Gates of Fire : An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire was a superb book with minor flaws. One of my favorite things in Gates of Fire was learning about the Spartan culture. For example, I learned that boys were raised to be soldiers. The Spartan boys went through very rigorous training in which one of the things they were taught was to have total control over themselves. The purpose of this self-control was to resist fear. I could see myself among the Spartans. I also enjoyed many characters in this book. Leonidas, King of Sparta, was one of the noblest of these characters. He led 300 Spartans and 3 to 4 thousands Greek soldiers allied to Sparta. The Greeks kept the Persians at bay for seven days at Thermopylae. All seven days Leonidas put up with discomfort and fought on the Greek front lines. The Greeks at Thermopylae loved and revered the Spartan king. Leonidas was a truly impressive character.
There were some things about Gates of Fire I didn't like. For one, Pressfield had a character use the word "tomato." The Greeks had no idea what a tomato was or how it looked, because the tomato was native to South America, not Europe or Asia. Therefore the use of the word "tomato" was an anachronism. There was also a character in the book who wasn't totally believable. The character's name was Polynikes. At the start of the book Polynikes was an arrogant and more than a little sadistic Spartan. Polynikes punished Alexandros (a child at the time) mercilessly. By the end of the book, Polynikes had become a righteous Spartan who saved Alexandros (now a Spartan soldier) from the Persians. I believed that Polynikes would have saved Alexandros during combat, but the fact that Polynikes had transformed into a loving and respectful person seemed too good to be true.
Gates of Fire had its moments. Most of the time this book was a thrilling page-turner, but there were some unnecessarily repetitious passages describing the gore of battle. Despite the anachronism and the one unbelievable character, I thoroughly enjoyed Gates of Fire. I recommend this book to people who love the Greeks and their internecine wars. This version of the Battle of Thermopylae was an eye opener to me in terms of Sparta and her citizens. Read it, it's a great book!


Rating:
Summary: Spartan tale told in a spartan manner
Review: In contrast to his expansive 'Tides of War', Pressfield chose a spartan style in telling this Spartan tale of courage and sacrifice. While reading the book, I found the minimal characterization and description rather annoying, e.g. how did the protagonist actually feel when he saw his cousin all cleaned up and dressed up, other than that "I almost did not recognize her"? In the end, however, I ended up appreciating that the most powerful experience or emotion in one's life are often hidden and unexpressed. At the end of the book, what exactly went thru the cousin's mind at the cemetary are left completely to reader's imagination and, as a result, the stunning impact of this book continues long after reading is done. This has to be one of the most thought-provoking books I've read in my life. It's unfortunate, though, the lack of a sophisticated literary style will prevent it from becoming an immortal classic (e.g. Wharton's "Age of Innocence"). This book had a great potential to be truly extraordinary, but fell just short. It's still a very good book. Also recommended: Ambrose's "Band of Brothers".


Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The strength of this novel is the poignancy of the characters, their relationships, the dialogue, the personal moments. It has some good, hectic war scenes, but I will remember most the relationship between the lead character, the slave Xeones, and his cousin Diomache, I will remember the typical epic speeches and monologues by the Spartan leaders prior to Thermopylae. For a historical war novel, this is one of the better ones I've read when it comes to human interaction.

There are only two weaknesses that hamper the book. 1.) it bogs a bit in the middle, as some of the characters start to blend together. The character *moments* are strong, but some of the elder Spartans at least run together a bit until the final chapters. And 2.) The historical reality of Sparta vs. Persia was hardly as noble and heroic as presented in legend and in this book. As fiction, it's no problem. But Sparta was one of the worst, most tyrannical cultures in the history of humanity--there is very little to valorize in Spartan culture. I can understand and appreciate how the story of the 300 captivates the imaginations of generation after generation--it's one of the best legends of Western European history--but the Spartans were hardly fans of liberty and freedom, their own freedom or the freedom of others.

Still a great read though.