7/2/2023 0 Comments Xeones gates of firePossibly it was more annoying for me as a Classicist who already knows all the historic details? But I suspect that others would get pulled out of the story by the sheer volume of the stuff, too. Do the research, yes, and definitely use that research to help you write an accurate and believable story, but please don't regurgitate all that research onto the page. There is *way* too much detailed explanation of how the Spartans trained their army and the mechanics of the army itself, which is of course fascinating, but belongs in a history text and not a novel. And 2) Pressfield clearly did his research and good for him, but he seems intent on his readers being constantly aware that he did his research. My two big issues with it: 1) It's way too graphic and violent for me, which, admittedly, is very much an "it's not you, it's me" thing, because of course a novel about Spartan soldiers and the battle in which nearly every single Greek soldier was killed is going to be violent if it's going to be accurate. A novelization of the Battle of Thermopylae, with an extensive fictional background for the main character.
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