Amazon.com
Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.
Thus reads an ancient stone at Thermopylae in northern Greece, the site of one of the world's greatest battles for freedom. Here, in 480 B.C., on a narrow mountain pass above the crystalline Aegean, 300 Spartan knights and their allies faced the massive forces of Xerxes, King of Persia. From the start, there was no question but that the Spartans would perish. In Gates of Fire, however, Steven Pressfield makes their courageous defense--and eventual extinction--unbearably suspenseful.
In the tradition of Mary Renault, this historical novel unfolds in flashback. Xeo, the sole Spartan survivor of Thermopylae, has been captured by the Persians, and Xerxes himself presses his young captive to reveal how his tiny cohort kept more than 100,000 Persians at bay for a week. Xeo, however, begins at the beginning, when his childhood home in northern Greece was overrun and he escaped to Sparta. There he is drafted into the elite Spartan guard and rigorously schooled in the art of war--an education brutal enough to destroy half the students, but (oddly enough) not without humor: "The more miserable the conditions, the more convulsing the jokes became, or at least that's how it seems," Xeo recalls. His companions in arms are Alexandros, a gentle boy who turns out to be the most courageous of all, and Rooster, an angry, half-Messenian youth.
Pressfield's descriptions of war are breathtaking in their immediacy. They are also meticulously assembled out of physical detail and crisp, uncluttered metaphor:
The forerank of the enemy collapsed immediately as the first shock hit it; the body-length shields seemed to implode rearward, their anchoring spikes rooted slinging from the earth like tent pins in a gale. The forerank archers were literally bowled off their feet, their wall-like shields caving in upon them like fortress redoubts under the assault of the ram.... The valor of the individual Medes was beyond question, but their light hacking blades were harmless as toys; against the massed wall of Spartan armor, they might as well have been defending themselves with reeds or fennel stalks.
Alas, even this human barrier was bound to collapse, as we knew all along it would. "War is work, not mystery," Xeo laments. But Pressfield's epic seems to make the opposite argument: courage on this scale is not merely inspiring but ultimately mysterious. --Marianne Painter
Book Description
The national bestseller!
At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.
Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history--one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale....
From the Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
A good historic fiction read.......2007-10-09
If you enjoy this time era and especially The Spartans, you will not go wrong with this book.
Powerful.......2007-10-01
I don't read much fiction, but a friend of mine bought this book for me. I read it and was impressed by how well written this historical fiction is. Anyone interested in warfare, modern or ancient, should look into this book. Pressfield gives such an authentic account of how Spartans would have acted on a day-to-day basis.
One of the best books I've ever read.......2007-09-25
This book is absolutely amazing. One of the best reads ever. Not only does it describe the battle but it also details the life of a Spartan. I wish 300 was based on the story presented here
A different view........2007-09-21
The story of the 300 is generally limited in scope. "The Spartans had 300 guys who fought to the death to keep the Persians out."
Pressfield gives us the background. He tells us about the politics, the geopolitics, the war, the characters such as Leonidas and his wife. He has vignettes in the words of Spartan warriors.
With Pressfield, we can see the stand of the 300 in its place. I was reminded of something the aviator/writer Wolfgang Langweische said half a century ago. Boulder Dam, he said, is enormous. But when you fly over it, it's in its proper place, like a child jamming a pebble in the narrowest part of a trickle of water. Which, when you think about it, is what is supposed to happen.
Circumstances conspired to put 300 Spartans and several hundred of their tough allies in a tiny mountain pass. They were the pebble, but instead of blocking a trickle, they were trying to hold back a torrent.
Pressfield has Leonidas say that the performance of the Spartans in killing Persians should be such that, although victorious, the Persians will quail at seeing a battle line containing not 300 Spartan shields, but six thousand.
Pressfield gives us glimpses of training new soldiers and the field work of the experienced soldiers. His characters refer to the more or less normal fights between the city states, with enough detail and immediacy to put the reader into the fight.
We learn a lot about classical Greek combat.
It's a fabulous story. The stand of the 300 was very likely one of the few battles which could be said to have preserved the West, matched with Tours and Lepanto.
