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Bezig met laden... Men of Bronze (2005)door Scott Oden
   Geen Bezig met laden...
 Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek.  Mikaela_l | Sep 21, 2013 |    ) ElizabethChristine | Nov 1, 2011 |  ) DavidBurrows | Mar 20, 2009 |  ) egonzalez111 | Dec 31, 2007 | Although Oden seems to have a grasp of the era, the book simply did not grap me. Perhaps because the author seemed never able to leave his own era behind (ahead?) and truly embrace the era in which his characters supposedly lived, breathed, fought, loved and died. More Memphis on the Mississippi than Memphis on the Nile. I will give his work another chance, however. There is a lot of ability, just not yet marshalled. (  ) Othniel | Feb 10, 2007 | geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
It is 526 B.C. and the empire of the Pharaohs is dying, crushed by the weight of its own antiquity. Decay riddles its cities, infects its aristocracy, and weakens its armies. While across the expanse of Sinai, like jackals drawn to carrion, the forces of the King of Persia watch and wait. Leading the fight to preserve the soul of Egypt is Hasdrabal Barca, Pharaoh's deadliest killer. Possessed of a rage few men can fathom and fewer can withstand, Barca struggles each day to preserve the last sliver of his humanity. But, when one of Egypt's most celebrated generals, a Greek mercenary called Phanes, defects to the Persians, it triggers a savage war that will tax Barca's skills, and his humanity, to the limit. From the political wasteland of Palestine, to the searing deserts east of the Nile, to the streets of ancient Memphis, Barca and Phanes play a desperate game of cat-and-mouse -- a game culminating in the bloodiest battle of Egypt's history. Caught in the midst of this violence is Jauharah, a slave in the House of Life. She is Arabian, dark-haired and proud -- a healer with gifts her blood, her station, and her gender overshadow. Though her hands tend to Barca's countless wounds, it is her spirit that heals and changes him. Once a fearsome demigod of war, Hasdrabal Barca becomes human again. A man now motivated as much by love as anger. Nevertheless honor and duty have bound Barca to the fate of Egypt. A final conflict remains, a reckoning set to unfold in the dusty hills east of Pelusium. There, over the dead of two nations, Hasdrabal Barca will face the same choice as the heroes of old: Death and eternal fame or obscurity and long life. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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 Google Books — Bezig met laden...GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde: (3.54)
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One word can describe this book: Epic. At times, it felt almost like I was reading fantasy novel, with minium of magic. This isn't fantasy, but Historical fiction. This isn't my favorite genre, since it often involves bloody, gorefilled battles.. ( I know, I have probably read the wrong books). But this book were different. Oh, there were battles in it. What made me love this were the vivid settings, and the human characters.
The settings made me feel as if I were walking through Memphis, standing on the ship on the way to Gaza, feeling the wind tussling my hair. My heart ached everytime Barca lost one of his friends. The ache tenfolded when I realised the source of The Beast. At the start of the book he was almost a murdering machine. He live for battle. Yet through the book, he change. He starts to feel compassion. That change stems from Jauharah and her patience.
Jauharah... I wept for her. For her loss, for the pain she had suffered, and for the choices she had to make.
And Callianestes...I admired him for daring to what was right. Heck, I admired all the characters for their honor and courage.
The combination of the characters and the setting created a riveting tale, that I just couldn't put down. But, as I read it, I was reminded that history goes in circles, and that no civilisation last forever.
What I didn't like. I'll admit it. I wish there was a happy ending, since is Hasdrabal Barca and Jauharah had earned it. Yet, that would make it a romance, which this isn't.
Still, I'll definitely read more by Scott Oden in the future.
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