Customer Reviews

Achilles

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After watching the recent Troy movie, I was motivated to learn more about the hero of that movie, Achilles. What better way than to read the only historically researched biography available? I searched for books and found many detailing Achilles strictly through the Trojan War, but I could get that from reading the Iliad, which I have. This book details Achilles life from day one until his death. The author does a wonderful job making the fantastical myths that surround his life come to life in reality based observations. It's not a mythological based story, but rather one of a human being who lived 3200 years ago and faced social pressures and world issues. Achilles comes across as a complex human being with his own set of problems to face in a life spent trying to figure out the meaning of life. A very entertaining book that I have already recommended to friends.

this book was an easy read and gave you the feeling of what it was like in ancient greece in the time of achilles. the book was not confusing with too many characters and events, but instead kept you turning pages to find out what happened next. it was also nice to finally find a book that was a true account of achilles, rather than a novel that has been "hollywoodized" with inaccurate accounts to make his life seem more interesting. it is important that the youth of today understand the depth of this important time in history and the difference achilles made during his life, and mike chapman gives that to us in this publication for all ages.

I'm a Marine that received orders to report to Newport from California for duty. I figured I could use a book to read on my long drive cross country. My trip was supposed to take six days but instead it took eight. I would find excuses to pull over at rest stops just to continue the novel where I had left off; I had to find out what happened next even though I already knew. The author had a way of taking an old story and making it refreshingly new, exciting, and interesting. I enjoyed the personality and life he gave to Achilles and the heroes who were with him. I give this book two thumbs way up!

Very interesting reading. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down until I was finished...

It is readily apparent that Mike Chapman has studied this subject for 40 years and is probably one of the foremost authorities regarding Achilles, if not the most. This was an incredible read that left me wanting for more. I was actually sad turning pages as I went along because I knew I was approaching the end.
Jennifer (Smith) Martin
-Stillwater, OK

There are few historical novels about the mythic Greek hero, Achilles, perhaps because there are several remarkable translations of Homer's The Iliad, at the center of which is his story. It is hard to match the original, as this pedestrian attempt amply illustrates. Homer tells the story with poetry, drama, passion, and tenderness. Mike Chapman's version, on the other hand, is Christianized drivel which is bland, misleading, and often inaccurate.

Mr. Chapman writes satisfactorily and may even love his subject, but he does not respect it. He has removed the vibrancy of Homer's epic by shifting its emphasis. Gone is the mythology of Achilles' lineage: his mother was the nymph, Thetis, daughter of the sea god Nereus. Mr. Chapman, inexplicably, makes Poseidon her father and Thetis a deluded woman who just thinks she is divine. Gone is the decisive part the gods play in the story, altering it irrevocably. Their interaction with and influence on the mortals, as well as the demigod Achilles, are integral to Homer's epic poem. The costly 10-year war between the Greeks and Trojans was both precipitated and prolonged by the bickering gods.

If the author's goal was to 'modernize' Homer by inventing 'rational' alternatives to the mythological and supernatural aspects of Homer's epic, he has succeeded only in removing its mystery and power. Chiron, the wise centaur (half-man half-horse) who tutored Achilles in fighting, music, and the healing arts is merely a remarkable horseman. No mention is made of Hephaestus, the smith god who forged Achilles' wondrous armor - a plot point on which rests the fates of Patroclus, Achilles, Hector, and the tide of the war itself. Gone is the quiet magic of King Priam's touching nocturnal pilgrimage, aided by the god Hermes, to plead for Hector's body from angry, inconsolable, noble Achilles.

Gone as well is any suggestion that Achilles and Patroclus were lovers. Their sexual relationship is widely recognized, as homosexuality between aristocratic Greek men and boys was a codified part of the society in general and the military in particular. Here they are good buddies. By choosing to ignore their love, Mr. Chapman has eliminated the reason for Achilles' terrible grief and rage. Patroclus' ghost bade his beloved companion, "Just as we grew up together in our youth, so let our bones rest side by side and our ashes be mingled in the same urn." They were buried side by side and, centuries later, their graves were honored by two other great lovers of the ancient world, Alexander the Great and Hephaistion.

I suspect Mr. Chapman fig-leafed Achilles' potent story to make it more `palatable' to modern (i.e., Christian) tastes and sensibilities. What he has wrought is an unimaginative war story, without magic or myth, which deeply diminishes Homer and his brilliant subject.