And yet. And yet. Pressfield has the Spartans nearly as philosopher kings. See, instead, Hanson's "Soul of Battle". The Spartan society was a vicious, fascist slave empire. It was as if a couple of Waffen SS divisions had found themselves a big, fertile valley in the Ukraine someplace and missed the end of WW II, being left untouched and unknown by the outside world.
The demands of war and the bonding of the combat units, in addition to the classical Greek view of man-love, required the distortion of the family and the degradation of women. The necessity of keeping the helots in thrall required routine terror and, indeed, the young Spartan was used to execute those serfs whose deaths might be a salutary lesson, just in case, as a way of blooding the youth for combat.
Vlad the Impaler fought the Turks in Southeast Europe and to him, unfortunately, we owe a bit of our existence. The same is true for the Spartans. It's too bad we couldn't get this lesson of courage and honor from, say, the democracy of Athens. It appears that some of the doomed allies of the Spartans who stood with them, and died alike, came from somewhat more acceptable polities. But they didn't get the ink.
Nevertheless, it's a fascinating book which actually is one of those examples of the cliche about not being able to put it down.
Spartan Ethos Alive Again.......2007-09-17
This is one of the best historical fictions I have ever encountered--certainly one of the best evocations of ancient warfare. Without the benefit of personal experience of either subject, ancient warfare or warfare of any kind, I would also guess that this novel is one of the most insightful anaylses of the psychology of combat. This book is an impressive achievement of the imagination. Steven Pressfield has re-discovered or re-created the Spartan ethos in terms of what it surely was in its time--a spiritual force. And he does it without disguising it origins in a slave revolt and a deliberate policy to crush the resistance of its Helot population. From those ugly and life-denying origins, a way of life--an ethic of sorts and a vision of essentials--emerged and took on a life of its own. Appropriately, this novel is about personal transformations under the aegis of that way of life.
Average customer rating:
- Again, Amazed
- Fire Sea - Death Gate Cycle takes a very dark turn...
- One of the best!
- sorta ok sometimes
- Not bad, it is a shame the rest of the series was not written as well
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Fire Sea: The Death Gate Cycle, Volume 3 (Death Gate Cycle)
Margaret Weis , and
Tracy Hickman
Manufacturer: Spectra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0553295411
Release Date: 1992-02-01 |
Book Description
Abarrach, the Realm of stone. Here, on a barren world of underground caverns built around a core of molten lava, the lesser races -- humans, elves, and dwarves -- seem to have all died off. Here, too, what may well be the last remnants of the once powerful Sartan still struggle to survive. For Haplo and Alfred -- enemies by heritage, traveling companions by necessity -- Abarrach may reveal more than either dares to discover about the history of Sartan... and the future of all their descendants.
Customer Reviews:
Again, Amazed.......2007-07-09
From the first to the last this cycle is AWESOME! This one in particular really leaves the strongest impact of "What's going to happen next?" burning in your mind at the end so be sure to have the next one handy when you near the end because you won't be able to wait too long! Again I must say WARNING - this Cycle is addicting.
Fire Sea - Death Gate Cycle takes a very dark turn..........2006-02-23
Fire Sea, the third of seven books in Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Death Gate Cycle is just as good as the previous two, if not better. This entry in the series takes place in Abarrach, the Realm of Stone.
It starts out different from all the rest, with the first seven chapters being part of a diary from Balthazar, King Edward's necromancer. Soon, as Haplo is about to enter the Death Gate, Alfred (from Dragon Wing) drops in and goes with Haplo to Abarrach. They soon discover that the Sartan found here practice Necromancy, or the art of bringing back the dead. This is discovered much to Alfred's horror, as he cannot believe his race would do such a thing.
The book continues, with many conflicts and sub-conflicts rising up and making for a very dark and interesting read. We get to see inside Haplo, and we discover he is not all Sartan-hater we think he is. We also find that Haplo is not invincible and that Alfred is more powerful than we knew.
Fire Sea is an amazing book in the Death Gate Cycle, and I cannot wait to read Serpent Mage!
