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grav_ityre-imagined myths, yes there are females in history, I read Classics at uni so this is fun for me, the Aeneid had a happy ending, I have a thing for Etruscans.
The summer after grade four, I read a lot of books. Pern, Eddings, The Mists of Avalon, Clan of the Cave Bear, and last, because it was on the shelf next to Mists, The Firebrand. The Firebrand changed me in a very profound way. Because I learned and, somewhat more importantly I came to believe, that the Greeks were jerks.
(And yes, I realize that they're not actually Greeks. But for simplicity, we shall refer to them as thus.)
I've mentioned before that all good Near Eastern Scholars have a healthy disdain for the Greeks. Because everything, everything, is cooler in the Middle East. Except for maybe Tiryns. Tiryns is pretty cool. And in addition to being less cool, they were also kind of jerks. Particularly the ones in the Iliad.
The Iliad is the story of men. As is the Odyssey, though perhaps a bit less in that Penelope is actually kind of awesome and some parts of the story are about her. I'll confess straight up to not having read the Aeneid, but I did experience it by proxy as most of my friends had to translate it in senior Latin. I should read it. In any case, The Firebrand presents the other half of the story, and it is a story I find supremely more interesting.
I didn't read a lot of re-imagine myths when I was in uni, because it was too close to work. But now I can, and GOOD LORD, it is FUN!
But enough about me. Let's talk about the actual book.
OMG, THIS BOOK! The detail is amazing, which is something that struck me right away. We begin at Pylos, which is one of the palaces I actually remember in some detail on account of Linear B and a fondness for Carl Blegen. From there, the story spirals out, literally, to encompass, like, EVERY SINGLE THING I LOVE about the fall of the Bronze Age. (Which I won't be covering in this post because it would take forever.) In geographic order, no less.
My primary interest, after dead bodies, is fortifications and military styles. That's about the only thing that made the first six books of the Iliad tolerable. But somewhere around page 200 of "Black Ships", the book turned away from establishing its characters and world setting, which in and of itself was amazing, and really got going on the whole "By the way, one day these people will take over the world" thing, and with the introduction of the new sword and the beginnings of the Roman battle strategy. I won't deny that I spent most of the back half of the book having to put it DOWN because I was driving across SK with my boss for six hours, and if I freaked out about the book, it would have been awkward. BUT OMG, SO AWESOME!
I also really liked the attention to detail with regard to ships, proper terminology for everything from pottery to people (there was one moment when I thought "that word should be mend", but there's no reason why anyone who isn't an archaeologist would know that), and the way Graham put together character and world in a way that was so seamless, half the time I forgot she was doing it. And her descriptions of the countryside and the people...I could very nearly smell it, and it made me homesick.
Greek religion is painted just as prettily as their heroes in modern literature, and seeing this darker, much more accurate portrayal of it was beautifully done and completely evocative.
Also, the Evil Greek Jerkass died at the end. ;)
The characters in the story, both those we "know" and those we don't, are very nearly perfect. They are believable, heartbreaking, and historically accurate.
One of the things I don't really like about The Firebrand is that it ends badly. And you know it's going to end badly (even if you don't already know the story, because Kassandra sees it early on), and that colours your whole experience. It's hard to fall in love with people when you know their fate (though I love Hektor anyway, because I can't help it. And Kassandra, that goes without saying). That sense of dread was more or less absent from this book, because you know that most of the people survive (or at least die of old age). It was pleasantly relieving, though of course that didn't stop me from worrying every time Xandros sailed off.
OMG, XANDROS! *hearts them all*
Ahem.
The final thing I need to mention is that I love Gull. Which is interesting, because when I was a kid, and still only seeing the pretty side of Greece, I was an Athene girl. Until I was nine, I was against the Trojans because she was, and it was only when I old enough to really understand the religion that I came to understand that I could, after a fashion, like Aphrodite too. But Persephone, she crept up on me. And holy crap, I'm glad she did. Because she is awesome. And "Black Ships" explains why.
Also, there's a map. Which is handy, because I am rusty. ;) And even though Graham doesn't use the K, she does spell Athene with two e's, and I adore that.
Nine out of ten, I think. Because I've got two more to go, and I'd hate to over-extend myself this early in the game.
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eldanna? GO AND BUY THIS BOOK NOW!)
The summer after grade four, I read a lot of books. Pern, Eddings, The Mists of Avalon, Clan of the Cave Bear, and last, because it was on the shelf next to Mists, The Firebrand. The Firebrand changed me in a very profound way. Because I learned and, somewhat more importantly I came to believe, that the Greeks were jerks.
(And yes, I realize that they're not actually Greeks. But for simplicity, we shall refer to them as thus.)
I've mentioned before that all good Near Eastern Scholars have a healthy disdain for the Greeks. Because everything, everything, is cooler in the Middle East. Except for maybe Tiryns. Tiryns is pretty cool. And in addition to being less cool, they were also kind of jerks. Particularly the ones in the Iliad.
