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Hajo von Kracht

Pillar Island - A Minoan Novella Kindle Edition

by Hajo von Kracht (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.4 10 ratings

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This novel is set in the Bronze Age Aegean at a time when an enigmatic civilization emerged and disappeared, leaving magnificent works of art and architecture in the soil to be re-discovered 3500 years later. This was a time before Greek was the language spoken in Greece, and the Olympic gods had yet to appear on the scene.

Other than most books about this era, this novel deals with everyday people and - thoroughly researched - brings them to life. If you expect a novel about cataclysm, doom, and end-of-the-world, you will be disappointed. No Thera eruption, no Minotaur. Instead you will meet the rich and multi-faceted world of Keft, which at that time was the most modern and futuristic of the world.

We meet a young man from an isolated shepherd's village in a place which today we know by the name of Peloponnesus, but then was called Pelasgia. As the son of the village's eldest, he is destined to follow him as his heir, and so the yarn of his life appears predictable and well spun. Little does he know that soon he will be driven out of his familiar world and thrown into a universe of splendor beyond his imagination, but also intrigue and violence, much bigger than he is prepared for.

150'000 words (approx. 620 pages)

Print length

710 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

October 22, 2011
File size

1129 KB
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Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Many thanks for the Minoan novel that omits Minotaurs and Theran eruptions, which is like a breath of fresh air." - Ralph M. Rowlett, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Missouri--Columbia

From the Author

Any novel should work without references or heavy footnotes.

Doing the research - on the other hand - and diving into the specifics of the living conditions of this remote era, generated much of the excitement and fun that helped me complete this work. Much of what we take for granted, or believe to be eternal truths, was different in those days, just like the polar star, which moved into its familiar position centuries later.

If you are interested in the discoveries I integrated into the story, you may want to visit my product page on G+ (sites.google.com/site/pillarisland/). There you find more information about the author (me), and an extended glossary covering the background and the historic setting of the story. You are invited to leave your comments there.

One word to the classification. This is a full-sized epic novel of 150'000 words. Then why did I call it a "novella"? My understanding of a "true" novel is that it primarily describes the inner movement of the protagonists, and the omniscient author reveals their deepest thoughts. Honestly I don't know the deepest thoughts of people living 3500 years in the past. We can say a lot about the material world they lived in, but I am very cautious about making statements about their spiritual world. I am rather observing what my protagonists do, and let them take care for themselves. Therefore I consider the lighter term "novella" more appropriate.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005YNF4O0
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 22, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1129 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 710 pages

Customer Reviews:
3.4 10 ratings

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Hajo von Kracht

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Hajo von Kracht was born 1951 in Germany and has been living in Switzerland for the last seventeen years. He has an academic background in Computer Science as well as in Philosophy, and has been working in IT Marketing for the last twelve years. He was involved in the 1968 students' movement in Germany, has done extensive traveling through the US and other parts of the world, was repeatedly nominated by the German Green Party as candidate for the national parliament, and has a strong interest in the pre-classic Minoan era of Crete. He has published a "Minoan Novella" and a "Truth Force Diary" - excerpts from an old journal of his hichhiking days across the USA in 1978.

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3.4 out of 5

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Stephen A. Hirsch

Well Done

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2016

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This is a well executed novel with rich descriptions of a forgotten civilization- Hajo Von Kracht makes it come alive.

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Global Prof

Kindle edition needs serious proofing

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2017

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This looked like a good way to learn about Minoan culture. However, the Kindle version has tons of errors in it, so much so that some sentences don't make much sense. Words were misspelled. For instance, "lose" was spelled "loose" over and over. This is more of an action story than a literary piece. I just didn't care that much about ancient warfare, and had hoped for more insights about the Minoan civilization itself. Also, the characters lacked depth, IMHO. I gave up about 40% of the way through it.

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2013

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Very nice history novella. The author finish it without a real end. You keep questioning "What happened to this or that character?" Still missing something. But very well written and makes you wish for more.

One person found this helpful

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Vali

Interesting book

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2013

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The Minoan civilization its still a mistery. Who really were they?What was the impact of the minoan civilization on ancient Europe?
To this questions and others , Hajo von Krocht, is trying to respond in this novella, when a peasant from a village, in what is now southern Greece, arrived in the land of the minoans where his adventures begin.

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JIE

Vividly realized Bronze Age world

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2011

Minoan Crete is one of the great mysteries of modern archaeology - a civilization which was obviously advanced and creative, but whose written language is undeciphered and whose inner workings we can only guess at. In Pillar Island, Hajo von Kracht recreates that civilization in a way that transports the reader to another time. If you want to know what it must have felt like to sail on a Bronze Age ship, walk through the palace of Knossos in its heyday, or brave the weather and terrain of upcountry Crete, then Pillar Island will tell you. Von Kracht has also created a mythology and ritual for Minoan Crete which, along with legends of other contemporary civilizations, are expertly woven into the story.

The pacing is fast despite the book's length -- at 150,000 words, it doesn't seem too long -- and there are enough adventures and hairbreadth escapes for anyone. The characters are three-dimensional and their motivations well explained.

Pillar Island isn't without flaw. The protagonist is likable and well-drawn, but one might wish that he'd stand up for himself more often and learn more from his experiences. The resolution of some of the political storylines may also seem at loose ends. But none of that detracts from this book's five-star rating. A story of ordinary Bronze Age people in a well-realized setting, without the usual apocalyptic conventions of novels set in this period, is a treasure, and that is precisely what Pillar Island provides.

4 people found this helpful

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Roger Strathausen, Berlin

Ancient and Present

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2011

I am no scholar, let alone an archaeologist or art historian. Nor am I a gamer simply looking for fun. And in my constant quest for good edutainment, I have picked up a lot of books that failed the Excited-after-three-minutes-or-you're-out-Test: Learned academic writings which bored me, and fiction that had 'trivial' written all over it. And so I am going to give "Pillar Island" the highest praise a reader has to offer: I tremendously enjoyed reading this book! A story of love and war, success and failure, Pillar Island brings to life long forgotten times, teaches us about an ancient culture still inscribed in the present, and reveals a central aspect of the human condition: Our curiosity for the unknown, and the eternal drive to move forward.

2 people found this helpful

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CFive

NOT GOOD

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

Did not really enjoy this novella, it's short (duh it's a novella) but he story really needs a lot more space to develop. Set at the time of the Thera eruption lots of possibilities but does not quite come off. Kindle edition seems to be well formated (iPad 4)

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Pillar Island - A Minoan Novella Kindle Edition

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