P.S: Be sure to read the appendicies...They're important!
One of the best!.......2005-09-27
Fire Sea is book #3 of a seven book series. While the previous two volumes are quite good in themselves, this is the one that takes this series to a whole new level. I truly believe that Weis & Hickman did their best bit of writing as a team on this one book. The enviroment is so alive (in a dark sort of way).
"Gripping" is the word I would use to describe Fire Sea. I don't want to give away any spoliers, but believe me, the conflicts involved and the atmosphere itself will keep you turning pages for several hours. The storyline is very dark and morbid. The dead walk freely in Abarrach and the living are slowly dying off. The novel describes the struggle of the living as they try to survive a world that is killing them, just as they are unknowlingly killing themselves.
It is simply brilliant work, and I would freely recommend the book to anyone.
sorta ok sometimes.......2005-08-13
eh.. Decent books but tend to be weak in my view. They have some killer ideas but at the same time seem to get lost and opt not to take these books to a level higher than just run of the mill fantasy.
Not bad, it is a shame the rest of the series was not written as well.......2005-07-30
First, I will tell you how to get the most enjoyment out of this series. Start with going to the library and renting all of these books. Do not buy them as they are not worth it. Then read books 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 without reading the footnotes or the appendixes. You have the option of reading books 2 and 5 if you are really enjoying the series, but they are only filler and do not even need to be skimmed. Finally, accept the fact that Weis and Hickman may only be one hit wonders and move on.
Second, I write reviews for those who seek good fantasy and not for the zealots who hang on every Weis and Hickman word. You would think from some of the reviews of this series that these books were greater than War and Peace and written by Bronte and Conrad. In reality, this series is not very good. I am not trying to trash Weis and Hickman, I found the Dragon Lance series to be extremely enjoyable and would give at least the first two series of that line four stars. This series deserves no more than 2 stars. The books are incomplete thoughts that may have been much better had the authors taken more time to flesh out the story. Beware of fantasy books that contain footnotes and appendixes. Usually, these are the telltale signs of poor writing. Having said that, I did manage to read most of these seven books and here are some thoughts.
Many reviewers have made a lot of the fact that Xar is actually tsar or czar. I fail to see the significance here. Xar is a ruler and a tsar is a ruler. So what? What I found to be much more interesting and ultimately distracting was the use, by the authors, of the word mensch. Mensch is a Hebrew word. It is not close to a Hebrew word, it is a Hebrew word. If you look it up, mensch means a person of integrity and honor. What are the authors trying to say here? That all people without ambition or power are full of integrity and honor. I read all seven books trying to understand the use of this word to no avail.
Not surprising considering the books are filled with errors and inconsistencies. Some of these errors and inconsistencies are no doubt addressed in the footnotes and appendixes, but it would take an additional seven books to address all the problems. I believe that most of these problems occurred because the authors did not take the time to complete their work. Perhaps they were pressured by their publisher.
Most of the characters are thinly veiled shadows of those characters from the Dragon Lance series. Only, these characters are not as interesting or as engaging. Part of the problem is that Weis and Hickman never determine where they want the story to go. They blur the line between good and evil, then they erase the line, then they re-draw the line in bold. In Dragon Lance, it was intriguing to see how the characters dealt with the discovery of the duality of their own nature. In this book it is just confusing.
Customer Reviews:
Great Story - Beatifully Told!.......2007-06-24
Everybody dies. So did these 300 Greeks. But the world will never forget their choice of death.
It is incorrect that the battle at Thermopylae changed the course of history. That was the battle at Marathon, some years before, when the Greek cities were unprepared and only the city of Athens was able to scrape a small army which, beautifully generaled by Miltiadis, defeated the first Persian campaign and, thus, averted the infusion of Asia into Europe.
Thermopylae was only a moral victory. In every sense as well in the sense that it demoralized the Persian troops. Pressfield does a fair job in making his reader get a taste of the Spartan way of life. The loyalty to the city-state, the devotion to the ideals of freedom and the personal sacrifices offered to safeguard it.
