85 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Fire From Heaven" a tale of hero-worship, December 13, 2002
Mary Renault's Alexandriad begins with "Fire From Heaven," a novel that encompasses the childhood and youth of Alexander the Great, King of Macedon and Persia. Alexander's character has fascinated historians and novelists from the time of his conquest to the present day. Currently, a movie is in the works that is said to owe much to Ms. Renault's work.
Mary Renault's love of ancient Greek culture was displayed in her previous novels, "The Last Of The Wine" and the Theseus duology, "The King Must Die" and "The Bull From The Sea." Her admiration for Alexander is also on display. Most authors of historical fiction are fond of their subjects, but the reader can tell Renault adored her chosen hero and found in him an ideal that may have been more imagined than real.
Still, Renault's work is superb. She was a master of language and craft, and her novel touches the key points of the Alexander legend without turning them into precious showpieces. (I particularly enjoyed the depiction of the taming of Boukephalos, with various characters facing different outcomes of the horse's purchase). She shines when depicting characters, and offers a fascinating interpretation of the relationship between Alexander, his father King Philip II of Macedon, and his mother, Queen Olympias.
History tells us Philip and Olympias were at war with each other until Philip was assassinated, which Olympias probably had a hand in. The war included their son, who is shown as an intelligent, preternaturally observant child who absorbs his mother's hurts and grievances well before he's old enough to understand them. Alexander is never allowed to be at peace as far as his loyalty to either parent is concerned; torn between a father who resents any resemblance in him to his mother, and a mother who has made him her defender and prize, Alexander's mystical bent is made plausible as the defense of a child who literally had no one else but God (or in his case, the gods) to turn to. A psychiatrist would have had a field day with the entire family, let alone with Alexander himself.
Perhaps Renault wanted to show Alexander as being able to rise above the turmoil his household was in, but she doesn't dwell on his vulnerability. That is a weakness in this book; Alexander is brilliant and bright, but rarely falls or missteps. The one time he makes a true mistake, leading to the arrest of a friend, is a scene of white-hot intensity, including the aftermath of the scene. If Renault had shown more of Alexander's weaknesses--his humanity--this book would have been a scorching testament to the beginnings of this complex man.
It is still a very good novel, particularly when Hephaistion enters Alexander's life. The man who may or may not have been Alexander's lover is portrayed as that by Renault, and her reasons are as good as any to believe the two men were lovers. Hephaistion is written well here, as the person Alexander trusted more than anyone, and who did all he could to deserve that trust. His single-minded devotion is a little annoying--surely Renault could have had him win an argument once instead of always giving in?--but Hephaistion still draws much sympathy, in light of all he goes through in order to remain at Alexander's side.
Renault wrote good battle scenes, and the Battle of Cheironeia (Chaeronea) is one of her best efforts. So, too, are the snippets from the Thracian wars and the Argive revolt in which Alexander saved his father's life (although the language is a little high-flown in the last). She had an eye for telling detail, making the reader visualize an entire scene from one small description. Two wonderful examples would be the aftermath of Cheironeia and the assassination of Philip.
I recommend "Fire From Heaven" because it's a beautifully written book and its history is portrayed with accuracy and skill. It's not quite as good as its successors, "The Persian Boy" and "Funeral Games," but it's like comparing fine apples to equally high-quality oranges. Enjoy it.
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
history springs into life, January 5, 1999
By A Customer
This book is fantastic, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction, or has studied ancient history or classics. Actually I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a stirring read, but if you belong to either of those groups I know you'd love it. I'm a post graduate classics student, and I love this book (the whole trilogy actually) because it brings Alexander's whole world to life in a way nothing else can. Fire from Heaven tells the story of the boy, adolescent, and young man who would go on to become Alexander the Great, ending just at the death of his father, when he becomes king and leaves that earlier life behind. Ms Renault captures perfectly the unique influences and stresses that shape him into the adult he becomes, and she succeeds in making him a human and sympathetic character. She does the same for most of the other characters too, creating a cast of real people, all with genuine feelings, inescapably trapped by who they are: Alexander's warring parents for example, united only in their love of him, but failing totally to understand that their mutual hatred, and the way they use their son against each other, is driving him mad. Or Alexander's friends - some genuine, some attracted only by the wealth and position thet the future king might provide. I read this book for the first time when I was 12, and I've reread it countless times in the decade since. It never fails to transport me to another place and another time - one that could be harsh and unkind, but is nonetheless so very alive that I would love to have seen it.
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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
History brought vividly, and accurately, to life., May 17, 2002
Mary Renault was one of the most successful historical novelists of the 20th Century and her Alexander novels were her masterpiece. "Fire From Heaven" is the first of the trilogy that includes "The Persian Boy" and "Funeral Games", and tells us the story of Alexander the Great, one of the most fascinating and complex characters in all history, from early childhood to the age of twenty, when he succeeded his father as king of Macedon. Renault brings us into Alexander's world and presents us to him in all his multifaceted personality: his all-consuming ambition, his sensitivity, his insatiable drive for excellence, and his love-hate relationship with his father (hate inexorably, and inevitably, won out) which was so influential in shaping his character and the course of his life. Renault also brings us into the lives of Alexander's family, especially his mother Olympias, one of the most ruthless and devious characters in ancient history; totally wrapped up in her son and willing to stop at nothing to protect his interests. Olympias might have eaten Alexander alive if it hadn't been for the influence of his friend and lover Hephaistion of whom she was wildly jealous; and Renault narrates the growing affection and love between the two boys as a natural development in their lives. Homosexuality and bisexuality were normal in the ancient world (Julius Caesar himself was described by his contemporaries as "every woman's man and every man's woman") and Renault doesn't flinch at it, and neither should anyone who reads this book. Renault's greatest strength as a historical novelist was her insistence on keeping it real, which was especially difficult in writing about Alexander's early life as almost nothing is known about him before his accession; but her research into the time and the place has the feel and sense of painstaking accuracy. There is only one thing that makes me give this book four stars instead of five, and it's that, unlike her earlier novels, Renault wrote this one in the third person. It doesn't work quite as well. What was so magical about her earlier works was that when you read them in the first person, you don't just read them, you dive right into them and live them; you're right there in the middle of the action and it's totally exhilarating from the first page to the last. Reading "Fire From Heaven" is like watching the action through a clear sheet of plate glass instead of being on the other side where the action is really happening. Renault got it right in her second book, "The Persian Boy", which told about Alexander's life from his accession as king to his death at the age of 32; "Fire From Heaven" is an excellent prequel to what was to come.
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