Tells of the political maneuvering and warfare tactics of ancient Greek, though the eyes of one of its finest generals. The first half of the book builds the protagonist, then jumps ahead to introduce a second protagonist in the latter half. Both halves together really just set the stage for the second book in the series "Dark Prince". The adventures and relationships individually are fine, and the material is well researched, but the whole tome reads more as positioning for things to come. ( )

Gemmell takes as his hero the young Parmenion, half-Spartan and half-Macedonian, who has grown up with the taunts of his fully Spartan peers. Having failed to impress them with his abilities as an athlete, Parmenion hopes instead to make an impression with his strategic intelligence. Facing up against the popular Leonidas (not that Leonidas), as rival generals in a mock battle, he demonstrates a brilliant tactical broadside that goes against all the rules of Spartan combat, leaving his enemy decimated. The judges are shocked; Leonidas’ cronies are disgusted. But one man in the audience is impressed. That is the Athenian exile Xenophon (yes, that Xenophon), who takes Parmenion under his wing and begins to nurture this nascent strategos‘s gift for warfare. Time passes, and Parmenion realises that the Spartans will never allow a half-blood to rise to the officer class in their army. His life looks set to be spent in the rank-and-file, fighting another man’s battles. But he hasn’t realised that he has a role to play in another war... For the rest of the review, please see my blog: https://theidlewoman.net/2017/12/03/lion-of-macedon-david-gemmell/#more-50724

This historical fantasy really captured my interest from the first page and held it all through. This is the story of the life of the ancient Greek general, Parmenion, from boyhood in Sparta where he has always been regarded as a misfit because of his mixed Spartan/Macedonian parentage and treated cruelly and unfairly. General Xenophon [THAT Xenophon of the Anabasis ] takes him under his wing and mentors him. When the boy reaches manhood, he leaves Sparta with vengeance in his heart and is instrumental in the victory of Thebes over Sparta at Leuctra and beyond, finally breaking Sparta's power. Then he travels as a mercenary to Persia, finally travelling to Macedonia, where he forms an army for Philip II. Unbeknownst to him, a sorceress has been controlling his life, as well as that of his lost love, Denae, hoping to defeat the powers of Darkness. The ending packed a wallop!

The first part set in Sparta was cliché-ridden: the underdog mistreated at the hands of others; the sick mother; the one loyal friend; the wise mentor. I thought the YA trilogy "Spartan Warrior" did those aspects better. But once he left Sparta and went to other places, the story took off. We don't know much about Parmenion's early life, so I'm pretty sure the author made everything up until we find him in Macedonia. The facts that in Thebes he trains the Sacred Band and that he devises the winning strategy at Leuctra served only to show his talent and astuteness in military matters. I doubt he was even there in real life. The author built his story on the bare outlines of the history of that period. Parmenion also trains an army for Philip; I enjoyed that section the most. The fantasy was worked in well. The whole book was well-written.

Highly recommended. ( )

David Gemmell is a legend (much like the title of one of his books). I know GRRM, Rothfuss and Brandon Sanderson are all the rage but Gemmell is a giant among men. His books are always action packed, intelligent and passionate, extra points also for them generally of being of medium lengths (300-600 pages). I love every one of his books that I have read but for the purpose of constructing my top 20 goodreads shelf I choose Lion of Macedon as being representative of his greatness.

Lion of Macedon is based on Greek mythology with Parmenion being the main protagonist, his development from a lowly half-Spartan into "The Death of Nations". The story is full of magic, strategies and tragedy, the complete story spans just two books, this one and the sequel Dark Prince, which features a semi-possessed Alexander the Great. There is no question of reading just the first volume and abandoning the rest of the story, I can not imagine anybody wanting to do that. ( )

Substance: The story of a half-breed Macedonian-Spartan named Parmenion, rejected and despised by the Spartans with whom he lives, uses his military genius to aid the Macedonians of Phillip, becoming renowned in his own right. Based on historical persons and events, with a heavy dose of fictionalization and a helping of fantasy.
Style: Doesn't get bogged down in historical detail, but conveys the essence of the Greek city-states and their wars. Has a few passages that should have been behind the curtains. ( )