Gates Of Fire ~ Steven Pressfield

Who would have thought that three hundred men equipped with long spears, shields and big knives could hold off a Persian army hell bent on making Sparta and Athens pay for their defeat at Marathan. Darius (of Persia) planned this retribution for a decade, catching the Greeks off guard-ish. Sparta, taking a decisive stand sent their toughest dudes to delay the Persian forces as means of getting their own poop in one pile...so to speak. With complete knowledge of their fate, Leonidas strode to Thermopylae with his fellow Spartans and defended their lands for three days, killing more than their own number.



Having enjoyed The Virtues of War by Pressfield a few months prior to reading this work, and having always been interested in the Spartans, I set high expectations for this book. The author did not disappoint, but I was surprised, in a good way, by the approach.

Books that end with a character other than the one that had originally been narrating a tale is something that has always bothered me. Mainly because I feel like it's meant to be a fireside chat and suddenly, the storyteller falls dead and someone else finishes the tale, as if they shared the one mind. I don't know what this is really called, but I use the 'double jeopardy', because it feels like the author didn't think it through and wrote themselves into a corner. Or, they did think it through, but thought it would be an great way to introduce a new narrator for a follow-up, or as a clever device. I just find it annoying, and feel duped. Why am I going through this? Well, because while Pressfield did just that with Alexander, he avoided it with Leonidas. And I say Bravo!

The story is presented by a youth, who knowing his heritage prevented him from becoming a Spartan soldier, did not preclude him from becoming an aid to the fighters. What better perspective could there ever be? A young, enthusiastic man, watching, learning, and listening while the injured and the tired who are sharing tales by a campfire meal. He would have access to everything and everyone, especially in a situation where the only hope is a slow attrition of troops.

There are no surprises in this novel. The battle of Thermopylae ends as it should with the required heroics and plenty of drama. Thus, the captivation is Pressfield's prose. It is poetic without being flowery, it is large in its subtlety and sucks the reader in without his/her knowledge until a loved one passes a tissue over as the final pages are turned. Yes, even über macho men have admitted to shedding a tear during the final passages. That is how a story is told.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.