Amazon Review #3: Great Read!

An eclectic, bold, and adventurous reader, Soz, has reviewed Sword of Marathon on Amazon.co.uk:

I was looking to try something a bit different to my usual reading genre, so I thought I would give this book a try – by page 5, I was hooked!

The story is a really great romp – following the fortunes of the leading characters, Luke and his younger brother Hal. Somewhat by accident, they find themselves travelling to the political heartland of Greece. The journey proves dangerous and educational and there are understandable amounts of blood and gore along the way. What I particularly enjoyed though, was the transformation of these two from adolescents to young men. Whilst Hal maintains a steadfast gung-ho approach to everything, Luke matures into a true hero inspired by the various colourful characters he meets.

Eventually, Luke and Hal find themselves embroiled in the battle at Marathon. The ‘histories’ of Herodotus were the basis for this account, and it’s done very well. There are several nasty deaths (some, if I’m honest, a little too graphic for my taste!) and ingenious military manoeuvres.

As far as my limited knowledge of ancient history goes, it seems pretty accurate in its general setting. The English is rich and there are good layers of complexity. Full of war, history, violence and sex, I think this book will appeal mainly to male readers, however, I’m not a bloke and I can say one hundred percent that I loved it! I understand that a sequel is planned and I will eagerly await its’ release. Can’t help thinking this book would make a great film or mini-series.

As Stephen King relates in his book, On Writing, the unconscious mind often throws up the most graphic, rude, or unpleasant images and feelings. However, if a writer is to be true to himself or herself, they must transcribe these scenes to the reader, especially if they are essential to the story, otherwise the novel stops being ‘true’ and something is lost. However, thank you Soz for persevering through some of these gruesome bits and for writing this review.

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