Gates Of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.
Thus reads an ancient stone at Thermopylae in northern Greece, the site of one of the world's greatest battles for freedom. Here, in 480 B.C., on a narrow mountain pass above the crystalline Aegean, 300 Spartan knights and their allies faced the massive forces of Xerxes, King of Persia. From the start, there was no question but that the Spartans would perish. In Gates of Fire, however, Steven Pressfield makes their courageous defence--and eventual extinction-- unbearably suspenseful. In the tradition of Mary Renault, this historical novel unfolds in flashback. Xeo, the sole Spartan survivor of Thermopylae, has been captured by the Persians and Xerxes himself presses his young captive to reveal how his tiny cohort kept more than 100,000 Persians at bay for a week. Xeo, however, begins at the beginning, when his childhood home in northern Greece was overrun and he escaped to Sparta. There he is drafted into the elite Spartan guard and rigorously schooled in the art of war--an education brutal enough to destroy half the students, but (oddly enough) not without humour: "The more miserable the conditions, the more convulsing the jokes became, or at least that's how it seems," Xeo recalls. His companions-in-arms are Alexandros, a gentle boy who turns out to be the most courageous of all, and Rooster, an angry, half-Messenian youth. Pressfield's descriptions of war are breathtaking in their immediacy. They are also meticulously assembled out of physical detail and crisp, uncluttered metaphor:
Thus reads an ancient stone at Thermopylae in northern Greece, the site of one of the world's greatest battles for freedom. Here, in 480 B.C., on a narrow mountain pass above the crystalline Aegean, 300 Spartan knights and their allies faced the massive forces of Xerxes, King of Persia. From the start, there was no question but that the Spartans would perish. In Gates of Fire, however, Steven Pressfield makes their courageous defence--and eventual extinction-- unbearably suspenseful. In the tradition of Mary Renault, this historical novel unfolds in flashback. Xeo, the sole Spartan survivor of Thermopylae, has been captured by the Persians and Xerxes himself presses his young captive to reveal how his tiny cohort kept more than 100,000 Persians at bay for a week. Xeo, however, begins at the beginning, when his childhood home in northern Greece was overrun and he escaped to Sparta. There he is drafted into the elite Spartan guard and rigorously schooled in the art of war--an education brutal enough to destroy half the students, but (oddly enough) not without humour: "The more miserable the conditions, the more convulsing the jokes became, or at least that's how it seems," Xeo recalls. His companions-in-arms are Alexandros, a gentle boy who turns out to be the most courageous of all, and Rooster, an angry, half-Messenian youth. Pressfield's descriptions of war are breathtaking in their immediacy. They are also meticulously assembled out of physical detail and crisp, uncluttered metaphor:
"The forerank of the enemy collapsed immediately as the first shock hit it; the body-length shields seemed to implode rearward, their anchoring spikes rooted slinging from the earth like tent pins in a gale. The forerank archers were literally bowled off their feet, their wall-like shields caving in upon them like fortress redoubts under the assault of the ram. The valour of the individual Medes was beyond question, but their light hacking blades were harmless as toys; against the massed wall of Spartan armour, they might as well have been defending themselves with reeds or fennel stalks."Alas, even this human barrier was bound to collapse, as we knew all along it would. "War is work, not mystery," Xeo laments. But Pressfield's epic seems to make the opposite argument: courage on this scale is not merely inspiring but ultimately mysterious. -- Marianne Painter, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
For many, Pressfield's retelling of the epic story of the Battle of Thermopylae is one of the all time great historical novels.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What a magnificent book this is. I have read a lot of books but none of them - in every genre - comes close to this one. I don't remember ever being this emotionally involved in a story as it unfolded through the novel, and you certainly go through every emotion as you turn the pages. Not only is the story itself, of the heroism of a tiny Greek army in the face of absolutely impossible odds, a remarkable premise in itself, Mr Pressfield has managed to make it even the more remarkable by his totally involving telling. As other reviewers have said, you really do feel as if you know all of the characters, and suffer along with them. Even though they are doomed to die, you can't help hoping that by some miracle, they will be