Rating: 
Summary: 5 Star Masterpiece
Review: First of all, Pressfield held alot back in terms of the most "sick" aspects of Lacedaemon society to make this an enjoyable read. So everyone please ignore those who critique Spartan society rather than the book itself.This book was an option for my Greek thought class and I'm glad I chose to read it. Pressfield chose to bring history alive. (For example, look for the page when Dienekes replies to the comment of there being enough Persian arrows to block out the sun - "Then we'll have our battle in the shade.") As with any historical fiction piece it is easy to pick out dozens of spurious and minute details (i.e. - a rare or non-existent medical ointment), but if you take this as a novel and relax then you will find this to be an epic read on an unparalled scale of insight. I conclude in summation that Pressfield's reverence to the Greek tradition of hoplite warfare is most appealing and if you enjoy ancient historical fiction concerning the Western tradition then this is a must.
Rating: 
Summary: Spartan society was rather sick
Review: I usually like good historical fiction with a miltary theme, but this book didn't appeal to me at all, perhaps because I found the Spartans to be themselves so unappealing. I'm sure there are a legion of people out there who admire the Spartans and love this book, but the only thing I got out of this was what a vile and oppressive society they had. Combine the militarism of Nazi Germany with Soviet Russia and you've got Ancient Sparta. The citizen soldiers of other ancient republican Greek city-states such as Athens were admirable, but the Spartans ran one of the most cruel and oppressive societies in history. The author of this book obviously admires them, but the more I read the more I was turned off. What did Socrates see in these people? No wonder the Athenians sentenced him to death.
Rating:
Summary: The Hot Gates
Review: Though I was somewhat familair with the basics of the Spartan and Greek struggles I was not prepared for the extent that this his book would constantly amaze me. An excellent book if you want to become familiar with the life of Greeks during this period. Also a stunning story about the sacrifices that they made for their friends and families.
Rating:
Summary: Gates of freedom
Review: As Greek and Lacon myself i want to thank Mr Pressfield for writing a great tribute to my great-great grand fathers.........
Rating:
Summary: Gates of Glory!
Review: I have not read an historical novel this great since Robert Grave's "I, Claudius". The whole concept of the book is brilliant and makes me wonder why someone hadn't thought of it years ago. Although it does have some faults historically (most notably the lack of any homosexual relationships which were ubiquitous in the ancient world) it is certain to stand at least as long as the memory of the men of Thermopylae.
Rating:
Summary: A Flesh and Blood Tale
Review: Nearly 2500 years ago, a small cohort of warriors from the Greek polis of Sparta performed such a prodigy of arms that it is remembered and retold even today. The site of that immortal contest is called Thermopylae ("Hot Gates"). There, upon a narrow mountain pass overlooking the Aegean Sea, 300 Spartans, their squires, and a handful of allies fought a Persian invasion force of perhaps a million men to a standstill for three days, until the Spartans were annihilated. The valor of the defenders was such that at one point in the battle, the young Persian King Xerxes offered to spare their lives and allow them to live in freedom if they would simply surrender their weapons. "Tell him to come and get them," was the famous reply from the Spartan King Leonidas, who laid down his life alongside his fellow warriors. Partly as a result of the delay wrought by the Spartans' sacrifice, the Persian invasion was ultimately turned back by Greek forces at sea (Salamis) and on land (Plataea). The battle of Thermopylae was commemorated not long thereafter by the erection of a stone marker whose Greek admonition is still familiar to many: "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie." Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield (The Legend of Bagger Vance) is a fictional account of Thermopylae and the warriors who fought there. It is told by Xeones, battle squire of one of the Spartan warriors and a lone Spartan survivor of the contest. Captured by the Persians and partly rehabilitated from grievous injuries sustained in combat, Xeo is commanded by King Xerxes to tell him about the Spartans so that the King might learn the source of their surpassing valor. In telling the Spartans' stories, Xeo begins with his own. We read of his experience as a boy growing up in a small Greek town that was destroyed in the internecine wars that wracked Greece in the years preceding the Persian invasion. For a few years he survives in the mountain wilds with his cousin Diomache and his tutor Bruxeius. Eventually, attracted by the Spartans' reputation for strength and honor, Xeo comes down from the mountains and finds service with them as a battle squire. From that point in the tale, we learn about the stern, powerful men who shape his destiny thereafter: Dienekes, his master; Polynikes, the hot-blooded Olympic champion; Rooster, a rebellious servant youth; Leonides the King; and Xeo's friend Alexandros, who overcomes his aversion to fighting to satisfy the harsh demands of Spartan society. Along the way, we also get a vivid introduction to battle tactics and training; ancient Greek politics and geography; women in Sparta's martial society; and phobology, the science and philosophy of fear. If you like Mary Stewart's excellent Merlin trilogy, you will find yourself right at home with Gates of Fire; although their eras and locations are far apart, the stories' strong characters, piquant sense of place, first-person voice and wealth of period detail are similar. But also as in the Merlin books, the historic setting in Gates of Fire is always the servant of the narrative, rather than vice-versa. The genre of military historical fiction is chock-a-block with books that read like History Channel documentaries - full of exotic weapons, impregnable fortresses, hand-drawn maps and linguistic arcana. Michael Curtis Ford's recent novel The Ten Thousand, a tale superficially similar to Pressfield's, comes to mind here. But Gates of Fire is first and foremost a cracking good story.
