Customer Reviews

The Bronze God of Rhodes (Starblaze Editions)

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Historical novels are one thing, but Ancient-history novels are another. You have to love the period to make the characters real. You also have to know the period to make the story work. De Camp did both.

Of course, history, archeology, geology, linguistics were passions of de Camp. He wrote many books on a variety of subjects, and he and his wife visited many of the places which he wrote of. Simply put, the man knew his history.

The `Bronze God of Rhodes' deals with the family life of a young man, Chares of Lindos, an artist just completing his apprenticeship, and wishing to step out on his own. Here de Camp succeeds in bring the past into the present by showing would times--even ancient times--just don't change. Chares wants to be on his own and not go into the family business. Of course, the ancient world has its own complications as life grows more difficult for Chares with the coming of war, the difficulties of ancient sea travel and shady dealings, all with an exotic flavor. But, all the desperation and anxiety is tempered with humor. De Camp shows that in ancient Rhodes a sense of humor and the ability to tell tall-tales was just as important then as now.

Ancient-history novels aren't written any more. We're missing something, but we still have the work of L. Sprague de Camp.