Not to be taken as a history lesson - yet, could be a great excuse to get interested in the period that shaped the western civilization.
Highly Recommended!
GREAT!!.......2007-03-07
This is GREAT! Read it and love it! Seriously, it's a very good book that does an excellent job of passing on the Spartan world to the modern reader. It's very gritty and hard and everything you could imagine Sparta to be. The only weakness (and this is a MINOR criticism) is the intrigue going on in Sparta with the slaves. I didn't care about it or for it one bit. Otherwise, if you know anything about history, you'll dread reading the last two chapters because you know what is coming. The best part, though, is that you dread the end for the characters you don't like - because Pressfield gets you to respect the Spartans above everything else. AWESOME STUFF!!
Absolutely Incredible.......2007-01-10
This is quite possibly the most incredible book that i've ever read. On an epic scale, the true story told through a fictional character's eyes is spellbinding and gritty. The reality of it is difficult to grasp, but Pressfield's vivid description and brilliant conveyance of emotion is captured in each line and will keep you enthralled until the end. The beginning is a bit slow, but the rest more than makes up for it. Once you get over all the Greek names and city names that are presented in the opening set-up, the story climbs until reaching the pinnacle of which you won't be disappointed. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone that enjoys history, has been in the military, or just likes to read, it really is that good.
Customer Reviews:
1st rate biography.......2005-08-22
Over the past 25 years I have read dozens of biographies. Most are not much more than a chronological listings of a person's accomplishments with little depth or analysis. This is one of the few biographies I have read that helps us understand the person which is what a real biography should do. But it is more than a biography. It helps us understand the life and the times of Tom McCall. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get to know Tom McCall, Oregon political history of the mid 20th century and the environmental movement.
Tom McCall's Story Is Oregon's Story.......2003-07-27
More than two decades after his death, almost three decades after he left the governor's office, Tom McCall remains the defining figure of Oregon politics. It was during his tenure in office (1967-1975) that Oregon gained its reputation as a national leader in innovative public policy.
The McCall era saw Oregon protect virtually all of its beaches for public use; adopt the first bottle bill in the nation; clean up the Willamette River; adopt the country's first statewide land-use planning system; and much more. Although many of these concepts did not originate with McCall, he was the catylist and provided the leadership to make them a reality.
This era is brilliantly chronicled by Brent Walth in "Fire At Eden's Gate." Walth, a reporter for the Eugene Register-Guard, and now The Oregonian, knows the state and its leadership well, and this allows him to tell the McCall story with comprehensiveness and clarity. But this is more than a political biography; Walth also chronicles the story of McCall's celebrated family (including grandfather Thomas W. Lawson, "the Copper King"), his path to the governor's office, and his sometimes troubled personal life.
Anyone interested in understanding Oregon public life in the second half of the 20th century should enjoy and benefit from reading this well-crafted biography.
Where have all the Tom McCall's gone??.......2003-02-17
This biography of the modern day father of Oregon, makes this native long for days past. For days when Oregon was a leader on the national politcla/cultural/social scene.
Walth does an excellent job detailing not only the political successes of one of Oregon's greatest politicians, but also of the man's personal shortcomings.
I am not certain how much appeal this book will have to non-Oregonian's or people who are unfamiliar with the Pacific Northwest, but I feel that it should be required reading by all students of political science attending Oregon universities.
Our state legislators who are constantly invoking McCall's name and legacy to advance their own political gains, would do well to read this biography. Our elected officials of today pale in comparison to the individual giants of years past.
Oregonians Explained.......2003-02-09
I am a Native Oregonian living on the east coast and this book helped me understand why I feel like a fish out of water in the midst of uncontrolled suburban sprawl, minimal recycling facilities, and chemical pollution violations are repeatedly ignored by local politicians.
Mr. Walth's book was exciting to read. I recommend it to anyone seeking to understand Oregonians and why we're so proud of the place we call home. Brent Walth tells the story of how Tom McCall gave us that pride.
biography equally about Oregon as it is about McCall.......1999-10-30
Deserves a place in every hotel and bed/breakfast gift shop across Oregon -- for visitors to the Pacific Northwest to pick up. Walth tells the McCall story and in doing so coaches the reader about the things Oregonians are the most passionate about. Most of us cannot travel to another state and name their most famous governor -- yet McCall's legacy is often mentioned by domestic and international visitors to Oregon.
