Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
solid but lacking the x-factor, 10 Oct 2008
I enjoyed this book - the first i've read by Paul Kearney. He has a straight-to-the point, workmanlike, no frills style to his writing, which is very readable and makes the book quite fast paced.
The whole thing draws very heavily upon Greek mythology, with the world clearly an 'alter-ego' of Greece and Persia, though with some nice fantasy elements thrown into the mix, often bringing to mind Sparta, Troy, 300 (which are good things) and Alexander (oh dear. Not so good!) The world-building is competently written, showing a great deal of knowledge by the author.
For me it stumbled with the characters; there were some great ideas within the different characters, all showing potential for some humanity and depth, but this was just never fully realised. In the end they all felt a little 2 dimensional; I didn't get that sense of empathy, of caring about the characters. Some books play on my mind during the day, and i find myself being drawn into their world, and trying to make time to get back to the book, looking forward to it, feeling frustrated when i have to get on with the ho-hum of life; this book was not like that. When i did have some reading time, it was enjoyable enough, but not quite having the depth of character and gripping, twisty plot that begs you to read 'just one more page.'
This was reminiscent of David Gemmel, though not as good as his best; solid, well-written but a little shallow (and the end was a bit of a damp fizzle, whereas, especially in a stand-alone piece, it should have been firework night).
If Amazon did half stars i would have given it 3 and a half, but they don't, and i don't think it merits four stars, so three it is.
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25 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kearney's best book yet, 26 Aug 2008
A few months back I noted The Ten Thousand as being one of my hot tips for 2008. Reading a lengthy preview that the author sent me a while back reinforced this feeling, and now reading the complete novel has confirmed my initial guess. Probably the most underread author in epic fantasy has delivered his strongest novel to date.
The Ten Thousand is based on The Anabasis, the best-known work of the Greek writer Xenophon. In that book Xenohpon relates how a Greek mercenary force of ten thousand warriors was hired by Cyrus the Younger, a Persian prince seeking to supplant his brother. When Cyrus was killed, the Greek army had to fight its way out of the now-hostile empire and find its way home.
In this novel the setting is the world of Kuf, which is divided between two humanoid species: the Macht and the Kufr. The Macht live in a mountainous peninsula made up of feuding city-states (reminsicent of Greece), whilst the Kufr inhabit the vast Assurian Empire to the south-east which dominates a huge continent. Many of the most famous mercenary companies of the Macht are summoned to the capital where a vast host is being assembled to sail across the sea and join the armies of the Assurian pretender Arkamenes, who seeks to usurp his brother, Ashurnan. Amongst these are Gasca and Rictus, two young warriors who join up for very different reasons, the former to see the world and fight, the latter to forget the horrors of the destruction of his city and family. As the story proceeds we meet other characters: Jason, the young and charasmatic commander of one of the mercenary companies; Vorus, a Macht living amongst the Kufr who is an advisor to Ashurnan; and Tiryn, Arkamenes' consort.
The story unfolds similar to the events of history, with the Macht fighting their way into the very heart of the Empire where Ashurnan awaits them with a vast host. There, at the Battle of Kunaksa, the hinge of the world will turn, with dire consequences for everyone involved.
As normal, Kearney anchors the story on his characters: Rictus, the young warrior lost in his grief and rage who finds opportunity and responsibility thrust upon him; Jason, the popular commander who doesn't know what he wants from life until, amidst the blood and mud, he finds it; Vorus, the exiled warrior who finds his loyalties and admiralties torn; Ashurnan, a ruler desperately trying to be a great king but not knowing how, whilst his brother believes he is great and worthy and doesn't realise the truth; and Tiryn, whose own preconceptions and believes are put to the ultimate challenge. They are flawed people, but the reader cannot help empaphising with them and the increasingly harsh challenges they face.
Kearney has previously attracted the reputation of doing battle sequences better than almost any other writer in the genre, better than Bakker, Martin or Erikson, with perhaps only Gemmell and Cornwell at the very height of their powers challenging him. The battles here are hard, brutal affairs but they are also used to make the characters change and grow, with every engagement also reflecting some revelation or advancement in the characters. It is an excellent device, perhaps not a conscious one, but handled superbly.
In this one novel (The Ten Thousand is a stand-alone, although Kearney does not rule out other works set in the same world) Kearney successfully encapsulates all of his strengths as a writer, making for his tighest, most satisfying novel to date, and may possibly have just given us the best epic fantasy of 2008.
The Ten Thousand (*****) is an engrossing, superb novel of war and its impact on humanity with a fitting ending.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A one night stand of a book, 2 Oct 2008
The other review says it all really but neglects to mention that this book can be read in a long night. Succinct prose, no waffle, straight to the point sort of stuff. It is a bit too obviously drawn on Greek/Persian history (influenced by Gemmell perhaps) but really this is how this sort of thing should be written. Good stuff!
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