Customer Reviews

Tides of War

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Alcibiades is a less than admirable historical figure for me, and because of that the Peloponnesian War, its means and consequences, and its eventual outcome, is difficult for me to be particularly interested in. If someone could pull it off, I thought, surely the author of the masterful Gates of Fire could do so. Alas, even Pressfield faltered somewhat. His battlefield and nautical fights were done well, but characterizations and intrigue were weak. I found few characters to really sympathize with, and my attention wandered off so many times and I spent so much time wishing that it would hurry up and "get better," that I wouldn't recommend it to most people.

However, if you are interested in ancient Greece, find an opportunist like Alcibiades an interesting figure to study, and don't mind tragedy without much heroism, you may like Tides of War. To be fair, in retrospect I wasn't sorry I read it; there were some parts that I really enjoyed. You may want to prepare yourself by familiarizing yourself with some of the main details of the Peloponnesian War, as Tides of War skims over much of it. Further, to Pressfield's credit, the novelization of a near-thirty year long war with such intricate complications is truly difficult, and he makes a bold attempt.

Perhaps he shouldn't have tried, or perhaps he should have narrowed his scope to a traditional novel structure: exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, resolution. Nevertheless, I give this book 3 stars, as Pressfield does as good a job as anyone out there could. I just wish he hadn't tried - and I wish I hadn't read it with the hope that it could be anywhere as good as Gates of Fire.

I agree with the reviewers who say that this is an engaging and fun-filled ride through history, as seen through the eyes of those who lived it.

What I wish to add, and warn about is the uneven quality of the writing. The writer wanders off the road quite frequently in his dialog. Soldiers as well as nobles will speak in near-Dickensonian phrases: long windy sentences, nuancing their terms and using euphemisms and poetic expressions. Then, without warning, the speaker will use gutter terms, and the conversation will linger on matters scatological or sexual. There is no thought for the consistency of the characters' nature, or previous style and manner of speaker. Nor to the reader's sensibilities.

One gets the strong impression of the author showing off his own "enlightened" freedom with such matters. He can neither argue that this is the way people spoke - for the characters are wildly inconsistent - nor that he is rendering their conversations as we would hear them today. But that is not true, either, for those who speak so crudely today are not prone to switching gears and saying "...his carriage does comport to offer such illusions to the sympathetic eye.." in the next breath.

The other possibility is that he is a good reader of history, but a poor writer. He takes his eye off the road, and drives into a ditch every few pages. His use of anachronisms - figures of speech using inventions and habits not yet invented in ancient times - is further evidence of this.

Mr Pressfield is at his best in this book. The story is compelling and absorbing. The action is non-stop and the description of the battle plans and battles puts goosebumps on your arms. I have read several novels of ancient warfare over the past two years, including Pressfields' Gates of Fire, and hands down this is the best. For sheer drama, action, characters, and just plain old adventure, this book is the best one out there. You will not want to put this baby down and then you will be very upset when you come to the end and there is no more.

Tides of War is very ambitious in its attempt to capture a 27-year struggle between two of the most fascinating civilizations in history. The fact that we have so little information on the era is surely NOT revealed in the book. Pressfield tells this story of war like a modern-day Herodotus.

While the book succeeds in many ways, the greatest feat of the all is in the unbelievably vivid battle descriptions. Like they were made for a movie, they capture not only the physical strain and confusion of combat, but the mental and emotional consequences that come with it. The battles are depicted in a very convincing and tasteful way. I'm a big fan of historical fiction and these are some of the BEST I've ever read.

Also worth praising is the book's all inclusive narration. Its material covers not only the points-of-view of the opposing cities, but it even indulged the reader with a taste of the exotic flavor of the Persian Empire. This is truly another incentive to buy this book.

Tides of War is clearly an epic. I recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach and passion for history. Five stars.....

After reading Gates of Fire, I was left thirsting for more. Unfortunately there wasn't a sequel and so I had to be content, after reading that amazing novel, to be satisfied with second rate thrillers. Then I saw it, Tides of War and I make no exaggeration when I say I was beside myself. Could this book ever equal a book as great as Gates of Fire? After having read it, I can honestly say it's pretty darn close.

There are differences between the two novels that make comparison difficult though. For instance, there are three layers to the story, whereas Gates of fire was a pretty straightforward read. It's been told by Jason, (one of our narrators) to his grandchild, who is in turn being told the story by Polemides, a client of his who was on trial for the murder of Alcibiades, the hero in our story. This may be a novel way of presenting the story, but at some points it gets to be distracting. For example when there is a shift in the narration from Polemides to Jason (the Grandfather) and then back again, it's like starting and then stopping only to start again. I would have preferred it to just flow, the story is engaging enough, it doesn't need a unique presentation style to catch the reader's attention.

That aside though, the book is a near-masterpiece. If one overlooks whatever minor historical inaccuracies there may be, you will get to appreciate Pressfield's gift of making the dry subject of history come alive. There are alot of memorable passages in the story and Alcibiades, our hero, is not presented as an immortal - who can do no wrong - but as a human who did not let his failures drag him down.

