The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Band of Thebes [Paperback]

G.A. Hauser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2005

In the year 338 BC on the plain of Chaeronea, a war was fought between the allied armies of Thebes and Athens against the might of Macedon, ruled by King Philip and his son Alexander the Great. In that bloody battle, Thebes was defeated and lost almost every man of its exclusive fighting force called the Sacred Band. Nikanoras, born the only son of an aristocrat, is sent to train with a mentor and find a male lover in order to be selected to serve with the Sacred Band of Thebes. Unknown to Nikanoras, his mentor holds a treacherous secret over his father and is in love with his mother. After Nikanoras is sent away to training, his mother and mentor kill his father and hope Nikanoras will die in war. Throughout the murderous intrigue, Nikanoras’ one saving grace is his lover—beautiful Meleagros, the only thing in his life that is stable. Together they face their destiny—to live or die in battle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 267 pages
• Publisher: PublishAmerica (July 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413774121
• ISBN-13: 978-1413774122
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,110,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

About the Author
Award-winning author G.A. Hauser was born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA and attended university in New York City. She moved to Seattle, Washington where she worked as a patrol officer with the Seattle Police Department. In early 2000 G.A. moved to Hertfordshire, England where she began her writing in earnest and published her first book, In the Shadow of Alexander. Now a full-time writer, G.A. has written over sixty novels, including several best-sellers of gay fiction and is an Honorary Board Member of Gay American Heroes for her support of the foundation. For more information on other books by G.A., visit the author at her official website. www.authorgahauser.com
G.A. has won awards from All Romance eBooks for Best Author 2010, 2009, Best Novel 2008, Mile High, and Best Author 2008, Best Novel 2007, Secrets and Misdemeanors, Best Author 2007.
The G.A. Hauser Collection
Single Titles
Unnecessary Roughness
Hot Rod
Mr. Right
Happy Endings
Down and Dirty
L.A. Masquerade
My Best Friend's Boyfriend
The Diamond Stud
The Hard Way
Games Men Play
Born to Please
Of Wolves and Men
The Order of Wolves
Got Men?
Heart of Steele
All Man
Julian
Black Leather Phoenix
London, Bloody, London
In The Dark and What Should Never Be, Erotic Short
Stories
Mark and Sharon (formally titled A Question of Sex)
A Man's Best Friend
It Takes a Man
The Physician and the Actor
For Love and Money
The Kiss
Naked Dragon
Secrets and Misdemeanors
Capital Games
Giving Up the Ghost
To Have and To Hostage
Love you, Loveday
The Boy Next Door
When Adam Met Jack
Exposure
The Vampire and the Man-eater
Murphy's Hero
Mark Antonious deMontford
Prince of Servitude
Calling Dr Love
The Rape of St. Peter
The Wedding Planner
Going Deep
Double Trouble
Pirates
Miller's Tale
Vampire Nights
Teacher's Pet
In the Shadow of Alexander
The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Band of Thebes

The Action Series
Acting Naughty
Playing Dirty
Getting it in the End
Behaving Badly
Dripping Hot
Packing Heat
Being Screwed
Something Sexy
Going Wild

Men in Motion Series
Mile High
Cruising
Driving Hard
Leather Boys

Heroes Series
Man to Man
Two In Two Out
Top Men



G.A. Hauser
Writing as Amanda Winters
Sister Moonshine
Nothing Like Romance
Silent Reign
Butterfly Suicide
Mutley's Crew

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Sacred Band deserves better tribute., July 7, 2006

By 

Bradley Bergman (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Band of Thebes (Paperback)

Unfortunately for me, the book started on a weak leg and never achieved the level of writing or historical authenticity I was hoping for. Historical references are splashed about as if to remind the reader that the author did her research instead of being woven into the storytelling as a seamless tapestry that happens to occur during a certain period in history. As such, the storytelling seems very self-conscious and I never achieved a level of total immersion in the characters or the story.

I also found the convoluted language (not just in the dialogue, but in the writing overall) distracting to the story itself. Was the author trying to imitate a pre-English way of speaking through over-use of commas and reverse sentence structure? If so it did not work for me and again resulted in the self-conscious presence of the storyteller in the work itself.

This subject matter is rich with potential and begging for a better tribute to the memory of the valiant soldiers and lovers who perished on the field of battle.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a hero's tribute, August 10, 2005

By 

M/M fan "Michael Wayne" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Band of Thebes (Paperback)

This novel is an excellent companion piece to her first work, 'In the Shadow of Alexander'. She explores the little known shock fighting force that faced King Philip in battle on the plains of Charonea. Meet the unsung heroes of that battle up close and personal in her fictional account of a young aristocrat of Thebes training to become one of the elite.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Weak and disappointing, March 21, 2010

By 

polemarch "lokhos" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Band of Thebes (Paperback)

I was very disappointed in this book; it didn't integrate research and character well. We all know the story of the Sacred Band of Thebes. This book presents nothing new, and presents it without enough muscle or force of narrative. The training and battle scenes are weak. It presents itself as nonfiction in its title and cover treatment and that can be misleading.