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The Gates of Hell: A Mystery of Alexander the Great

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In this, the third of his series with Alexander the Great as his featured subject, PaulDoherty appears to have grasped the atmosphere, the spirit of the times, and the aura of royal intrigue of 334 BC.

Alexander has now marched to the outskirts of Halicarnassus, the most formidable fortress city on the Persian-held coast. Alexander has already met--and routed--the forces of King Darius in an earlier battle but he has not defeated the Persians, yet. This city appears to be the thorn in his side (after all, he'd already solved the Gordian Knot puzzle!). Enter Doherty to make this scene his own in "The Gates of Hell."

This is a historical mystery and the premise that you have to have a dead (or missing) body arises early and Alexander's personal sleuths Telamon the physician and his lovely and willing (but, so far, not in THAT way) assistant Cassandra must pit their skills and brains against yet another dangerous murderer. As readers of the previous two in the series know, Telamon is a companion of Alexander's from his childhood, as well as his personal and trusted physician.

Again (for Doherty), it's another "locked room" death and, once again, the author solves the unsolvable.At the base of all this intrigue is the Pythian Manuscript, believed to hold the secret
of capturing Halicarnassus (among other things). To decipher would be the triumph of the time, or so one is told. It is written in such a secret code that, so far, the top cryptologists have been unable to get anywhere.

Alas, the first body is that of young Pamenes, who's found dead in his locked room and Telamon begins his work. Of course, it is not long before other murders are committed, a plethora of "clues" is presented, and the solution seems impossible.

Along the way, Doherty has treated us to a welcomed accounting of the men and the times, brutality and beauty alike. The author's penchant for historical detail is a plus. Doherty's mysteries generally run predictable but that does not take away from the satisfaction of reading him. He does seem more comfortable in his English mysteries, but "The Gates of Hell" shows great maturity and his many, many fans will add this
to their favorites. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

It is 334 B.C., and Memnon of Rhodes, a mercenary, has been appointed Governor of Lower Asia by King Darius of Persia. Memnon's mission is to prevent Alexander the Great of Macedon from taking the important Persian city of Halicarnassus as easily as he has taken other Persian cities in his southward march through Asia Minor. With vivid sense imagery and a keen eye for detail, Doherty brings color and drama to the maneuvering by both sides as they get ready for the siege of Halicarnassus, a city of strategic importance, which overlooks the Aegean and the Greek islands.

Using primary sources for much of his research, Doherty recreates the story of this ferocious and bloody battle. Ignoring the lofty, epic rhetoric of classic battles, he chooses instead a conversational tone, creating a sense of urgency and rapid movement in the narrative which matches the speed and drama of the action. His research, however serious it might be, is fully integrated into an exciting story, not imposed upon it, and gives a sense of harsh reality to events. His characters on both sides are memorable despite their large number, and his stunning descriptions of costume, customs, weaponry, and the frenzy of battle keep the reader almost breathless with anticipation.

While the battle rages, both sides try to decipher a mysterious manuscript by Pythias, the architect of the walls around Halicarnassus, in which he supposedly reveals a secret weakness in the walls and the location of a treasure. Scribes and cryptographers work non-stop, the breaking of the code providing an underlying motive for a series of murders which take place within the battle drama. The murder mystery adds intrigue and excitement to the historical setting, but it is the siege itself, and the details of the war, which really bring the narrative to life. Catapults turning men and horses into torches, and the euthanasia of wounded men and horses convey the brutality of warfare, while the formality of movements and the parades of warriors in battle dress show the choreography within this brutality. In this testament of one of Alexander's most ferocious battles, the reader sees that though he can be brutal and quixotic, "Alexander has a genius. He seems to have been touched by fortune." Mary Whipple

The third of Doherty's Alexander mysteries finds the son of Philip II preparing to attack Halicarnassus. Firmly ensconced in the city is the Persian 'triumvirate' of Memnon of Rhodes, the Persian satrap Orontobates, and the Greek renegade Ephialtes who are preparing the city against the coming assault.
Having been informed that the city is impregnable we learn of the Pythian manuscript whose encryption hides the secret to Halicarnassus' achilles heel. Both sides are racing to translate it.

Into the mix steps Telamon and Cassandra, tasked with project managing the decipherment effort for Alexander. The Persians have their master cryptanalyst, the Eunuch, a master-forger. However, before we can delve too deeply, Pamenes, Lord Mithra's Persian spy and on the code-breaking team of Queen Ada, is found murdered.
After the Persians raid Alexander's villa to steal Parmenes corpse and protect the identity of a spy who is supplying them with all Alexander's plans, it becomes evident that Pamenes was on the verge of cracking the code.. . the only problem with this is that for Doherty the code seems to be using english letters and there are several references to a twenty-six letter alphabet (all very inaccurate, but you can see the author's problem with introducing a code based on the Greek)
There is a fairly curious technical plot method here as we follow the actions of each side, then switch to follow the thought process of the other side as they puzzle out how and why the other side acted. It does, essentially, double the writing required for the action as it is really a regurgitation of what has previously happened. Still...past Chapter Five we move into a series of feints at the Harlicarnassus walls. Some time is spent describing the tactics Alexander used, but it is mainly used as a vehicle to emphasize that the defenders are somehow in constant possession of Alexander's military tactics.
Two more deaths then result, those of the Mageros and his daughter at the villa (plus Pamenes' cat). Telamon steers us to a sense of unease about Sarpedon (in charge of the security of the cryptoanalysts), the overtly thespian Gentius (whose presence enables Doherty to indulge in his favourite pastime of quoting various Greek authors - as he has done in the previous novels) and his implied-promiscuous wife Demertara, all the whilst teasing out the true facts as to the cryptanalysts movements on the night before and morning of Pamenes death. By page 200 of the hardback Constable version Telamon spends a page neatly summing all the questions he has now to answer. From here there are several more deaths, the most prominent being Demerata (though it's fairly obvious - and Doherty has Telamon solve it extremely rapidly - it was Gentius in a fit of passionate rage), Telamon experiments with theory after theory to determine how the spy was getting information to Memnon, the Eunuch is murdered and civil unrest inside Harlicarnassus forces the Persians to take to the open field in battle. Eventually, Telamon solves the somewhat simplistic code of Pythias, reveals the secret to gaining the city (which Alexander knew already) and participates in the storming.
Thereafter a quick return to the villa of Cybele reveals the spy and Telamon explains all in his denouement, following his usual process of granting a quick death to the guilty party in return for details of where the treasure is. Doherty's style of ancient murder mystery rolls along nicely, it is not overly heavy on characterisation, historicity or plot, but tends to focus somewhat on complexity of mystery, with his usual cryptic puzzle thrown in along the way. Whilst it is not in quite the same leagues as a Saylor or Davis, perhaps, if you're a fan of the genre the third Telamon mystery is worth the time.