5.0 out of 5 stars Superb.

W. · 7 December 2014

The best of Manfredi's novels to date. Well written, with main characters that take you with them on their journey through an epic era in the history of the Greek people. A grippingly great read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth a read

B. · 1 May 2023

Good fun, well written and plotted but not as good as his Alexander series despite being well researched and presented.

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this author and was not disappointed

J. · 17 November 2015

I love this author and was not disappointed ! he brings his caractors to life your there living it with them. He leaves you wanting more!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story well Written knows his stuff

A.C. · 12 January 2018

Excellent story wellWritten knows his stuff

3.0 out of 5 stars A slow start but worth it in the end.

D.B. · 19 March 2006

Originally written in Italian, this book tells the fictional tale of a crippled child born to a Spartan warrior family in ancient Greece (circa 500BC.) Abandoned to the wolves in the woods as was tradition, the child is rescued and bought up by the Helots, a once proud race now enslaved by Sparta.The story follows the child, Talos as he is bought up by his adoptive family and schooled in the ancient ways of the Helot people. He learns of the last King of the Helots, Aristodemus and of the legend that his ancient and preserved armour will be worn again by the liberator of his people.Meanwhile his brother, Brithos is bought up as a true and feared Spartan warrior. Neither is aware of the existence of the other until their paths cross in a violent confrontation over the woman Talos loves. From this moment on their lives and fates become entwined as Sparta embarks on numerous brutal wars.Based on actual events and people in ancient Greece, with numerous prophecies and legends, this book builds up to a tense and dramatic ending.Slow to begin with, causing confusion with numerous ancient city and location names, this book would benefit considerably by the inclusion of a map of the area as it was at that time. If your knowledge of ancient Greece is on a par with the author, a Professor of Archaeology and an Italian historian, you won't need one. But if like me your knowledge of these names from the past escapes you, I recommend reading the book with just such a map. Imagine reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings without a map? Well, that's how I felt reading this book.Ready to put the book down and forget about it during the first 100 pages, I persevered and I'm glad I did as the story really comes alive once the plot has been sown and the history lesson concluded.The writing style seemed a bit dry to start with and I wasn't sure if it was due to the translation from Italian or not. The translation only irritated me once, when 'combat' was used as a verb when 'fight' would have been far more suitable. However, once the book started to flow I had no more problems with the style and thoroughly enjoyed the book.

5.0 out of 5 stars very good read

l. · 11 October 2013

i bought these for hubby who is manfredi fan, he loves this book and got stuck straight into it, i would not hesitate to get these again for him.

4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars

C.B. · 15 June 2017

Good, but not Manfredi's best.

5.0 out of 5 stars Cant Put it down

b. · 10 October 2015

one od the best books and a new author to me that I have read in a long time

Fascinating read.

J.B. · 18 September 2017

While names have been changed and certain characters are fictional, everything else is carefully researched and adapted to historical fiction flawlessly. If you love this ancient world and want a captivating story, Manfredi's books are for you.

A Moving Tale of Two Brothers and Two Worlds

S.W.M. · 24 November 2003

For those who've read and enjoyed Pressfield's GATES OF FIRE, it may seem hopless that anyone will ever write another tale of the Spartans in as moving and powerful a fashion. But this one nearly attains that goal. Here is a novel of two brothers, separated as babes, the elder a perfect Spartan paragon, the younger deformed at birth and abandoned by his parents to die of exposure in the wild. Rescued by a shepherd of the Helots, that people who were enslaved by the Spartan citizenry, the crippled child is raised and strengthened by his adopted people and taught to become their long dreamed of champion. But the Spartan blood of Talos the Cripple calls to him and draws him inexorably back to his Spartan roots even while the Spartans alternately torment and tolerate him, recognizing him as one of their own. Drawn into the great Battle of Thermopylae, the crucial plot-point of GATES OF FIRE, Manfredi's SPARTAN follows Talos in his struggles against the brutal inhumanities of Sparta and his own return to their ranks . . . and the conspiracies that characterized the ancient Hellenic world of the Greek city-states. The depth and poetry of Talos' personal experiences and the war in his soul carry this tale, though, perhaps, some of the other characterizatations grow pale by comparison. His Helot and Spartan mothers seem ghostly shades, even in life, while his beloved Antinea has but a bit part. The other Spartans are not much stronger and the plot feels a trifle contrived as we follow Talos from slavery to heroism and then to the point where he must choose a path between the two. The tale was compelling and kept me going throughout, but the ending felt just a bit too melodramatic, with one too many loose ends. But, in the end, this was a tale that aimed to spin a modern myth out of ancient Greek cloth, complete with prophecies and mysterious dreams and a sense of fate, and the gods, at work. Not quite a tragedy in the old Greek sense, it's nevertheless finely done for all its faults. If not quite perfect, it's yet a fine rendering of an ancient and, by modern standards, despicable people, though we come to see their humanity even through the harsh and brutal measures that define them. A good one and worth it, if you like historical fiction, especially the kind that comes to us from the ancients.Stuart W. Mirskyauthor of The King of Vinland's Saga

Great read

A.N. · 21 September 2016

Excellent book. In put down able. Historically imperfect but you can feel the way of life in those days and times

pretty good read

M. · 1 April 2007

You can always tell who favors or despises the Spartan legacy by what they write about. Although you can hardly call the Spartans sweethearts one still admires them for their discipline and the way they upheld their laws. Mr. Manfredi it seems didn't like them very much, and i can understand it. I did enjoy this book, although i found it a bit lopsided. It seems that Talos goes through alot of hardship just to disappear at the end. Sometimes he would be portrayed as happy as a slave then it would portray him as downtrodden. winch one is it?? well the story line was good, alot of these types of books always revolve around a servant and what he witnesses in his servitude. ie. (the ten thousand, Gates of Fire). This was kind of more about the Helots than the Spartans and the Messenian revolt. Its a good read, im not sure how much of this was made up, but its good anyway. Yes I love Historical Fiction and I've basically read all of these books in about 3 days or less but I think that I'm going to have to get used to the fact that i will never find another book as good as Gates of Fire...(sigh)

Great seller

K.C. · 26 December 2018

Awesome book. Very accurate description from seller l.