Rating: 
Summary: The epic tale comes to life
Review: Arguably one of the most interesting books covering the ancient world. Exceptionally well researched and drawing heavily on Xenophon's autobiography, Mike Ford does a wonderful job in bringing to light the wonders of a superstitious people considerd to be the founders of western civilization. The action scenes depict the harrowing trek of soldiers on the run in alien worlds, battling armies, tribes, themselves and the unrelenting destructive environment. The book however is not just about that. It is much more and that is what separates it from its peers. The ability to take the readers to an ancient world where animal sacrifices, dreams and gods dominate, where philosophy is as integral a part as war and farming, where travel outside of your known regions is truly adventurous, -- this and much more make this book remarkable. Socrates, Clearchus, Cyrus, Tissaphernes and Xenophon all come to life. The story is told by Xenophon's servant Theo. It chronicles their voyage from childhood to leaders of a demoralized polis on the move. It is not a mind numbing exercise in action, but a well researched and well written book transporting the reader to a different world. A very fine debut and in some ways superior to Pressfield's Gates of Fire. The Ten Thousand is unique.
Rating: 
Summary: A lesson of Greece!
Review: Michael Curtis Ford's credentials seem quite sound, and certainly he has provided us with an epic-length and epic-like novel of sixth century Greece.Told by Theo, Xenophon's squire cum friend, this story certainly comes packed for wear. Xeonphon has enlisted with the armies of Cyrus in Persia, having been among those Athenians disenfranchised by city leaders following her losses to Sparta. Cyrus is embattled in a civil war trying to capture the Persian crown which he feels belongs to him. The book is not about Cyrus, though, and early on Cyrus is killed in one of the many battles of this campaign and eventually young Xenophon is left to lead the Greek mercenaries. His job, following Cyrus' botched attempt, is to get his troops back to Greece. This is really the story. But getting his troops home is not an easy task. The story becomes one obstacle after another, usually in the form of enemy troops and Mother Nature (crossing the mountains in winter, for example). And, of course, scattered throughout are the examples of treachery, deceit, and a lot of mayhem. While Xenophon is only gone for one year, Ford makes this novel seem longer than Moses in the desert (in which he foundered for 40 years!). Thankfully, Xenophon's tale is much shorter, although the book at times seems even longer. Students of Greek history should find this an intriguing story, much of it based upon research done by Ford. Certainly, the author has made these historical characters come to life. He has also made the times and events quite realistic. It is worth the time to read! (...)
Rating:
Summary: Good, not Great
Review: I'd lean to give it 3 and a 1/2 stars instead of 4. I think some of the reviewers are too harsh on the characterization, the characters are fine for this genre. The story is about man vs. nature, man vs. himself, not man vs. man in battle. This aspect of the novel is strong; the descriptions of the harrowing journey these troops make through snow, rain, rock clefts, torrential rivers (and the painful consequences of the journey) make for an exciting read. This book is hard to put down. However, when it's done, a couple of glaring weaknesses stand out--1.) the exciting prologue is misleading, and likewise confusing, and you expect this to involve the story in some way beyond character exposition. One of the driving forces to get you to finish the book is to see how the opening ties in w/ the treck out of Babylon. No such tie. It's like a well written yet unrelated short story, a bait and switch. 2.) Ford's writing is at times thrilling and majestic, at other times, cliched and groaningly "First Draft". Phrases like, "He recoiled in terror and awe", are peppered throughout the text. and 3.) Some of the more interesting characters are dumped halfway through the novel. Nonetheless, there are some excellent scenes in the novel (the training session(s), the Athenian father, the battles (especially involving the Rhodians), the denouement of Asteria) that justify the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Dramatic story of survival in ancient times
Review: This account of Xenophon and the ten thousand Greek mercenaries who found themselves without a patron in the middle of ancient Persia is a great story well told. I would have preferred if the author had not used the device of telling the story through the thoughts a common soldier. I don't understand why Michael Curtis Ford and Steven Pressfield find this technique so compelling - for they always use it. Why not speak from the main protaganist's point of view or, better yet, from the author's point of view?
