Rating: 
Summary: The spiritual heir to Starship Troopers
Review: There's a pretty good novel in this book, swaddled in pages upon pages of simplistic political yammering about the greatness of the warrior ethic. The book raises some troubling questions about its rah-rah Spartan ethic - why, for example, should such a noble culture /need/ a squad of assassins to take care of internal dissidents - but doesn't bother to answer them. Instead, everything gets drenched in blood and rhetoric about how great it is to be a dead Spartan. When Pressfield abandons the demagoguery, the book is a pleasure to read. Unfortunately, that's only about a third of a time.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely riveting
Review: I read this in a night (and it's a long book). The story is gripping and deeply moving.The main character is not all that well developed and the book may glorify a society -ancient Sparta- that was more bad than good. But these are minor flaws in an otherwise excellent novel.
Rating:
Summary: More than adventure
Review: A compelling read, the language of this book in many respects echoes the poetic style of the Greek classics. The story itself drives the reader. One knows the end but getting to it in this personal story captivates. On the surface, you'll leave this book knowing that "real" people, with affections, dreams, faults and smarts were at the battle. Underlying, however, one comes away with an understanding of what drove the characters, that being successful (even in defeat) is a disciplined effort. And through Zeo, seeing his home and family destroyed, one understands the consequences of not knowing one's enemy.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: A great book that truly conveys the heroism and courage of the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae
Rating:
Summary: A pearl
Review: This book is a pearl -- one of those experiential books that make you feel the details of the character's lives while embedding you in a story of transcendent scope. Very stiring/emotive -- just wait to you finally hear, related by Xeo, the story of courage that Dienekes tells his troops near the end. Like so many others, it ignited in me a desire to read more about Greek history ... Gates of Fire is also good for bucking up one's own courage in these "war on terror" times -- not only how much worse were the threats people used to live under in ancient times, but also what there is to fight for -- just read towards the final battle of Leonidas' pity for the enemy -- when all is said and done, the enemy, and our enemies, are ultimately on the wrong side. The story itself is both very true to history and very far from it -- but that's what great art is about: meaning -- sifting away the false truths and honing the true lies that tell us the real and greater story. Finally, you'll see in this story (I mean the actual historical story) the basis of so many other stories: real ones as in the story of the Alamo, and fictional stories as in the Lord of the Rings. Makes me want to visit Thermopylae -- meet you all there in 4 years for a book reading and re-enactment! Read and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Kindled My Interest
Review: I am not sure what else can be said about this novel that hasn't already. It was a great read and a book that I struggled to put down. I will order the Hardcover so I can keep this book around. It has some idealistic leadership scenario's in it, which may be a bit altruistic, but fit the message Pressfield was going for when writing about this epic battle in Western Civilization. The character Xeo was well developed and an interesting man. I never really figured out why Pressfield continued to write about Xeo's search for his cousin. I am not sure that it added anything to the story. I did, however, find the view of Spartan women interesting. As a military man myself, I had to wonder if that is how my mother and wife think when I get deployed. This book sparked my interests in the Spartans to the point that I have continued to read historical information on them daily. While Pressfield misses some of the more horrific items of Spartan life, I still found this novel an incredible read. I hope that his future writings are as captivating. This book is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: My Big Fat Greek Historical Novel
Review: I would never have read this book if it had not been given to me as a gift, and I felt obligated to at least scan through it. My reticence was based on my personal disinterest in "historical novels." They have always bothered me because I always feel like either the historical details are forced in by the author to make the story somehow more credible, or the author is throwing in lurid fiction to hide the boring details of the historical stuff. Gates of Fire, however, gripped me from the very start and I absolutely could not put it down. I stayed up all night reading it. The violent parts of it are like driving past a car wreck -- you are horrified by what you see but you just simply can't help but to slow down and look. The descriptions of life at the time come naturally, filling in the blanks, providing context, and allowing relief from the intensity of battles or training or other events. The pacing is just absolutely fabulous, like a roller coaster--the momentary slowdowns or uphill turns make the downhill parts all the more intense. Like the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which looks at the funny side of Greeks and has proven to be a wildly, universally popular movie because it also reveals the humanity and love shared among the characters, Gates of Fire looks at the extremely difficult, violent life of the Spartans but also reveals the humanity and love between the characters, and anyone who reads it will be taken in by it.
If you like historical novels, this is an awesome one.
If you like gripping reading, look no further.
If you like war-related novels, there are none better.
If you like books that celebrate courage and honor, this is it.
If you like to read, regardless of what you like, buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: war to the exclusion of a wider picture
Review: This historical novel is about the grunts of war during an extraordinary time. What it offers is an interesting interpretation of the Spartan warrior elite, which is well done but in my view excessively limited. Pressfield's goal was, of course, just that: to show what it was like to fight a crucial battle in a war that was without a doubt one of the most decisive and significant in history - without Leonidas' strategic victory - they battled to the death but helped to inspire the Greeks to unite and win the greater war - Athens may never have flowered, developing not only democracy but also philosophy, theatre, and classical art and architecture. That is my beef with this book: virtually none of this, which was brewing below the surface, is covered except as an afterthought. As such, you get to know the Spartans in the most positive light possible - excessive in my opinion - and very very little about far more significant though embryonic currents. Nonetheless, what Pressfield wanted to do he did very well. REcommended.
Rating:
Summary: The spirit of combat
Review: Rarely does any author capture those elements of combat that truly shape a battle's ebb and flow. The personal struggles, physical efforts and martial skills of the soldiers on the battlefield of Thermopylae in 480bc echo against the seaside moutains once more, thanks to Pressfield's superb writing. As a veteran of two regional conflicts, I can say that the experiences of the Spartans and their allies at the Hot Gates makes my worst day seem like a picnic in comparison. To think upon the fact that we of the western world owe so much to so few and so long ago, brings tears to my eyes. Mr. Pressfield has truly honored these men with his book.
Rating:
Summary: A great historical novel
Review: Readable, engrossing, seems reasonably accurate, and a nice blend of period and use of contemporary language to keep the earthy feel and flow. I love a really good historical novel - where accuracy is not sacrificed, but not permitted to run things to the detriment of pace; and where ultimately, the book transcends the genre - and this ranks as one of the two or three most moving and memorable such books for me. Highly, highly recommended.
| 
