Customer Reviews

Orion and the Conqueror

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Hey, I liked the concept, but the execution is spread out as if it were an epic but there isn't enough beef. The opening scene of battle between the mercenaries and Phillip of Macedon's troops runs well enough and acts as if Bova actually did some historical research. The episodes in Phillips castle seem to be good history, but it starts to drag and its as if Bova did not want to cut out the middle sections, but did not know where the plot was supposed to end up. The arguments with Demosthenes appear to be childish, and in the end they are. The repeated angst for Anya becomes tedious, and the ominous threats of the impending end of the world are silly with no context. The episodes with Hera are like a bad Harlequin in which one of the couple can't control themselves. This book is more about loyalty and its betrayal than anything else. You really have to read the rest of the series to put it in context, and it is another of those endless series in which the plot only advances by tiny steps in each book....so be prepared to find the rest of the story if you really want to know what is happening, (too bad Amazon dosen't list the books in a series so we can find them more easily) or enjoy this for the historical content, not the science nor the fantasy, of which there really isn't much.

Orion and the Conqueror puts our hero Orion back into the thick of world history as a royal guard to Philip of Macendonia, the father of Alexander the Great. As Philip struggles to conquer/unite Greece, Alexander's mother, who is one of the Creators, struggles to ensure the ascension of Alexander to the throne. This is Orion at his best, fighting with swords and knives as he struggles with his personal loyalties versus the desires of the Creators. As Orion's powers develop, he continues to try to find the mystery behind the intentions of The Golden One. A quick fun read, Orion and the Conquerer is definitely worthwhile despite the one shortcoming of Orion's constant whining about finding Anya, the Creator he loves.

Well-known classicist Sir Kenneth Dover once described Hans Licht's absurd book on Greek sexuality as a "very bad book." One can't *quite* call Bova's book "very bad"--that honor has to go to David Gemmell's two forays into ancient Macedonia, LION OF MACEDON and THE DARK PRINCE--but this is far from a *good* book. For a man known to complain about bad science in novels, this reviewer finds it terribly ironic to see such bad and/or outdated history in this one. Bova might do well to take his own advice and stick to what he knows: science, not history.

I can't vouch for the historical accuracy of this one, but I will say that I was quite entertained. A fast, fun read, no more--but sometimes that's exactly what I want.

This is fun and exciting reading. Ben Bova is a literary giant in this genre.