Book Description
Lauren Dane discovers a doorway to another reality in Cat Creek, North Carolina -- and she crosses over, driven by a strange compulsion she can neither resist nor comprehend. Molly McColl is brought there against her will -- kidnapped from her trailer and carried into a realm that traps her, terrifies her...yet offers her a strange and wondrous escape.
In an extraordinary universe of magic and monsters, two strangers sharing only pain and loss must now pursue the destiny that has united them. Because worlds are suddenly threatened by an evil beyond imagining -- the world they have entered...and the one the have left behind.
Customer Reviews:
A promising beginning.......2007-01-11
The first book of a series, and it came out of the gate with a bang (no pun intended). Holly Lisle has a very readable style. The characters are well developed and likeable. Yes, that's important, at least to me. I deplore the trend of characters so flawed you'd rather the author just have a hole open at their feet and swallow them up than continue reading about them. This book is nothing like that. The characters are clearly defined, have some intense problems, experience triumphs and setbacks, make and end relationships. Good thought was given to creating a distinctive universe with its various peoples and the laws that govern it. I will buy the next book, and hope to say that the excellence continues.
AWESOME.......2006-09-17
This book is awesome! Didn't want to put it down. Totally wanting to read the next one...
Impossible to put down.......2005-12-17
From the moment Molly McColl is dragged from her bed, kicking and fighting, Holly Lisle's Memory of Fire rips along at an incredible pace. We're hauled off to another world that seems like a familiar place but it's very different, with feuding non-human societies, prophecies of doom and a prison shielded in copper. Back in our world, the situation's even worse. The Sentinels, the guardians of the pathways between worlds, are trying to sort out some anomalous trans-world traffic, and the possibility that someone on the inside has betrayed them.
Lisle has created an extraordinary and tightly woven set of worlds and rules, with intriguing constructions like a chain of upworlds and downworlds, threads of causality that seep through, spanning dimensions, that can affect each other, sometimes with subtle results, occasionally you end up with sweeping destruction.
There is nothing I love more in fantasy than an author's inventive use of traditional devices: mirrors that lead to another realm, "gods" that walk among us, ancient jewelry with protective powers. These ideas cross cultures. We understand a mirror as a magical device, but it is the storyteller's genius that turns it into something unconventional. We don't know where it leads, why it was left for us to find, or what happens to us when we touch it or step through it. We're compelled to find out.
Memory of Fire: Simple and splendid, effortless to read, impossible to put down.
I'm sorry to admit that I have not read enough of Holly Lisle's work. I read her blog and have browsed her essays on publishing and writing. I see her books on the shelves. Hey, I'm always keen to correct my faults--just one more step on my journey to being fault-free!
An enjoyable and quick read.......2003-10-09
This book is obviously the first in a series with some faults that most such books suffer from. They did not, however, spoil my enjoyment of this story. I wish Molly Mcoll had been used more, she was in the story quite a bit, but seemed to lack something. The author seems to have preferred her sister, Lauren, over her. We see much deeper into Lauren's life than we ever do Molly's. I found myself disliking the sentinels--too sanctimonious for my liking. Also, the bad guys were glossed over severely. The three rogue sentinels seem to have zero character and zero motivations (except maybe simple greed) for their actions. I just didn't believe in them.
Ah... but the world of the Vodi and Veyar. That worked brilliantly for me. I loved the setting and is one of the big reasons I give this book four stars and not three. The veyar as a people were interesting, the idea of a Copper House to shield the occupants from magic was good. The Vodi's necklace... excellent again. The only thing really wrong with this book was the weak bad guys. They seemed like generic opportunists and were only in the book to give the good guys something to do.
