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Summary: Fascinating, Enchanting . . . and a little dangerous
Review: This is a very, very powerful book. Written with seemingly impeccable research and fevered conviction, Pressfield successfully brings the heat and heartbreak of battle breathing to our very faces. A fromidable feat of imagination. And yet . . . the use of several melodramatic set-pieces and maudlin exchanges mars an otherwise superbly written novel. For this reader's tastes, there was rather too much noble opining by Spartan leaders and too much ham-fisted romance (although, strangely, never explicitly amongst the men of the Spartan army, many of whom most surely had male lovers). I was also disturbed by Pressfield's palpable worship of the Spartan men. Not only that, but his novelist's skill is such that I challenge anyone not to find themselves similarly inclined. Unfortunately, in this book, the result is fairly a glorification of war. Without a doubt, the Three Hundred were/are worthy of glorification. However, a novel which leaves us thrilled and excited by battle is, ultimately, just a little dangerous.
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Summary: Richard Bernstein's New York Times review sums it up for me.
Review: Richard Bernstein's November 9, 1998 New York Time's review of Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" reflects my thoughts of this epic adventure perfectly. So I quote Mr. Bernstein: "Men Behind the Scenes of Antiquity's Carnage:Herodotus, in his great history of the Persian Wars, says that the bravest combatant of them all was the Spartan Dienekes who, when told that the Persian arrows blocked out the sun, jauntily replied: "Good. Then we'll have our battle in the shade." That anecdote serves as an epigram for Steven Pressfield, whose new novel, "Gates of Fire," is a gripping and swashbuckling re-imagining of the battle of Thermopylae, perhaps the most famous military engagement of antiquity. Not surprisingly, one of Mr. Pressfield's main characters is the very Dienekes who, naturally, utters the words that Herodotus attributed to him. Dienekes's display of defiant humor is one small example of the way in which Mr. Pressfield has woven history into a novel that, in addition to plenty of sweep and sting, has a feel of authenticity about it from beginning to end. These pages are written as a kind of heroic saga, drenched in the gore of battle and the dust of Spartan discipline. Mr. Pressfield sprinkles his text with the vocabulary of the Greeks--with helots (slaves) and hoplites (foot soldiers), the eight-foot spears and the short daggers of the Spartans, the medications used to treat wounds and the especially pungent vocabulary of a martial society. But along with a stirring history lesson, Mr. Pressfield has created a stirring story. His Spartan heroes are Homeric in dimension, but they are fully formed figures struggling with the terror of battle, pondering the meanings of freedom and obedience as well as the sacrifice of oneself for the state.... By the time he brings his story to a finish, we have learned a great deal of history, and we have sensed as well the protean grandeur of antiquity. It's not unlikely that Herodotus, who made Mr. Pressfield's story possible, would have enjoyed this book."
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Summary: Totally engrossing account of this pivotal ancient battle
Review: What pure pleasure, to march alongside these most majestic of warriors, as they set out to oppose the Persian hordes. If you've read and loved Colleen McCullough's "Rome" series, if you've read stuff like Edward Rutherford's "Sarum" or Margaret George's "Memoirs of Cleopatra," you will LOVE this book. The ancient past is brought spectacularly back to life by Pressfield, who has done a fantastic job researching his subject. The battle scenes are stomach-churningly recreated- - you can hear the clashing of swords and the cries of the wounded- - yet he manages to put warm, human touches to this most bellicose of ancient peoples. When his characters are victorious, you cheer, and when they are lost in battle, you feel bummed. Best of all, Pressfield pulls the curtain back on a civilization that has been lost to us for 2,500 years. If you walk the streets of ancient Sparta today, you will find almost nothing there that would indicate they were, at one time, the most feared nation-state in the world. Let Pressfield take you back in time and treat you to an example of the absolute best a book can offer: entertainment, and enlightenment.
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Summary: More more more more!!!!!!
Review: This is perhaps the best book I read this year. I could not put it down. It is one of those books that you MUST read in one night. It is a non-stop page turner that will leave you wanting to know more. I hope that there is another book on the way from Pressfield.. I NEED MORE. I cant recommend this book more.. just remember discipline and loyalty is everything.. your shield is to to protect your comrade..not to protect you... IT IS WONDERFUL Did I say that I need more?
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Summary: A Fine Depiction of Sparta's Ethos
Review: Do yourself a great favor: buy this fine account of the Three Hundred at Thermopylae today. I read Pressfield's latest in one sitting. With a fine sense of history he has brought to life the oft-maligned Spartans, portraying them as individuals who loved their polis, their families, and their friends. The legendary Spartan training and lifestyle is shown as, in the end, a tangible indication of dedication to the preservation of those things dearest to the Spartan male. Pressfield's soldiers have been schooled to endure the physical and psychological harrowing of warfare in order that they might preserve the freedom of their city and the safety of those they love. Leonidas, shortly before the final fight, speaks to his men, telling them in effect that they are not making their stand in order to win 'glory'. If that were the case, he says, he himself would be the first to lead the retreat! Rather, he and his fellows are fulfilling their duty, their oaths, and their own integrity, standing faithful to Sparta, Hellas and most of all to each other. By so doing they provide the time for the rest of Hellas to prepare for the Persian onslaught. I can think of no better recent depiction of the warrior virtues. Buy this book as soon as you can....