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Over-Rated
Review: This book seems to be extremely popular with Graeco - Roman fans, but I have to say that I didn't like it at all. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even finish the last 75 pages or so. I had two main complaints with this book, the writing and Ford's take on the "Anabasis." First, Ford's writing simply doesn't flow very smoothly. His prose is stilted and dry; very hard to read. The characters are one dimensional and I wound up caring very little for any of them. Plus I felt that the story never really found its focus. Second, Ford's take on Xenophon's Anabasis feels like a cheesy melodrama from the late 60's, probably starring Richard Burton with Tony Curtis as Cyrus. The Anabasis is one of the world's greatest treatises on leadership and the art of war, but Ford turns the story into a Hallmark Romance novel, inserting mysterious Eastern princesses and loyal but doomed servants. Usually, I can find some redeeming quality in almost any book, especially in this genre, but that isn't the case here. This book gets a big thumbs down from me.
Rating:
Summary: Thinner and thinner
Review: When I first picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. The back story was excellent and plausible, allowing the reader to watch the characters being built from the ground up. Then, we basically skip to the decision to leave Athens and fight for Cyrus. Ford's decision here didn't concern me too much, either, as he had to get to the main plot of the book at some point.
Following Cyrus to Cunaxa is wonderful reading. Actually, everything was going along wonderfully until Clearchus is betrayed. At this point, I felt like Ford was just trying to end the novel, but I could still feel for the men and their struggle. However, the closer the men came to the Black Sea coast, the faster the novel advanced and the thinner the story became. If he had fleshed out the ending a bit more, this wouldn't have bothered me as much, but the ending just sort of...happened. It left me expecting more, instead of wanting more. For me, that's disappointing.
As for Ford's writing style, I enjoyed it for the most part, but at some points the character's introspection seemed a bit awkward and forced. As for the "love story", I didn't feel much, but maybe I wasn't supposed to.
I would have given this book four stars if I hadn't felt the way I did at the end. If Ford had kept the momentum of the early book throughout, this would have easily been a 5 star review for me.
Seeing what he is capable of, I'll probably give Gods and Legions a try.
Rating:
Summary: I was impressed
Review: This was the first of Ford's books i have read, and i must say, i will be reading more of his in the future. The premise has been told a hundred times here so we all know what it is about. What i found most interesting is the little details Ford delves into. Leather that shrinks in the cold to cut of circulation to the feet, frostbiten limbs thats flesh fall of when placed into hot springs. I enjoy little anecdotes like these. Im a huge military history read, but my main topic of interest has always been Stalingrad. Even though this is a novel, it shows some of the things most of us would never even consider as being a big deal, until it happened to us.
While this book is not much into battles, if you want great battles read Gates Of Fire one of the best battles written for a novel, it does deal with the hardships of men away from their homeland. Much like Alexander had to endure the desire of his men to return home, but then had to fight his way back, this book does the same. A great book from a new author, and an author to watch out for in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Good, not Great
Review: I'd lean to give it 3 and a 1/2 stars instead of 4. I think some of the reviewers are too harsh on the characterization, the characters are fine for this genre. The story is about man vs. nature, man vs. himself, not man vs. man in battle. This aspect of the novel is strong; the descriptions of the harrowing journey these troops make through snow, rain, rock clefts, torrential rivers (and the painful consequences of the journey) make for an exciting read. This book is hard to put down. However, when it's done, a couple of glaring weaknesses stand out--1.) the exciting prologue is misleading, and likewise confusing, and you expect this to involve the story in some way beyond character exposition. One of the driving forces to get you to finish the book is to see how the opening ties in w/ the treck out of Babylon. No such tie. It's like a well written yet unrelated short story, a bait and switch. 2.) Ford's writing is at times thrilling and majestic, at other times, cliched and groaningly "First Draft". Phrases like, "He recoiled in terror and awe", are peppered throughout the text. and 3.) Some of the more interesting characters are dumped halfway through the novel. Nonetheless, there are some excellent scenes in the novel (the training session(s), the Athenian father, the battles (especially involving the Rhodians), the denouement of Asteria) that justify the read.
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