Bifrost
20-04-2006, 09:08 AM
If there's one thing David Gemmell does brilliantly, it's craft a gripping story. Every one of his books is easy to read and difficult to put down. This book is no exception.
When I received this book as a gift, I was pretty excited. I have read most of Gemmell's novels and although some his work can start to seem a bit like a find and replace on characters and places, there are a few superb exceptions. One of these exceptions is a book called Lion of Macedon, a historical fiction following the life of one of Alexander the Great's foremost military mentors, Parmenion. Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow is Gemmell's first foray into historical fiction since Lion of Macedon's disappointing sequel, The Dark Prince which was first released in 1992.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/1/9/8/LotSBcover02.jpgThe first book in what had been announced as a trilogy, Lord of the Silver Bow, like Lion of Macedon, does not follow the historically famous (or infamous) characters from The Iliad or the legendary battle between the Trojans and the Greeks; the words "Achilles" is not actually used throughout the book and instead we find the story centered on one of Homer's lesser characters and one which Virgil would later take on a post-Troy epic of his own: Aeneas. Aeneas appears to us as Helikaon, a well-known and successful trader who boasts a fleet of galleys and a reputation for being extremely lucky. Helikaon (Aeneas' nickname) is a lesser Prince of the small kingdom of Dardania and is well liked by many traders and travellers, though hated by the Mykene (Gemmell's version of the Mycenaeans). Being an enemy of the warlike Mykene is a dangerous position in the pre-Trojan war Mediterranean considering the king of the Mykene is none other than Agamemnon. Helikaon's closest friends include his mentor, Odysseus, the Trojan prince Hektor and a woman whom he hardly knows and infatuates him - the as yet unwed Andromache. Helikaon's path also crosses with many other big names in Greek and Trojan myth and it is clear that he will play a major role in the approaching war.
The book rockets along following Helikaon/Aeneas and we see quite early on how his actions and the events surrounding his life help to precipitate the march to war. Lord of the Silver Bow reaches its Epilogue well before Agamemnon has set sail for Troy with his thousand black ships, though the ambition of the Mykene king is clear and the political intrigue of pre-war Troy is certainly enough to keep the reader craving more. I am currently clamouring to see how Gemmell deals with Aeneas' life and the Trojan War itself in the next two (as yet unfinished) books. That is if, indeed, Mr. Gemmell chooses deals with the war at all - he is well known for setting a follow-up book hundreds (if not thousands) of years after the first.
Lord of the Silver Bow is not high literature, it is excellent adventure fantasy and tells a ripping Mediterranean yarn which, while devoid of Gods, is filled with Bronze-Age weapons of war, superstition and bold, well-drawn characters in a story which intriguingly draws from both The Aeneid and The Iliad as well as Gemmell's own very believable view of life in the ancient world.
Lord of the Silver Bow is well worth a read, not only because it will take most readers only a few days (and a couple of sleepless nights) to finish, but also because it will introduce those unfamiliar with the stories of Virgil and Homer to the wonderful world of Classical myth and legend.
Online, searchable version of The Iliad: The Iliad at OnlineLiterature.com (http://www.online-literature.com/homer/iliad/)
Online, searchable version of The Aeneid: The Aeneid at OnlineLiterature.com (http://www.online-literature.com/virgil/aeneid/)
Online, searchable version of The Odyssey: The Odyssey at OnlineLiterature.com (http://www.online-literature.com/homer/odyssey/)
-- Bifrost
When I received this book as a gift, I was pretty excited. I have read most of Gemmell's novels and although some his work can start to seem a bit like a find and replace on characters and places, there are a few superb exceptions. One of these exceptions is a book called Lion of Macedon, a historical fiction following the life of one of Alexander the Great's foremost military mentors, Parmenion. Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow is Gemmell's first foray into historical fiction since Lion of Macedon's disappointing sequel, The Dark Prince which was first released in 1992.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/1/9/8/LotSBcover02.jpgThe first book in what had been announced as a trilogy, Lord of the Silver Bow, like Lion of Macedon, does not follow the historically famous (or infamous) characters from The Iliad or the legendary battle between the Trojans and the Greeks; the words "Achilles" is not actually used throughout the book and instead we find the story centered on one of Homer's lesser characters and one which Virgil would later take on a post-Troy epic of his own: Aeneas. Aeneas appears to us as Helikaon, a well-known and successful trader who boasts a fleet of galleys and a reputation for being extremely lucky. Helikaon (Aeneas' nickname) is a lesser Prince of the small kingdom of Dardania and is well liked by many traders and travellers, though hated by the Mykene (Gemmell's version of the Mycenaeans). Being an enemy of the warlike Mykene is a dangerous position in the pre-Trojan war Mediterranean considering the king of the Mykene is none other than Agamemnon. Helikaon's closest friends include his mentor, Odysseus, the Trojan prince Hektor and a woman whom he hardly knows and infatuates him - the as yet unwed Andromache. Helikaon's path also crosses with many other big names in Greek and Trojan myth and it is clear that he will play a major role in the approaching war.
The book rockets along following Helikaon/Aeneas and we see quite early on how his actions and the events surrounding his life help to precipitate the march to war. Lord of the Silver Bow reaches its Epilogue well before Agamemnon has set sail for Troy with his thousand black ships, though the ambition of the Mykene king is clear and the political intrigue of pre-war Troy is certainly enough to keep the reader craving more. I am currently clamouring to see how Gemmell deals with Aeneas' life and the Trojan War itself in the next two (as yet unfinished) books. That is if, indeed, Mr. Gemmell chooses deals with the war at all - he is well known for setting a follow-up book hundreds (if not thousands) of years after the first.
Lord of the Silver Bow is not high literature, it is excellent adventure fantasy and tells a ripping Mediterranean yarn which, while devoid of Gods, is filled with Bronze-Age weapons of war, superstition and bold, well-drawn characters in a story which intriguingly draws from both The Aeneid and The Iliad as well as Gemmell's own very believable view of life in the ancient world.
Lord of the Silver Bow is well worth a read, not only because it will take most readers only a few days (and a couple of sleepless nights) to finish, but also because it will introduce those unfamiliar with the stories of Virgil and Homer to the wonderful world of Classical myth and legend.
Online, searchable version of The Iliad: The Iliad at OnlineLiterature.com (http://www.online-literature.com/homer/iliad/)
Online, searchable version of The Aeneid: The Aeneid at OnlineLiterature.com (http://www.online-literature.com/virgil/aeneid/)
Online, searchable version of The Odyssey: The Odyssey at OnlineLiterature.com (http://www.online-literature.com/homer/odyssey/)
-- Bifrost