Rating:
Summary: Bad writing
Review: First of all the whole concept of this book as a story a servant is recounting to Xerxes and his Persian scribes is absurd. Perhaps if he had gone straight to the recounting of the battle it could have worked, but the telling of Xeones' own mediocre and unremarkable (for those times) early life and relationships is dull even to me, the idea of Xerxes emperor of the Persian empire being obsessed with his words seems ridiculous. Can't really understand how there could be so many reviews here extolling this as great historical fiction when there are historical inaccuracies throughout. The characters often express themselves in ways more 20th century than ancient world, and there is the weird usage of medieval titles such as knights, ladies, even gentlewomen. And how could anyone suppose to accurately capture the ancient Greek culture with only the merest reference to homosexuality? The glorification of the Spartans as an honorable culture defending freedom is a very biased and uncommon viewpoint, many would more likely regard them as a violent and brutal society. Certainly the individuals in this novel didn't seem to have very much "freedom", they behave more like Nazis. It is difficult to write good fiction the further back one goes in history, but for something way better than this about the ancient world, try CREATION by Gore Vidal.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, what a great read, educates, transports and inspires
Review: Great book, it made me think, it taught me alot, and it made me want to learn more about our intellectual forebears. Exciting, touching, thought provoking and enlightening.
Rating:
Summary: Rooting for the Underdog
Review: This is a great read. It's an amazing thing when an author of a historical work can build suspense around an event where the reader knows the ending before picking up the book. Granted it's more rarely done with straight histories (with the notable exception of everything written by Barbara Tuchman) but historical novels have some of the same challenges. I put "Gates of Fire" in a similar class with "Killer Angels" in that regard, although the relative lack of historical source material gave Pressfield significantly more authorial latitude than Shaara. One of the fascinating aspects of this book is the fine line Pressfield walks between disclosing the more brutal, horrific aspects of Spartan society while at the same time glorifying it. The cruel infanticide practices, the overwhelming, systematic physical violence infused in the training systems for young boys and the extensive reliance on poorly treated slaves are presented yet the author succeeds in building advocacy for the Spartan/Hellenic cause and genuine sympathy with the plights of several individual Spartan warriors. The only (very minor) complaint I have with the book is the narrative style, which can be a bit disconcerting as lengthy flashbacks from Xeo's past are interwoven throughout the book and hurt momentum. That said, this book has lots of momentum and will drive you through the fantastic battle narratives at Thermopylae to the last page and leave you thirsting for more. I highly recommend it and give it 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent historical fiction
Review: This was my first Pressfield book and I am very impressed. I originally became interested in this novel because I really enjoy historical fiction, and this book was highly touted. What I like most about this book was Pressfield's ability to make me care about the characters. Their development wasn't extremely deep (most likely due to the necessity to focus on the history and battle descriptions) but in the end these characters really brought 400 bc Greece alive to me. I really like how he had the narrator Xeones describe the upbringing of the young Lakedaemonians, the tension between young, fragile Alexandros and the olympian warrior Polynikes. This is recommended reading for anybody who enjoys historical fiction, Greek myth, or war stories.
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