After reading this novel, I felt I had, like Alcibiades, 'dined on dreams'. Read this book.

P.S: Please Mr. Pressfield, write another book on Sparta.

I have not read Gates of Fire; and after enduring this clunker, I likely never will. This book drowns from the weight of its gimicky narrative. The "story," ostensibly about Alcibiades, is related by his assassin (Polymides) to his advocate (Jason) to his grandson. While this device, in the hands of a different author, could provide a source of narrative tension, in Pressfield's it fizzles. Jason's and Polymides's voices are identical (and thus confusing); and neither character offers a valuable or interesting perspective on the events described. The grandson is a thinly-disguised hook for hanging "back in those days" expository lumps, and he vanishes after page 3.

The result of filtering the narrative through four layers is to place distance between the reader and the story. There are no "characters" in this book -- only names on a page. They hop from battle to plague to crisis in pretty much the same way that their counterparts in Thucydides do. Except that Thucydides was a witness (and minor moving actor) in the Spartan War. For that reason, I would recommend his history over Pressfield's -- for that is what this book is, history, and nothing more.

Tides of War is far deeper in thought than Gates of Fire. It gives the whole feeling of a lost golden age. Obviously it will not be found by everyone to be as heroic as Gates of Fire, but the characters and the story could certainly pass as very real for our own age.

I began this book because a book review had praised it, but almost quit when I realized that the central focus of the book, the historical figure Alcibiades (circa 450-404 BC), did not appeal to me. He may have been enormously talented, but he wasn't someone I would want as either a friend or a colleague. His overpowering ambition led him to betray almost everyone and everything that stood in his path. To be honest, I found myself wanting to see him fail.

But I suspect that, in the end, that may not be why many readers either like or dislike this book. This book is enormously complex. If you know a lot about ancient Greek history or would like to move about in such a world wondering at all you don't understand, then this book is for you. The author has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Greek history. Bits and fragments of what he knows appear on almost every page. But almost none of that background is explained. Perhaps the publisher should create an annotated edition to explain all that is left unsaid.

If you're still intrigued after my attempt at a put-down, then by all means read the book. The author is an excellent writer and the tale is clearly one worth telling. It's just not the sort of tale that everyone enjoys reading. Personally, I prefer fiction whose central characters are as likable as the hobbits and men in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

--Michael W. Perry, Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings

i really took a liking to ancient greece after i had a class on western civilization last year. this goes into the war, not entirely factual though, and gives you a good idea of what took place. and the characters were great. it really makes you want to keep reading

It troubles me to give criticisms to a book I enjoyed so well, but I feel compelled to speak my mind about Tides of War.

Unlike other reviewers I have not read Gates of Fire first, so I have no other Pressfield to compare this to...and overall find it to be a very, very well written book, despite the criticisms I have to offer.

Steven Pressfield has chronicled the major skirmishes of the Peloponnesian War. And with a 27+ year war there is a lot to tell. Soldiers didn't drop into an area, fight, then go home because it ended 2 days later...like in the 21st century. In ancient Greece, the soldiers enlisted, fought, retired from service, then enlisted again, and fought for many more years.

They went for months without pay, days without food or water, and yet for the sake of the battle, and the cause, they endured. Some, because there simply was no other way to earn a living. To them, the promise of an 'eventual' bag of pay was better than nothing at all.

The atrocities committed to soldiers at this time are also engrossing, as it is hard in the 21st century to imagine the things they were made to suffer at that time. Cast into pits with rotting corpses; being literally branded as slaves if you surrendered; the list is endless of torments that soldiers lived through, or died as a result of.

For his attention to detail with the battles, with the armament used, with the places, and cast of characters, I give Steven Pressfield an A+......but the following criticisms also apply to my overall feeling of the book:

Criticism #1 that I have with the book, while beautifully written, is that it reads far more like a textbook than a novel. Structure and format follow a logical chronology, but each battle scene, while descriptive and engrossing, has more of a scholarly than literay feel to it. Pressfield seems to have captured the technical aspects of this lengthy, bloody war, but has skimped on the passions, emotions, and savagery that carried the Greeks to and through wars.

Criticism #2; The cover of this book reads 'A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War'...and for me was reminiscent of the book 'Daughter of Troy' by Sarah Franklin...this story is ultimately about Polemides, also known as Pommo, and the journey his life takes as he enters and exits the war itself. I found very little insight into the life of Alcibiades...although the description of the war was relatively indepth and satisfactory. The story itself turns on Polemides having occasional interaction with Alcibiades, as the latter weaves in and out of public favor during the way...but ultimately it is Polemides' tale that is told, not Alcibiades'.

There are two other Steven Pressfield novels written about Ancient Greece for me to indulge in, and I intend to do just that. However, I do hope that in the other novels, Mr. Pressfield has paid more homage to the keen minds of the Greeks, and the whys and wherefores of their actions, not just the actions themselves.