to be recommended.
|