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Summary: Superb
Review: This book is one of the best historical reads I've stumbled across in a long time. The "voice" is right, never once slipping into anachronistic modernisms and supplying a truly "transparent" medium, easily accessible to moderns, which yet conveys the immediacy of historical time and place. The tale is not plotted in any formal sense but proceeds in flashback, a hackneyed but effective mechanism here as we see the story unfold, both on the level of a life remembered and through the eyes of the Persian court in the midst of their final Greek campaign. The battle scenes are redolent with the misery and gore of real warfare, too, yet reverberate with the mystery of transcendency -- the real stuff of living and, of course, of dying. There is both an earthiness and a metaphysical element to this finely told tale of heroism in the face of overwhelming odds in a place and time which changed the flow of history as we know it. The characters are as real to us as the flesh and blood we see burning and wallowing in death upon the fields of Thermopylae. And we care about them, which, in the end, is what a book like this must be about. This one's nearly as good as Hope Muntz' THE GOLDEN WARRIOR, which yet remains, in my experience, the best of all historical novels to date. But this is a mighty close runner up. Pressfield has my admiration. -- S. W. Mirsky
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Summary: A Great book on Valor, Honor and the code of the Soldier
Review: This a GREAT!!!! book of valor. It is the story of the essence of being a soldier. The book is seen through the eyes of Squire Xeo. It tells of the true soldier. The one who cares for not himself but the whole of the group it is a must read for anybody the enjoys a true soldiers story.
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Summary: The Best of a Much-Maligned Genre
Review: Pressfield's Gates of Fire stands at the pinnacle of the oft-maligned (and, occasionally, deservedly so) genre of historical fiction. Too often, writers generate "historical fiction" by simply taking otherwise central-casting characters and plopping them down into a cardboard-cutout historical setting, determined to recall the flyblown adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Not so with this novel. Pressfield gives at least the impression (I've no expertise to qualify it) of being exceptionally well-briefed in the customs, language, locale and history of ancient Greece -- and Sparta in particular, which by its own laws produced little if any written materials from which their customs and practices may be gleaned. Too many contemporary historians -- Athenians in particular -- looked upon the Spartans and their contributions to the Persian Wars with perspectives skewed by their affection for their own city and its undeniable contributions. Modern historians often take these unfair characterizations at face value, leaving an inaccurate picture of Sparta and its people. Although at bottom a work of fiction, Gates of Fire treats the Spartans not as automatons manufactured for war but as human beings raised to honor Sparta, and through Sparta their families and loved ones, first and foremost. Like other reviewers, I found the novel impossible to put down and, like the battle itself, found it far too short (only because I hoped it would not end). Although even my inexpert eye noted the occasional historical inaccuracy, the novel was perfectly believable and plausible. (For example, other sources relate that the goat path by which the Immortals flanked the Greeks was well known both to the northern-Greek allies and conscripts of the Persians and to the Spartans, and there was never any doubt but that it would be accessed at some point; some 2,000 Phokians were placed at the peak of the mountain for the purpose of raising the alarm when the Persian flanking force was spotted. Unfortunately for Leonidas and the rest, the Phokians fell asleep on the job, and were so surprised by the Immortals' approach that they set themselves into a defensive circle off the path rather than seek to bar the invaders' way to the Greeks' flank. Contrary to Pressfield's account, the Immortals simply ignored the Phokians, marched right past, and came upon the Spartans unharassed. Although the Spartans had warning of their approach, the failure of the Phokians to waylay or at least delay the Immortals ended the Greek resistance that much sooner). Pressfield made excellent use of the inexplicable Spartan practice of teaching its young men to learn to steal, then punishing them unmercifully when caught. Like so many other aspects of Spartan culture, he takes this odd historical thread and weaves it unerringly into the story of his Spartan heroes. To those readers who thirst for more regarding Thermopylae, try a most unlikely source -- your local comic book shop -- and ask for writer/artist Frank Miller's outstanding 5-part mini-series, "300," published by Dark Horse Comics. Although no doubt less accurate than Pressfield's, "300" is just as dynamic and moving, and the art is superb. It is not a comic for children but treats the subject matter very seriously. Despite its language and gore, I would highly recommend this novel for any child -- boy or girl -- of teen age, that they may learn not only of one of the shining moments in Western civilization but of honor, duty, loyalty, and courage.
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Summary: The Spartan world comes to life.
Review: There's been a resurgence of interest in the ancient world recently, with a number of authors(Colleen McCullough, Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davis coming quickly to mind)setting their works ancient Rome. Greece has remained in the hands of Mary Renault, but now, in "Gates of Fire," Steven Pressfield illuminates an aspect of ancient Greek life other authors usually brush off-the Spartans and their warrior city. The Spartans are frequently cast as the control-freaks of their age, and indeed their Stoic philosophy combined with their complete focus on war and the preparation for it, has made it difficult for them to earn much sympathy not only from modern readers, but from their contemporaries. Pressfield loves these tough guys, and readers will too. Yes, they are completely dedicated to war, but with that focus comes a mighty sense of humor and a great love of family and homeland. Told from the point of view of the slave Xeones, readers will develop the same respect and affection for the Spartans as the narrator does. Pressfield's account of the battle of Thermopylae is chrystal-clear, horrifying and thrilling at the same time. Through superior storytelling, one of the turning points of world history is made as fresh as the latest news, and a hell of a lot more interesting.
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Summary: Captivating real-life battle narratives-hairraising!
Review: I have had the honor of reading an advance copy of this epic masterpiece given to my family by the author. Of all my readings over my many years, I have never had such an emotional, enthralling attachment to a book. Only rarely does a book give you the emotional feelings of desire to read as fast as you can mixed with the sad knowledge that you will eventually finish the book. This story was the ultimate experience of this occurence. I can guarantee that this book will become one of the top best sellers in history.
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