Overall, this was an enjoyable and quick read but it came across as a simple introduction to book two. I am writing this review after finishing The Wreck of Heaven (book2) by the way, so I have the benefit of hindsight, which is 20/20 :¬)
Mark E. Cooper
Warrior Within (ISBN: 0-9545122-0-0)
The Secret Masters Fumble One.......2003-05-07
Memory of Fire is the first novel in the World Gates series. The Sentinels are a secret organization who monitor and, to some extent, control traffic between universes. They have been around a long time and have infiltrated the power structure. They have some ability to use magic. They are the Conspiracy that people have dreamed and ranted about.
The Sentinel's circle in Cat Creek, North Carolina, is having problems. First a blip shows on the instruments and later gates start dropping and have to be reset. The last incident was met with a full scale excursion into Oria, but no clues were found ... publicly. The circle starts monitoring all their gates for more events and tries to triangulate from the available data.
The first event was Molly McColl being kidnapped and taken through a World Gate to Oria. There she is welcomed as the Vodi, a being who is powerful in magic. However, she is being kept in a copper covered room that grounds her magic. Seolar, Master of Copper House, has arranged for her kidnapping in order to protect his people from the ravages of other magic users and Molly eventually begins to like him more than a little.
The second event was Lauren Hotchkiss Dane opening the old Hotchkiss gate. Lauren has returned to Cat Creek after the death of her husband, Brian. She discovered that her family home was on the market and used the SGLI payment to buy it and now she has brought her son Jake to the old home place to live. Someone has covered the large wall mirror in the living room with black paint and she spends an afternoon scaping it clear. When she looks in the mirror, she sees a hint of green and it somehow attracts her. Later, after Jake is in bed, she discovers that she can put her hand through the mirror without ill effects. She waits until Jake awakes and then goes through the mirror to Oria.
Eric MacAvery is the town sheriff as well as a Sentinel and is in the center of the whole mess. He knows that Molly has disappeared, but not how or why. He is a childhood friend of Lauren, but she keeps her secrets from him ... for a while. He knows that someone in his circle is a traitor, but not who or why. On top of all this, someone or something has caused a level five rebound breakthrough, which could cause 3 billion deaths worldwide.
This novel adds new life to an old SF plot, creating a hierarchial multiverse where energy flows down and spirituality flows up and introduces a threat which will destoy the inhabitants of all the universes if something is not done soon. Lauren's parents, who were long ago expelled from the Sentinels, have hidden notes describing some forbidden experiments that may be the only hope for the survival of the people in countless universes.
This novel is full of plot twists and turns, but focuses mostly on the interpersonal relationships. One cannot help liking Molly, Lauren, Jake, Eric, and even, reluctantly, Seolar.
Recommended for Lisle fans and anyone who enjoys a new approach to the secret masters of the universe plot.
Amazon.com
This sequel to The Shadow of Ararat is the second book in the Oath of Empire series, set in an alternate Roman Empire circa A.D. 623. Prince Maxian, younger brother to Galen, Emperor of the Western Empire (Rome), and Heraclius, Emperor of the Eastern Empire (Constantinople), has returned to Rome to disrupt the magical power of the centuries-old oath of allegiance to the Emperor that all legionnaires take. Maxian believes the oath constrains citizens to a narrow path, stifling creativity as well as any thought of disobedience, and he intends to use all his sorcerous power--and the help of Alexander the Great and Gaius Julius Caesar, whom he has raised from the dead--to succeed. The Empire, meanwhile, is threatened by multiple enemies: The insane Persian necromancer Dahak is determined to raise an army by any means to regain the Peacock Throne toppled by the Empire. Zoë, niece of Palmyra's Queen Zenobia, and her ragged but determined followers plot revenge on Rome for allowing the Persians to sack and destroy their beloved city. And in the deserts of Iraq, a man named Mohammed is driven by a prophetic vision to build an army against the Empire. Harlan's attention to detail is impressive, at times overwhelming, as he fills the broad canvas of his hypothetical Roman Empire. Readers with the stamina to follow every thread of the multitudinous plot lines here will find a vigorously imagined, thought-provoking story. --Charlene Brusso
Book Description
The Persian sorcerer has withdrawn to a hidden citadel of the King of Kings and a very special new servant. He vows to regain the Peacock throne.Prince Maxian has raised both Julius Ceasar and Alexander the great from the dead. Now, with the power that their legends can offer him, he will risk all to free Rome from the curse that protects the Empire but dooms it to stagnation.And in the East, Dwyrin's thaumaturgic unit is shattered when Zo discovers the destruction of Palmyra. She vows revenge against the Empire that abandoned her city to its fate and goes to raise the Deccopolis against Rome, while in the city of Mecca, a survivor of Plamyra received a vision, a command, and the power to strive against the forces of darkness.The war is far from over. Now there are three alliances where once there were only two, and three Powers to strive for control of the Earth.
