Rating: 
Summary: PRESSFIELD DOES IT AGAIN!
Review: This is a great book! If you enjoyed Pressfield's other epic historical fiction you will enjoy this new work. While not quite as good as "Gates of Fire" it is as good or even better than "Tides of War."In the previous two books Pressfield took on historical fact (the battle of Thermapylae & the Peloponnesian War), in this book he deals with the myth of the amazons and their encounter with the Greeks of Athens, two generations before the Trojan War. The book has a number of narrators and it takes some time to get used to the changing narration, but after about 25-50 pages the story really kicks in and your hooked. And make no doubt about it, the strongest characters both on the battlefield and on the page are the women-the amazons-the "tal Kyrte," the free people. Part adventure story and part love story this book delivers. There are battle scenes that are cinematic in their discription of events. So cinematic in fact that James Cameron of "Titanic" fame has optioned this book to make a movie! You'll find yourself turning the pages as fast as you can to find out what happens next and then sorry when your done reading this really great book by the master of greek historical fiction, Steven Pressfield!
Rating: 
Summary: Uggh, what's that smell? Oh, it's this book
Review: This terrible novel emphasizes all the terrible elements of Gates of Fire. Flat, cartoonish characters and stilted writing style. Stunningly bad.
Rating: 
Summary: A world of horses, honour and death
Review: With this novel Pressfield creates a convincing world of the mythological Amazons as semi-nomadic horse warriors of the southern Steppes of Russia. They are presented as a people in touch with nature, who live for honour and battle. A world where strength rules all. This book brings to life the story of the 'rape' of the Amazon (or Tal Kyrte, "the free people" as they call themselves) Queen Antiope and her "abduction" to Athens by Theseus. What follows is a monumental war that will change both the world of Athens and the Amazons. It signals the end of the way of life and not the glory and victory foretold at the start. This book is well written, based on both ancient myths and modern Archaeology. How accurate it actually is we'll probably never know. While well written this book should only read if you have a high tolerance for battle scenes. For me, these were the only sections which somewhat dragged. They were well described and pivitoal to the story but the blood and gore does get to you after a while. In short, a well crafted, but bloody novel.
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