The first instalment in the The Marathon Series renamed Long War Series is written as a first person narration by the protagonist who is in his golden years speaking to his daughter and his friends. To be honest, if one can get past the annoyance of too-oft used thugater, then later honey then you might get through the book. In the first half of the book the flow is often broken by this unnecessary narration and it reminded me of the extended versions of Oliver Stone's Alexander where Ptolemy (played by the venerable Anthony Hopkins) just talks to damn much. Why epicists (probably an invented word, but I'm sticking with it) insist on having someone explain the action that is about to take place in detail rather than let the viewer/reader figure it out on their own never ceases to amaze me. The reader/viewer is not that stupid.
Once past the old fuddy-duddy explaining his present state, the story is not so bad. It's got all the tension stemming from politics, youthful indiscretions and fatal mishaps one would want. It's also filled with more egos than one might find necessary, but when communing with the gods.... The self-explanatory title; however, does not mislead or disappoint. If the reader thinks it's a play on words, he/she will be sadly disappointed. This is the story of a boy who learns that to survive while Sparta and the Persian exist is to learn to fend for oneself, by hook, by crook or by the sword.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough in this book for me to get past the unnecessary narration, which might be error in judgement on my part as this book has put me off Cameron generally. I am told that his Tyrant series is very good and this particular book is not necessarily a good representation of his abilities. For this reason I will give his other series a try, but alas, it is unlikely I will pick up the sequel to this one.
>br>Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy Blog
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