I have long been a devotee of Alexander the Great (my son's middle name is Alexander), so looked forward to reading this novel. I was not disappointed! The story is told from Alexander's viewpoint as he is telling his story to his young brother-in-law. It is not a complete story of his life. He does start the story before the assassination of his father, Phillip. Most of the remainder of the story tells of his conquest of Persia. Pressfield, who has written several other historical novels based in the era of Ancient Greece, obviously does his research very well. The description of the battles is excellent. The book is quite accurate, the author knows his subject. Even better, the narration sounds like it would actually be Alexander speaking, and giving his version of the various battles and incidents of his life (which may differ from the historical record). I wish the book had been longer and included more of Alexander's other accomplishments, such as the siege of Tyre, the conquering of Egypt, etc. Alexander was fascinating and what he did in his short life (died at 32) is amazing, especially considering the time period it took place in. This novel takes you into that time period, and makes you feel like Alexander is talking to you, sitting by a campfire after a hard days march. ( )

A quick glance at this book in the library made me conclude that it had no redeeming features. Read "Fire from Heaven" or "The Persian Boy", instead.

Ano 338-323 a.C. Varado en la India ante el enemigo, Alejandro y sus tropas no consiguen prosperar en su avance de la conquista asiática. Este decide entonces contar sus recuerdos a uno de sus hombres y dejar así registro escrito para la posteridad. Comienza entonces el relato de su infancia en Macedonia, cuando ya acompañaba a su padre a ver el entrenamiento de sus ejércitos, educado por Aristóteles, cuando mas tarde ya se convertiría el mismo en soldado, luchando bajo el mando de su padre que logro devolver el honor a la tierra de Macedonia, convirtiéndose en un guerrero temido y respetado, llamado a superar las hazañas de su padre.

215/33-Ας ξεκινήσουμε αρχικά με το ότι δε βρίσκω καμία αρετή στο πόλεμο.
Ούτε και επικροτώ την εκστρατεία του Αλέξανδρου. Δε βρίσκω τίποτα ηρωικό , εκτός από το ότι κατόρθωσε να κερδίσει την εμπιστοσύνη του στρατού του και στη κυριολεξία τους μάγεψε. Θεωρώ πως ήταν πολύ αλαζόνας, ξεροκέφαλος και εγωιστής και θα συμφωνήσω απόλυτα με τις απόψεις του Ηφαιστίωνα σχετικά με το πόλεμο. Κι όμως το όνομα του έμεινε στην ιστορία, γιατί? Γιατί έφτασε μέχρι την Ινδία ? Αυτό εγώ το λέω επεκτατική πολιτική. Τέλος το βιβλίο θα το έλεγα μάλλον εγχειρίδιο πολέμου, δε θυμίζει σε τίποτα , ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα. Χιλιάδες ονόματα που δε θυμάμαι καν , τακτικές πολέμου και ονόματα λαών. Με απογοήτευσε ... ( )

3/31/22