Customer Reviews:
like it, but it is part of a 2000 page book.......2004-08-26
The second book of Oath of Empire is really enjoyable to some... in particular for those who may think the failures of Rome have important lessons for today. It helps to be able to read tomes very quickly. I am curious about where the author is headed as I start the 3rd book - in particular omitting Jesus and emphasizing Mohammed is hopefully going to be an interesting speculation and food for thought. This is the 4th book I've read by the author... all suffer a bit from weak editing, silly covers, excessive length, and minor inconsistencies. The stories are still good, tho!
Action and depth.......2003-05-30
I have finished the first three of the Oath of Empire books. I appreciate Harlan's style and realism. The characters are distinct and undergo believable growth and change. Dahak is a superb "bad guy" his strategies and actions are intelligent and chillingly effective. He is not without weakness but he recognizes that and adjusts accordingly. Nothing is more fun than a bad guy you respect. Overall a pleasurable and intelligent read. I got a little tired of Zoe's whining though...
The saga wanders on..........2001-10-31
Gate of Fire is vol. 2 of Harlan's Oath of Empire series of fantasy alternate history. The plot line is given above. He makes no concession if you haven't read vol. 1 (Shadow of Ararat). Then again do you want to? I'm not sure why I've continued. His writing style is thorough but most unexciting, a bit of a drag. And so much incident of doubtful relevance (or, to what?). Where was his editor? I think I keep going on the basis of his detailed descriptions and situations of a realistically described Roman Empire of the 7th century A.D., but one where magic works. Harlan has done a great amount of historical and geographic research on the background of Rome in the Near East. I find his examination of the rise of Mohammed one of the most fascinating, and timely, aspects of the saga.
This volume 2 is a transitional work. Following the war against Persia (vol. 1), people are now milling around in preparation for confrontations yet to appear. While this volume omits the long travel passages 'under the blazing sun' of the first book, it also doesn't have the climactic battles that marked a conclusion of sorts. The main characters and their companions continue but break up and shift. (Some of their backgrounds also seem to be altered.) Harlan is now developing six parallel stories, with the narrative rotating among them as among as many separate novellas, so the overall pace is slow and the pages accumulate. One new featured character is introduced (a warrior barbarian), but his place in the overall saga remains to be discovered, and is merely a distraction here. For the first time several of the main characters and story lines do begin to intersect and interact, near the end of the book. Again there are ferociously graphic scenes of hacked limbs, burning skin, and bursting eyeballs as blood-sucking black powers and gods incarnate occasionally meet our heroes in malignant conflict. It includes scenes of Vesuvius right out of eyewitness Pliny the Younger. The only light touch is Julius Caesar, now brilliantly reincarnated as a comic figure! Clearly the author has something larger in mind, but we get only glimpses of what that might be, of which theme will emerge dominant. Note: the paperback has a squashed feeling compared to the generous hardback; the maps are barely legible.
Harlan blew it.......2000-11-27
By attempting to finish this second volume you experience the same frustrating sensation than with other promising alternative histories, notably Wingrove's "Chung Kuo". All the minor weaknesses present in the fist volume grow instead of being corrected. Vacilating characters, ad hoc elements and dei-ex-machina multiply, and the plot can turn to any direction within the following page. I think that Harlan gets in trouble trying to fit a custom Islam rising in the story, then breaking his "contract" with the readers (the one that goes: let's see what would happen without all these "People of the Book" around). Vocabulary and descriptions of epic and magical scenes still great, but a 500 page book can't be made with that only.
