Killer of Men [Hardcover]

Christian Cameron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2010

Arimnestos is a farm boy when war breaks out between the citizens of his native Plataea and and their overbearing neighbours, Thebes. Standing in the battle line - the wall of bronze - for the first time, alongside his father and brother, he shares in a famous and unlikely victory. But after being knocked unconscious in the melee, he awakes not a hero, but a slave. Betrayed by his jealous and cowardly cousin, the freedom he fought for has now vanished, and he becomes the property of a rich citizen of Ephesus. So begins an epic journey from slavery that takes the young Arimnestos through a world poised on the brink of an epic confrontation, as the emerging civilization of the Greeks starts to flex its muscles against the established empire of the Persians. As he tries to make his fortune and revenge himself on the man who disinherited him, Arimnestos discovers that he has a talent that pays well in this new, violent world, for like his hero, Achilles, he is 'a killer of men'.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'It's an old story but Cameron gives it tremendous narrative power.' OXFORD TIMES

About the Author

Christian Cameron is a writer and military historian. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, where he served as both an aviator and an intelligence officer. He lives in Toronto.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing (August 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752898582
• ISBN-13: 978-0752898582
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.4 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #534,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Meets the Eye, December 1, 2010

By 

Nicholas Cioran - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer of Men (Hardcover)

Beneath the spiffy cover of the first book Christian Cameron's new historical fiction series lies the tale of Arimnestos, a boy growing up in the crucible of war in archaic Greece. Unlike many forays into the genre of historical fiction Mr. Cameron manages to strike the difficult balance between historical versimilitude, compelling fiction, and relevance to a modern audience. Having hit that mark, this is not your average sword and sandals epic. Rather we have an insight into the soul of a man who is coming to terms with the deeds of his life, good and bad, happy and sad, humourous and dramatic.

I cannot highly recommend this book enough. In a genre that has suffered from a host of mediocre writers, Killer of Men stands above the crowd as an example of how historical fiction could be.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, August 24, 2010

By 

Hepius (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer of Men (Hardcover)

Killer of Men and Marathon Review

Characters: Killer of Men and Marathon are both first person accounts of the life of Arimnestos, the son of a Greek blacksmith who grows up to be a fearsome warrior-- a killer of men. The book takes the form of a story being recited to Arimnestos' daughter by him. As such, we know that 1) he survives and 2) he becomes a great man. What we are left to discover are the trials and tribulations of his strife-torn life. I'll leave it to say Arimnestos does not have an easy life.

There are many other characters in the books, many with similar sounding names. It is sometimes a challenge to keep the many other characters straight, but the book wouldn't be the same without the large cast. The novels are too epic in scope to have a small cast.

World building: Cameron completely captures the feel of the ancient world. The novel is filled with rich descriptions of geography, economics, technology, religion, arts, and government. This is not done in the form of info-dumping. The culture comes through the story in a very natural manner. Cameron has a scholar's mastery of the ancient Greek world.

Engagement (Willing suspension of disbelief): Killer of Men and Marathon both utterly absorbed me. Once I started reading, I didn't want to put the books down. There were no jarring or unrealistic elements that pulled me out of the story and into the real world. When you read one of Cameron's books, you are IN his world.

Writing/Mechanics/Editing: I found both novels to be error free. This seems to be increasingly rare, even with professionally edited novels. Cameron perfectly balances a fast-paced, engrossing read, while also getting across important philosophical and political concepts. Cameron also writes action scenes as well as any author I have ever read.

Cameron does use a lot of Greek vocabulary in his writing as opposed to using modern alternatives, however the meaning of the Greek terms is easy to pick up in context. To me it enriched the novels.

Impact: Cameron's novels stay with me long after I have finished reading them. One of my favorite elements of his novels (including his Tyrant series) is how well he captures the spirit of the soldier and the profound importance of the "brotherhood of arms". Arimnestos might be a killer of men, but he is still a human being who feels loss and knows the impact of his actions. The killing in Cameron's novels is not there for mindless entertainment, it always serves a deeper purpose.

I highly recommend these books and eagerly look forward to the next one in the series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to Put Down!, December 17, 2010

By 

Scott Masterton (Blaine, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Killer of Men (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. The story is detailed right from the lips of an elderly Arimnestos to his beloved daughter. No happy tale this. Rather it is the revelation to his daughter that he is a killer of men; a warrior that comes alive in the midst of blood, death and carnage. The story begins with a young Arimnestos given the rare gift (especially for the son of a simple bronze-smith) of a classical education which included reading and mathematics and equally important in those times, physical education in the arts of warfare. At a young age Arimnestos is thrust into a Phalanx and brutal battle with the Persians. After seeing his father and brother killed he's sold into slavery and it is then that the true story of young Armnestos' life as a killer of men truly begins.

Cameron does a remarkable job of making the reader feel as if he's walking the ancient world of Greece during the bronze and iron age, while at the same time seeing the same motivations that drive us today. This book ends with the promise of more to be said from Arimnestos and I for one am looking forward to hearing from him again.

A great piece of history that entertains and enlightens. Loved it!