triumphant. It is also descriptively unsurpassed, actually transporting you back into the world of the Spartans and taking you into the formidably painted battle whether you like it or not, leaving you breathless and terrified but unable to put it down. It's a fairly thick book, but I read it in 2 days, staying up into the wee hours because its impossible to put it down. This is the only book I've ever read that made me cry, and when I cried, I didn't stop for about an hour. It has everything - heroism, honour, comradeship, history, the love of family (especially the heartbreaking scene, without dialogue, when we see the great warrior Dienekes inform his wife of his inclusion in the 300 who must go to Thermopylae) - you name it, it will be in there somewhere. By degrees horrifying, hilarious, heartbreaking, shocking, terrifying and ultimately one of the most uplifting reads you will ever come across, "Gates of Fire" will never, ever be forgotten.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a human story, populated by believable characters in a historical backdrop, an epic backdrop. All of them are fleshed out and tug at your loyalties, in a fictionalised romantic way, but that ends up giving you a real involvement and stake in the final battle - no matter how preordained its outcome.
It's portrayal of the harsh disciplines of the era, the morality, the training, the cameraderie, the ethics and the expected behaviour are brought to life - how accurately I wouldn't like to say (I'm not a historian) but quite credibly. Truly a ripping yarn.
It's portrayal of the harsh disciplines of the era, the morality, the training, the cameraderie, the ethics and the expected behaviour are brought to life - how accurately I wouldn't like to say (I'm not a historian) but quite credibly. Truly a ripping yarn.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked up this book almost by accident during a recent trip to New York and simply could not put it down. This is a truly exceptional novel. It's the story of the battle of Thermopylae (the Greek word 'thermopylae' literally translates to 'gates of fire'). Pressfield's descriptions of battle and of everyday Spartan life are fascinating, vivid and detailed. But the book is a lot more than just historical fiction at its finest. Pressfield, through Xeo's storytelling, discusses the basic elements and conflicts of the human psyche in a captivating manner. The struggle between good and evil. The struggle between the two most basic conflicting human emotions : pain and pleasure, hope and fear. The true meaning of leadership, friendship, love, respect, compassion. Do not miss this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Amazing
This is my first ever review and I can not help expressing the deepest impressions I possess after reading the book. Actually, this particular work of Mr. Read more
Published 2 days ago by M. Karapetyan
Gates of Fire
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states (King Leonidas of Sparta), and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Koriel
Gates of Fire
I think the problem for any historical novel of this sort is that the reader already knows how it's going to end. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Steve D
A true Masterpiece
It may be a cliche, but I enjoyed this book so much I literally could not put it down, and read it in two rather long sessions. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mike Mac
Gates of Fire
I had read this story some time ago in traditional book form. I decided to re-read in Kindle form and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. L. Mcintyre
Lives up to the hype
This is one of those books that has received unanimous praise. Look on Amazon.co.uk and out of 117 reviews it gets an average of 5 stars. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Snikt5
The Best Novel I Have Ever Read - Several Times.
The first time I read this book it reduced me to tears. I have read it several times and remain in awe of the skill it takes to tell such a story, where each sentence is loaded... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Peterob1
"Simply" the Best...
As you will no doubt have realized by the time you reached this point, Gates of Fire has already been reviewed by 120 readers and 111 of them have rated it five stars. Read more
Published 4 months ago by JPS
An Absolute Classic
Just a fabulous book. The events and characters of the Spartan 300 and their allies really leap off the page. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Peter Sandham
Perfect
Gates Of Fire by Steven Pressfield.
It's a novel about the 300 Spartans who fought at the battle of Thermopylae. Read more
It's a novel about the 300 Spartans who fought at the battle of Thermopylae. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Thom
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