Lion of Macedon by David Gemmell
Rate and review Lion of Macedon! | What does everyone else think?
Synopsis
Over and again, the aged seeress Tamis scried all the possible tomorrows. In every one, dark forces threatened Greece; terrible evil was poised to reenter the world. The future held only one hope: a half-caste Spartan boy, Parmenion. So Tamis made it her mission to see that Parmenion would before the deadliest warrior in the world — no matter what the cost.
Raised to manhood in Sparta, bullied and forced to fight for his life every day, Parmenion had no notion of the unseen dimensions of magic and mystery that shaped his fate. He grew in strength and cunning. His military genius earned him the title Strategos in Sparta. His triumphs for the city of Thebes made him a hero. And finally his fate led him to the service of Philip of Macedon.
As Tamis had foreseen, Parmenion's destiny was tied to the Dark God, to Philip, and to the yet-unborn Alexander. All too soon the future was upon them. Parmenion stood poised to defeat evil — or to open the gate for the Dark God to reenter the world.
Review
David Gemmell turns his writing talents to historical fantasy and produces a blinder. Exhilarating, captivating and set in Ancient Greece, Gemmell presents us with another first-class lead. Parmenion is a Spartan of mixed ancestry, scorned as a half-breed by other Spartans. Living a life fuelled by thoughts of vengeance his path crosses that of the Macedonian king Philip as he has to overcome ordeals both in the world he knows and against the hordes of evil in Hades. Lion of Macedon is a combination of the best of both worlds (history and fantasy) and will appeal to anybody who enjoys reading quality books.
Lion of Macedon (Amazon.co.uk)
Author: David Gemmell
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 512
Publication date: 1992-03-05
Publisher: Orbit
RRP: £8.99
Lowest new price: £3.47
Lowest used price: £1.09
Lion of Macedon (Amazon.com)
Author: David Gemmell
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 512
Publication date: 1992-03-05
Publisher: Orbit
RRP: $16.50
Lowest new price: $6.70
Lowest used price: $2.26
He is Parmenion. A hated outsider, he must fight the hardened heroes of Sparta. He will survive. Dark forces have marked out his destiny as the most fearsome warlord the world has known. He is the Lion of Macedon. The man called Death of Nations will reshape the glory of Greece before he faces the wrath of hell...
Product Description
Submit your own mini-review
Let people know what you think about Lion of Macedon. You can write your own mini-review and give the book the rating that you think it deserves. Your reviews will go towards giving Lion of Macedon its overall rating that will decide where Lion of Macedon finishes in the top 100 fantasy books of all time.
Books you may also enjoy...
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay's tale of a curse that wipes a country's name from memory. Only those born before the curse can remember Tigana as it was. The sorcerers of the two invading armies are integral to the plot and the themes of love and revenge run strong. ... read the full review
Summary: An immense achievement, a complex and loving piece of writing.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The year is 1806 and the country is England. The Napoleonic wars are raging in France and magic, an academic subject only, is no longer practised. A street peddler foretells of a prophesy of the return of magic to England, which has been dead since the disappearance of the Raven King some three hundred years ago. ... read the full review
Summary: A genuinely original story, beautifully told.
The Once And Future King by TH White
TH White's The Once and Future King is a serious work, delightful and witty, yet very sombre overall. The volume published as The Once and Future King is actually four works separately composed over about 20 years. The first, The Sword in the Stone, concerns the lost childhood of Arthur, future king of England, and his education by Merlyn. The second, The Queen of Air and Darkness, tells the story of adolescent sons of Orkney and their mother, Morgause. The third, The Ill-Made Knight, takes up the story of Sir Lancelot and his uneasy relation- ship with Queen Guenever and with Arthur. The fourth, The Candle in the Wind, concerns the end of the Round Table and Arthur's death. ... read the full review
Summary: Delightful and witty, yet very sombre overall. A classic.
Also in this sub-genre...
- Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
- Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver
- The Once And Future King by TH White
- Spirit Walker by Michelle Paver
- Soul Eater by Michelle Paver
- The Forgotten Legion by Ben Kane
- The Story of Cirrus Flux by Matthew Skelton
- Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton
- The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier
- The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
- Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell
- The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
- The Midnight Charter by David Whitley
- The Silver Eagle by Ben Kane
- Interregnum by SJA Turney
Book of the Month
Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill
Some doors are better left closed . . . In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in, no one comes out. And it’s been that way for fifty years. Until the night watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and investigates. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever.
Latest interviews
Interviews plus question and answer sessions with authors, narrators and publishers.
Must-reads
The following reviews are of books that begin the very best fantasy series available.
Competition: Win a signed copy of Graham Hancock's Entangled
Graham Hancock is the author of The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis, Heaven's Mirror, Supernatural and other bestselling investigations of historical mysteries. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. Written with the same page-turning appeal that has made his non-fiction so popular, Entangled is his first work of fiction. We have five signed copies of Entangled to give away as prizes. Email us the answer to the following question and the lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a copy of the book, signed by the author.
Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe
Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.
Special Feature: Understanding the author of Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.