The Iliad is the story of men. As is the Odyssey, though perhaps a bit less in that Penelope is actually kind of awesome and some parts of the story are about her. I'll confess straight up to not having read the Aeneid, but I did experience it by proxy as most of my friends had to translate it in senior Latin. I should read it. In any case, The Firebrand presents the other half of the story, and it is a story I find supremely more interesting.
I didn't read a lot of re-imagine myths when I was in uni, because it was too close to work. But now I can, and GOOD LORD, it is FUN!
But enough about me. Let's talk about the actual book.
OMG, THIS BOOK! The detail is amazing, which is something that struck me right away. We begin at Pylos, which is one of the palaces I actually remember in some detail on account of Linear B and a fondness for Carl Blegen. From there, the story spirals out, literally, to encompass, like, EVERY SINGLE THING I LOVE about the fall of the Bronze Age. (Which I won't be covering in this post because it would take forever.) In geographic order, no less.
My primary interest, after dead bodies, is fortifications and military styles. That's about the only thing that made the first six books of the Iliad tolerable. But somewhere around page 200 of "Black Ships", the book turned away from establishing its characters and world setting, which in and of itself was amazing, and really got going on the whole "By the way, one day these people will take over the world" thing, and with the introduction of the new sword and the beginnings of the Roman battle strategy. I won't deny that I spent most of the back half of the book having to put it DOWN because I was driving across SK with my boss for six hours, and if I freaked out about the book, it would have been awkward. BUT OMG, SO AWESOME!
I also really liked the attention to detail with regard to ships, proper terminology for everything from pottery to people (there was one moment when I thought "that word should be mend", but there's no reason why anyone who isn't an archaeologist would know that), and the way Graham put together character and world in a way that was so seamless, half the time I forgot she was doing it. And her descriptions of the countryside and the people...I could very nearly smell it, and it made me homesick.
Greek religion is painted just as prettily as their heroes in modern literature, and seeing this darker, much more accurate portrayal of it was beautifully done and completely evocative.
Also, the Evil Greek Jerkass died at the end. ;)
The characters in the story, both those we "know" and those we don't, are very nearly perfect. They are believable, heartbreaking, and historically accurate.
One of the things I don't really like about The Firebrand is that it ends badly. And you know it's going to end badly (even if you don't already know the story, because Kassandra sees it early on), and that colours your whole experience. It's hard to fall in love with people when you know their fate (though I love Hektor anyway, because I can't help it. And Kassandra, that goes without saying). That sense of dread was more or less absent from this book, because you know that most of the people survive (or at least die of old age). It was pleasantly relieving, though of course that didn't stop me from worrying every time Xandros sailed off.
OMG, XANDROS! *hearts them all*
Ahem.
The final thing I need to mention is that I love Gull. Which is interesting, because when I was a kid, and still only seeing the pretty side of Greece, I was an Athene girl. Until I was nine, I was against the Trojans because she was, and it was only when I old enough to really understand the religion that I came to understand that I could, after a fashion, like Aphrodite too. But Persephone, she crept up on me. And holy crap, I'm glad she did. Because she is awesome. And "Black Ships" explains why.
Also, there's a map. Which is handy, because I am rusty. ;) And even though Graham doesn't use the K, she does spell Athene with two e's, and I adore that.
Nine out of ten, I think. Because I've got two more to go, and I'd hate to over-extend myself this early in the game.
(
eldanna? GO AND BUY THIS BOOK NOW!)
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no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 11:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 02:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 01:23 am (UTC)You also need to read Hand of Isis and Stealing Fire, because they're just as awesome, if of a later period than Black Ships. She made me fall in love with Ancient Egypt and Alexandria.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 08:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 12:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 04:29 am (UTC)Interestingly, since you mentioned it, my second favorite book of all time is Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, which I think I read non-stop, hardly coming up for air. I'm certainly no history scholar, but I do enjoy the period classic tales as literature and I'm a nut about religion surrounding the Arthurian legend, as well as the kingdom tales. I even have a photo of myself standing next to the grave marker where Arthur was supposedly once buried at the Glastonbury Abbey. Sadly, I didn't get to climb the Tor, but it's on my bucket list. (At least I'm a properly enthusiastic geek about some things!) ;)
I'm a Navy brat, so I've gorged on WWII submarine books - an odd passion for a lady. I've developed a taste for military and nautical history and novels pertaining to it through all time periods. It sounds like this series would be very appealing to me. Thanks for the review & rec.
To the library I must go!
no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 04:58 am (UTC)I think in my picture, I'm actually standing on top of it. ;) Amy and I climbed the Tor as well. My English friends were SO CONFUSED! They could not understand why I wanted to go to Glastonbury so badly.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 05:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-18 01:07 pm (UTC)