Spartan [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

ValerioMassimo Manfredi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2009

Herodotus tells us that not all of the three hundred Spartan warriors died at the hands of Xerxes, King of the Persians, in the battle of the Thermopylae: two were saved bringing a life-saving message back to the city...This is the saga of a Spartan family, torn apart by a cruel law that forces them to abandon one of their two sons - born lame - to the elements. The elder son, Brithos, is raised in the caste of the warriors, while the other, Talos, is spared a cruel death and is raised by a Helot shepherd, among the peasants. They live out their story in a world dominated by the clash between the Persian empire and the city-states of Greece - a ferocious, relentless conflict - until the voice of their blood and of human solidarity unites them in a thrilling, singular enterprise.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Manfredi, author of a trilogy about the life of Alexander the Great (Alexander), here tells an epic tale of Sparta and its rivalry with other Greek city-states in the face of repeated Persian invasions in the fifth century B.C. Two Spartan brothers, sons of a famous Spartan warrior, are separated as babies. One boy, Brithos, is healthy and strong, destined to become a soldier like his father. The other baby boy, Kleidemos, has a crippled foot and is left on a mountainside to die, in accordance with Spartan law. However, Kleidemos is found by an old man, a Helot (serf), and is raised as a Helot shepherd. As years pass, both boys grow into men, neither knowing of the other. Brithos becomes a Spartan warrior, and Kleidemos the shepherd (renamed Talos by his Helot family) learns a powerful and mysterious secret from his Helot grandfather. The paths of the two brothers cross in several unexpected ways as wars with Persia and conflicts and intrigues between Sparta and Athens inflame all of Greece. As master and slave, the two brothers fight alongside King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae, and they develop a bond neither can explain or understand. Brithos's fate is tied to Kleidemos, but the cripple's future is determined by the disturbing secret revealed by his grandfather. When Kleidemos finally learns that he is both a Spartan and a Helot, he is tormented by his divided loyalties. Manfredi is a masterful storyteller, carefully weaving in political and military history, realistically describing the brutality of hoplite warfare and vividly depicting the treachery and betrayal of kings.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Capitalizing on the success of his hugely popular Alexander trilogy, Italian archaeologist and novelist Manfredi has crafted another compelling saga set in ancient Greece. Born with a crippled foot, a baby is reluctantly abandoned by his aristocratic parents in accordance with Spartan law. Rescued by a Helot shepherd, young Talos grows to manhood, unaware of his noble roots. When destiny intervenes and Talos is brought face to face with his brother Brithos, a brutal Spartan warrior, the two engage in a puzzling contest of strength and wills. Eventually discovering the truth of his birth, Talos is torn between the Spartan blood coursing through his veins and the Helot pride instilled in him by his adoptive father. Plenty of action, passion, and drama underscore this authentically detailed historical adventure. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Macmillan (April 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230704395
• ISBN-13: 978-0230704398
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Moving Tale of Two Brothers and Two Worlds, November 24, 2003

By 

Stuart W. Mirsky "swm" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Spartan: A Novel (Hardcover)

For those who've read and enjoyed Pressfield's GATES OF FIRE, it may seem hopless that anyone will ever write another tale of the Spartans in as moving and powerful a fashion. But this one nearly attains that goal. Here is a novel of two brothers, separated as babes, the elder a perfect Spartan paragon, the younger deformed at birth and abandoned by his parents to die of exposure in the wild. Rescued by a shepherd of the Helots, that people who were enslaved by the Spartan citizenry, the crippled child is raised and strengthened by his adopted people and taught to become their long dreamed of champion. But the Spartan blood of Talos the Cripple calls to him and draws him inexorably back to his Spartan roots even while the Spartans alternately torment and tolerate him, recognizing him as one of their own. Drawn into the great Battle of Thermopylae, the crucial plot-point of GATES OF FIRE, Manfredi's SPARTAN follows Talos in his struggles against the brutal inhumanities of Sparta and his own return to their ranks . . . and the conspiracies that characterized the ancient Hellenic world of the Greek city-states. The depth and poetry of Talos' personal experiences and the war in his soul carry this tale, though, perhaps, some of the other characterizatations grow pale by comparison. His Helot and Spartan mothers seem ghostly shades, even in life, while his beloved Antinea has but a bit part. The other Spartans are not much stronger and the plot feels a trifle contrived as we follow Talos from slavery to heroism and then to the point where he must choose a path between the two. The tale was compelling and kept me going throughout, but the ending felt just a bit too melodramatic, with one too many loose ends. But, in the end, this was a tale that aimed to spin a modern myth out of ancient Greek cloth, complete with prophecies and mysterious dreams and a sense of fate, and the gods, at work. Not quite a tragedy in the old Greek sense, it's nevertheless finely done for all its faults. If not quite perfect, it's yet a fine rendering of an ancient and, by modern standards, despicable people, though we come to see their humanity even through the harsh and brutal measures that define them. A good one and worth it, if you like historical fiction, especially the kind that comes to us from the ancients.

Stuart W. Mirsky

author of The King of Vinland's Saga

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Damn Good Read, December 4, 2005

By 

Kenneth Sohl "[e-mail]" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Spartan: A Novel (Hardcover)

Let's cut to the chase: This novel is at least as good as Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" (an excellent book), but in two areas I feel it surpasses it. The first is that it is a faster moving story. The second is that although Manfredi, like Pressfield, clearly admires the spartans, he doesn't sanitize them quite as much. Both novels are written from the perspective of a slave, but Manfredi's Talos has feelings much more in line with what a slave would feel, I think. Both involve Thermopylae, but where that is the central theme of "Gates of Fire", here it is one occurance among many halfway through the story. Elsewhere in the reviews for this book, I found one reader who felt a little lost with a few of the characters. Manfredi does an excellent job of bringing to life historical figures such as exiled King Demaratus, but I admit that it may help to have a general understanding of the Persian war. Interestingly, the prose flows particularly well for a translation. If you like reading about ancient heroics, I highly recommend this novel.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb author and an equally superb translator, April 29, 2003

By 

"pickelhaube" (Jakarta, Jakarta Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spartan: A Novel (Hardcover)

VMM is one of the greatest writer ever, he has such an in depth knowledge of the hellenistic, roman and greek period. His background does not only supports his writing, but he is also an extremely capable stroy teller. I had read all his books, the alexander trilogy, the lost legion and spartan and I always had difficulties in stop reading them and always end up rereading them all over again.

in Spartan, VMM vividly described the spartan way of life and all the historical happenings that surrounded the spartan legacy, from the suppresion of the helots, the persian invasion, the famous death of King Leonidas and his 300 spartans, the earthquake that prompted the helots to revolt and the subsequent battles.

VMM has a 'fluid' way in writing his works, hence he is not trapped in following the familiar pattern all over again which tends to happen to other authors, thus VMM managed to avaoid the boredom of a repeated story line.

And an merit should also be rewarded to the translator, without whom the books will be non accesibe to the english readers. The translators had indeed managed to capture the very essence and beauty of VMM's works. 2 thumbs up for the translators.

I recommend all of VMM books, he is truly a marvelous historian and story teller. Simply impossible to stop reading.

I am eagerly waiting for VMM's next book.