Hey Annis
I did look up Rosemary Sutcliff on Amazon and the Eagle of the Ninth came up with quite a few entries, and I knew it sounded familiar for some reason...
Although I've been a bit put off 'sword and sandals' epics by recent Hollywood efforts (CGI-tastic Clash of the Titans? pffft! Give me plasticine models and stop motion annimation any day!) I don't have any problem watching pretty boys prance about in armour, as long as the story is half decent as well
Anyway, you can have a spectacular cast and still produce an awful movie - just look at the Last Legion!
I'm going to the library later to look for a copy of Flowers of Adonis
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Alexander the Great and Ancient Greek Warfare
Flowers of Adonis has been out of print for many years, so you may have a bit of trouble finding it- an inter-library loan might be your best bet.
Sutcliff weaves quite a lot of myth into her stories (hence the title of the book) and often uses the theme of ritual kingship, with her central protagonist taking the role of sacrificial king.
I suspect you might prefer Pressfield, but will be interested to hear your thoughts if you do track down a copy of FOA.
Sutcliff weaves quite a lot of myth into her stories (hence the title of the book) and often uses the theme of ritual kingship, with her central protagonist taking the role of sacrificial king.
I suspect you might prefer Pressfield, but will be interested to hear your thoughts if you do track down a copy of FOA.
- Margaret
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I really enjoyed Flowers of Adonis when I read it many years ago. It includes a naval battle that was the first battle scene in a novel where I truly got a sense of what was going on. Battle scenes are really hard to get right, and many otherwise excellent authors write confusing and therefore boring battle scenes. A notable exception is Bernard Cornwell, who must have been just a kid when Sutcliff wrote Flowers of Adonis.
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Posted by Kallithrix
That should keep you quiet for a while Prof Kagan published a revisionist take on Thucydides last year which got a bit of a mixed response - have you read it? (I haven't, i hasten to add!)-- decided I had to go back and read Thucydides again before I start an historical novel of the period, so that's what I'm ploughing through at the moment!
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Donald Kagan...?
What's he been up to now then? Haven't really been keeping up with the latest academic publications since I left uni, but I do remember some very late nights with dear old Don back when I was young and enthusiastic.... shall have to give it a look
Thucydides will certainly keep me busy for a while, but not as long as it would if I was reading it in Greek! (my Loeb edition is read to tatters and covered in my pencil scrawl noting every 3rd person plural active aorist participle...) But it's just as well I refresh my memory of the period for my reenactment patter anyway - wouldn't want to give the public inaccurate information!!
Thucydides will certainly keep me busy for a while, but not as long as it would if I was reading it in Greek! (my Loeb edition is read to tatters and covered in my pencil scrawl noting every 3rd person plural active aorist participle...) But it's just as well I refresh my memory of the period for my reenactment patter anyway - wouldn't want to give the public inaccurate information!!
Wow! You do Ancient Greek re-enactment, Kallithrix?
I was most impressed, a few years ago, by an Ancient Greek group doing drill - in Greek - at a multi-period show at the Royal Kent Showground.
And I've just been reading The Nature of Alexander by Mary Renault. I read, and loved, her fiction trilogy when I was a teenager (and I remember worrying that my gran might read something rude over my shoulder when I was in the middle of The Persian Boy). This is the non-fiction distillation of all that research. I find it fascinating that we can actually know the names of officers in Alexander's army and what their units were doing in a particular battle.
I was most impressed, a few years ago, by an Ancient Greek group doing drill - in Greek - at a multi-period show at the Royal Kent Showground.
And I've just been reading The Nature of Alexander by Mary Renault. I read, and loved, her fiction trilogy when I was a teenager (and I remember worrying that my gran might read something rude over my shoulder when I was in the middle of The Persian Boy). This is the non-fiction distillation of all that research. I find it fascinating that we can actually know the names of officers in Alexander's army and what their units were doing in a particular battle.
"There were no full time Vikings back then. Everybody had another job."
Neil Gaiman, from Odd and the Frost Giants.
Neil Gaiman, from Odd and the Frost Giants.