Customer Reviews

Lion of Macedon

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here we have another masterpiece of the fantasy genre. This David Gemmell book is arguably his greatest to date. A book filled of action, passion, betrayal, and love, Lion of Macedon has become, without doubt, a jewel worth reading for all Gemmell, and fantasy fans. The book portraits the life of Parmenion "The Death of Nations", a man who is constantly manipulated by Fate and the seeress Tamis. Hated by all others because he is "mix-blooded"-half Spartan, and half Macedonian- who will raise among all the Spartiates, developing "strategos" capabilities never seeing before, showing the world no mercy in battle, and becoming the nightmares of his enemies.
The book is breathtaking in its ambition; it is a marvelous precursor to the second novel of the series entitled Dark Prince. This is a splendid read and should not be missed.
Pros: Very detailed and researched novel.
Cons: Not for somebody who is new to David Gemmell's style of writing.

Gemmell's ambitious book takes an intimate look at a name that is associated with Alexander the Great, but not much else is known about him.
He is Parmenion, called the Death of Nations.
This is a very underrated book within David Gemmell's ever-increasing back catalouge. As guessed, it is situated in ancient Greece, several decades before the emergence of the great conqueror Alexander the Great.
We get to meet the main character, Parmenion, when he is just a young boy. He is a half-Spartan who is victimised, bullied, and despised by the Spartans. The Spartans are a warrior race who value military skills above all others. Their prejudice towards outsiders is just as legendary as their prowess on the battlefield.
Will Parmenion be able to rise above this, will he become bitter and twisted, will there be any joy in the life of this sorrowful, but brilliant boy? These are the kind of questions you will ask yourself as you read through the novel. I couldn't put it down! In the best of Greek tradition, the story is essentially a tragedy. Just when you thik good things will happen for our character, they will be just as quickly snatched away.
I think anybody who had a rough childhood would really relate to Parmenion. David Gemmell gives him life through the pages without descending into maudlin sentimentality. The reader can appreciate the motives for his actions, you are swept into his world and will cheer his triumphs against the odds, and you may shed a tear or two when things just don't work out for him.
I loved this book. Read it if you enjoyed the new Troy novel, or the films Alexander or Troy. Or just read it if you want to read about a boy rising past the abuse of his peers to become one of the greatest generals yet known.

I am a 15-year-old freshmen in high school, and an avid sci-fi and fantasy reader. I have read a myriad of classic science fiction and fantasy, Lord of the Rings for example, and this book ranks right up there with these classics. I went through this book in about 10 hours... straight. I am about to order the second of this series, the book intrigued me so much. I recomend this book to any fantasy, sci-fi readers, or any people who love ancient greece, I know I fall into all these catagories, and I loved it. Happy Reading!

I had put off reading this along with Dark Prince and the Troy series. Even though I was a huge fan of David Gemmell, I never really liked historical fiction. When I heard of his passing, I was sad that I would have no new fiction of his to read ever again, so I went out and picked up the Troy novels, Dark Prince and this one. I am delighted that this is a classic Gemmell tale with a liberal dash of historical names. Though he is historically accurate as far as the end results, how he arrives is entirely his own doing. The story centers around a half Spartan/half Macedonian named Parmenion who grows to be the greatest general of the known world. The story covers the fall of Sparta as the main power of Greece, as well as the rise of Thebes. It ends with the birth of Alexander the Great. It is a very good story with typical Gemmell battles, grand heroes, and the ever present magic of the source. This story is a winner.

Maybe my title seems a little bit Greek to all of you but if you have studied ancient Greek as I did you wouldn't be so surprised ( In ancient Sparta the mothers when they were talking to their sons just before they left for war they were giving them their shield and they were saying to their sons the exact phrase that I used as my title which meant that they would prefer to see their sons dead than alive and beaten). The book is one of the best I' ve read for long time. The interesting notion that Parmenion was half Spartan and half Macedon is one of the Gemmell's innovations. I especially liked the mixing of the classic Greece with fantasy and of course I liked the idea of the Dark Childs identity... I won't say more because I will reveal the hole plot of the book and spoil all the fun.

This is by far the best book that I have ever come across.Gemmell makes the reader feel so emotional and involved in the book that once you have finished the book you feel sad that you have to leave the beautiful world that he has created. An absolute masterpiece!

Gemmell really makes the ancient world come alive. His characters are vibrant, realistic, and powerfully well written. His battle scenes are first rate and his plot is rich, turbulent, and fantastically entertaining. While this book is story of the great general Parmenion, even the minor characters like Attalus, Derae, Mothac, and Philip are outstandingly well done. It's a grand adventure; great fun. Highly recommended!

I absolutely love David Gemmell, but this book was definitely not on par with some of his others. The writing was still crisp and clean, the action excellent, the characters interesting, entertaining, and three-dimensional, but the storyline fell short. I will always recommend any of David Gemmell's writing, but I would recommend some of his others first before the Lion of Macedon.

Parmenion is part Macedonian and part Spartan. Growing up in Sparta, he is never accepted by the other youth. Hate builds in his heart for Sparta and is fully realized after he defeats one of Sparta's best warriors. From then on his mission is to destroy the world's best fighting force. Sparta has never been defeated in battle when they have an equal or greater number of warriors.

Tamis is a seeress that has seen the future and found that there is only one man who can defend the world from the evil that is descending upon it. She ostracizes Parmenion from everything that he loves so he can become the deadliest warrior and general in the world and combat the evil coming.

David Gemmell continues with his excellent writing, but this story has been played out many times. He wrote a book in his Drenai tales that is similar to the Lion of Macedon (The King Beyond the Gate). I still recommend this book to those who love reading about ancient Greece and avid fantasy readers. Enjoy!

Lion of Macedon is Gemmell's 10th book. It is the first book in Gemmell's Greek Series (comprised of Lion of Macedon and Dark Prince). I haven't read Dark Prince, but Lion of Macedon stands alone as a novel.

Lion of Macedon follows Parmenion, a real life Greek general about whose early life little is known. Lion of Macedon follows that early life, beginning with Parmenion's early life training to be a soldier in Sparta during the generation prior to the rise of Alexander the Great in Macedonia. Life in Sparta is nasty, brutish, and short for any young man and made worse by Parmenion's half-Macedonian blood. Perhaps the best part of Lion of Macedon is this window into Spartan life and culture, for good or ill, in the first part of the book, one of the more intriguing ancient cultures.

Parmenion is a middling student of war in all but two areas--distance running and tactics. The latter leads him to greatness. Lion of Macedon is very much a military fantasy, and battles and war play a heavy role.

The fantasy touch is rather light. Like the rest of the book, it's heavily rooted in Greek history. This is an adult book (I was a bit shocked when I first read it in the 4th grade). There is explicit heterosexual sex as well as implied homosexuality and pedophilia.

I was able to follow the story very well. I would recommend this book to just about anyone. I like a book that can play like a movie through my head and thats what this book did. I love the twist of the story and the creativness. This book carries a special place inside my heart.