Rich Complex Believable.......2000-09-04
Right now, there are perhaps three series that are as rich, complex, and well written: George Martin's Song of Fire and Ice; Jordan's Wheel of Time; and Mary Gentle's Secret History of Ashe.
Harlan's writing is extremely skillful in that it never gets in the way, yet paints extremely complex portraits of characters and situations. He does not depend on devices such as deus ex to help him out, as he never paints himself into a corner--his plots are tight and well thought out and his characters are understandable and empathetic. They do not agree with eachother, they do not always get along, and life is not wonderful. This is a sophisticated work, with one of the main personalities gradually subverting to evil, although his intentions are the purest.
Gate of Fire is the second in the series, and it is as good as the first. Do yourself a favor. Read it.
Average customer rating:
- Not the Battle of Thermopylae, by Steven Pressfield
- Unforgetable
- Time-bound "60's" novel, or timeless philosophy?
- Don't listen to much to me, I am no expert in this matter...
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Gates of Fire
Elwyn Chamberlain
Manufacturer: North Atlantic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0938190202
Release Date: 1993-01-12 |
Book Description
"Three young Americans smuggle a million hits of LSD into India for Reasons both idealistic and venal . . . sweeping mystical enlightenment, compelling characters... Brilliant writing in this rather spooky and very sexy first novel."
- Detroit Free Press
Customer Reviews:
Not the Battle of Thermopylae, by Steven Pressfield.......2006-03-14
I purchase this book by mistake, thinking it was the version by Steven Pressfield. Wrong! I was not impressed with this version of "Gates of Fire". In fact it often left me with a sour taste in my mouth. It is not entertainment and it definately has nothing to teach me.
Unforgetable.......2006-02-14
I first read "Gates of Fire" around 25 years ago. Over the intervening years I have had occasional "flashbacks" of images from
the novel. What an extraordinarily powerful novel.
Time-bound "60's" novel, or timeless philosophy?.......1997-12-30
Not easily dismissed, this distillation of the lsd experience with its illusions and insights can at once be tossed in a pile with Tom Robbins, Paul Mann, Cleo Odzer, Baba Ram Dass or, as its author seems to suggest, burned with them in one hell of a dazzling pyre...
Don't listen to much to me, I am no expert in this matter..........1997-12-14
I read this book without knowing what it was going to do to me. It is a good novel, with a good trama (if you like the sixties), but most of all, it has a lot of deep philosophy that can make you see life from a different perspective (for this you have to read a lot between lines, if not will be distracted). It is like smelling India, without having done it before. And remember, "The life is a bridge, Pass over it but do not build on it. He who hopes for an hour may hope for eternity. The world is but an hour. Spend it in devotion. The rest is unseen"...
Average customer rating:
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Fire in the Gates: The Drama of Jeremiah and the Fall of Judah
Jr. Thurman C. Petty
Manufacturer: Pacific Press Publishing Association,U.S.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century | African American | Asian American | Classics | Collections & Readers | Drama | General | Hispanic | History & Criticism | Humor | Jewish American | Letters & Correspondence | Native American | Poetry | Short Stories | Women Writers
General | Christian Living | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0816308012 |
Book Description
Dr. Flash Bastion is the cutting edge of Christianity. He is the poster-child of Christian success. Dr. Bastion is the senior pastor of the largest evangelical church in the world. The Harmony Heights Community Church is the epicenter of the Christian Faith. Dr. Bastion leads his congregation for twenty years. His congregation goes from "glory to glory," until . . .
Through Gates of Fire: Wingless Flight is a story of paradise found, paradise lived, and paradise lost. Volume I: Wingless Flight introduces the character who imprints grace upon others. Have you ever wondered what happens when those who dispense grace become emptied of their giving energies? In Through Gates of Fire: Wingless Flight, author Steve Bonenberger leads the reader through the journey of faith found and faith misplaced and faith restored.
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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