|
|
5.0étoiles sur 5
A Breath of Fresh Air, Jui 30 2002
Within the first few paragraphs of The Sand Reckoner, I was whisked into the delightful character of Archimedes, ancient Greek of mathematical genius. I had let the book sit unread for several months because the cover looked so sedate, and the subject matter Ñ a mathematician Ñ seemed rather unexciting, but this book was a breath of fresh air after reading so many other "heavy" historical fictions full of serious battles, treachery, and gore. What was it about this book that made me eager to gobble it up? For at least the first half of the book, we are immersed in the charming character of Archimedes, a young man who is completely ignorant of his genius. His modesty and occasional social blunders were endearing and he made me smile. His budding romance with King Hieron's daughter, Delia, although not historically recorded, is certainly plausible, and I was wishing it really could have been so. Besides the fascinating story of Archimedes' development of murderous machines to defend his city of Syracuse, and which he came to depise for their deadliness, we also are treated to the story of his slave, Marcus. Hiding his Roman citizenship, Marcus is confronted with choosing between loyalty to Syracuse or to the Romans who besiege the city. Marcus' character is completely different from that of Archimedes, and nearly as intriguing. As his crisis becomes more intense, we follow him with the same emotional involvement as we follow Archimedes. The plot interweaves the stories of these two main characters along with the stories and personalities of other characters such as Philyra, Archimedes' sister, who is loved by the slave Marcus, a love which you hope will succeed somehow. King Hieron is a lovable king, who author Bradshaw has imbued with great wisdom in his quest for peace and justice. The characters that Bradshaw has developed kept making me think that she herself must be a wonderful person...that her own personality must somehow be shining through these characters. There is some danger, suspense, and adventure in this book, but it captured me with its charm, wit, and a general feel-good atmosphere.
|
