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I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Just Finished Reading: Tides of War by Steven Pressfield

In the 5th Century BC two of the great super-powers of the age engaged in a bloody war of domination. For 27 years the city states of Sparta and Athens hammered away at each other resulting in the deaths of countless thousands and the wholesale destruction of many cities. Told through the eyes of Polemides, a captain in the Athenian marines, this is a tale of courage, honour, sacrifice and ultimate betrayal. Told primarily in ‘flash-backs’ as Polemides awaits execution for the assassination of the great Athenian General (and traitor) Alcibiades – who was the main focus of the novel - this epic work is a delight to read.

Pressfield again, after Gates of Fire, shows that he has the uncanny ability to put you in the heart of the story, make you feel for the characters and begin to look at their world through their eyes (rather than our own). For the Ancient world is not our world and ancient ways are not our ways, except of course – and this is where Pressfield shines – humanity has remained the same through the ages. We still love, we still fight and we still grieve as the ancients did. Human nature hasn’t really changed in the last 2 thousand years so identification with Athenian or Spartan soldiers and their families is no more difficult that identifying with peoples experiences today.

I did find the political manoeuvring a little slow in places but the battles where beautifully (and bloodily) rendered. When nearly all fighting was hand-to-hand and you saw the man you where killing up close and personal it couldn’t be anything but brutal. I knew a little bit about the Peloponnesian War before reading this and now want to know a whole lot more. I have three more of his books and am looking forward to every one of them. So prepare to see his name here at least a few more times. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the Ancient world, war novels or just a very satisfying read.

2 comments:

wstachour said...

I remember hearing of some of these characters and of the great battles in quotes from the great war movie "Patton" with George C. Scott.

I'm always intrigued when someone can place us in the middle of events from so long ago. As you say, human nature has not changed in that comparative tick of the clock, but our living conditions have changed greatly.

CyberKitten said...

wunelle said: I remember hearing of some of these characters and of the great battles in quotes from the great war movie "Patton" with George C. Scott.

I don't remember the names - but I do remember him walking across some ruins explaining to someone that he fought there in a previous life...

wunelle said: As you say, human nature has not changed in that comparative tick of the clock, but our living conditions have changed greatly.

Definitely. They were basically the same people back then, just as smart as we are, just as fucked up, just as innovative and brave. They just lived in very different circumstances.