Moving and brilliant, and I don’t use those terms lightly.

The book, about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, is told by two narrators. The first is Xerxes’ Persian historian. The other is Xeones, a squire for one of the Spartan knights, who is pulled from the wreckage of battle and interviewed to satisfy Xerxes’ curiosity about the Spartan warriors who cost his army so dearly. The Persians won the battle, of course, but what should have been an easy victory instead gave them pause. As Leonidas (the Spartan king) prophesied, the Spartans and their allies at Thermopylae taught “the Persian once and for all what valor free men can bring to bear against slaves, no matter how vast their numbers or how fiercely they are driven by their child-king’s whip.”

Turns out Xeones, the protagonist, died with all the rest of the men at Thermopylae. They were all together in Hell, waiting to cross the River Styx. They weren’t sad because they were dead—they had known that was coming. Sacrifice in battle was deeply embedded in their society. “Nothing good in life comes but at a price. Sweetest of all is liberty. This we have chosen and this we pay for . . . Guided by these laws, our fathers for twenty generations have breathed the blessed air of freedom and have paid the bill in full when it was presented. We, their sons, can do no less.”

No, the fallen warriors of Thermopylae didn’t regret their valiant stand. But they were sad that no one would be able to tell their tale. Apollo, feeling sorry for them, sent Xeones back to life long enough to narrate the story.

The events aren’t told strictly chronologically, but jump back and forth a bit in time. Some authors don’t pull that type of story off very well. Pressfield does. Ancient Sparta is brought to life through the characters of this book. We see their motivations, their training, their society, and what, in essence, makes them Spartans. Xeones isn’t a native Spartan, but his admiration for their society and his devotion to the soldiers he has grown up with makes him perhaps the ideal choice to tell their story.

This book had so many things I like in a good novel: history, life-like characters with great arcs, action, quotable lines. When one of the Spartan knights is told that the enemy will fire so many arrows that they will block out the sun, he replies, “Then we’ll have our battle in the shade.” When an emissary from Xerxes says the Persian emperor doesn’t want their lives, just their arms, King Leonidas says, “Tell him to come and get them.” Leonidas was a favorite character—an eloquent warrior king who led his men by example.

Thermopylae is a sober story. Even knowing how it will end, you might want a tissue handy. But the Spartan sacrifice was worthwhile—their stand bought valuable time that allowed the Greek allies to eventually beat back the Persian army, and save Greece so it could play the vital role it has in the development of Western Civilization.

Note, for those who like clean reads: hoplite battles are on the violent end of the war spectrum. Also, a lot of language in this book, but for the most part is felt accurate to the characters and not gratuitous.

3.5

Nemerljivo dobra knjiga. Nikada nisam volela ratne knjige, ali Ognjena kapija je mnogo više od toga. Probudila je u meni mnoge emocije, pred očima mi tako živo prikazala život i borbu Spartanaca da je zaista jako teško oceniti je samo peticom. Da mogu dala bih joj ocenu 20.
Knjiga je prepuna hrabrosti, borbe, poraza, pobede, ljudskih odnosa, životnih mudrosti, surovih scena i tužnih priča. Velika preporuka!
"Reći ću njegovom veličanstvu šta je kralj. Kralj ne ostaje u svom šatoru dok njegovi ljudi krvare i umiru na razbojištu. Kralj se ne gosti dok njegovi ljudi gladuju, niti spava dok oni bde držeći stražu na zidinama. Kralj ne nameće svojim ljudima odanost strahom niti je kupuje zlatom; on zaslužuje njihovu ljubav oznojenim leđima i bolom koji trpi radi njih. Najgore breme kralj prvi ponese i poslednji spusti. Kralj ne zahteva službu od onih koje vodi, već je pruža. Služi im, a ne oni njemu."

Si pongo como floja esta novela, me lapidan.

A ver, no es que sea floja, pero estoy un poco hasta el moño de la narración larga de batallas deonde nos muestran lo mala que es la guerra, los intestinos al aire, las heces, la orina, el dolor, el miedo, etc, etc, etc.

Como narrador me gustan más otros autores (Posteguillo, tirando de orgullo patrio, me gusta más).
Como interés en los personajes, pues el mismo Abercrombie no tiene nada que envidiarle al Presfield. Nada.
Los personajes femeninos apuntan algo pero se quedan en eso, en algo.
Y para colmo la historia está mas vista que el TBO (comic, de Fran Miller, igual era más exacto).

Lo mejor, para mi, los palabros griegos que se ven son las raices de mogollón de palabras en español. Estaba deseando que saliera un palabro griego nuevo para ver las similares en español.

Y si eso del griego es lo que más me ha gustado, pues eso, que no me dice demasiado de lo que he encontrado.

Por cierto, que la exaltación del valor, la superación a través de la mortificación de la carne, la camaradería y la disciplina espartana (sobre la que pasa por sus aspectos más oscuros de puntillas o directamente no pasa) no me dicen nada de nada.

Me leo y me dan ganas de dejarle en tres estrellas. Bueno, no, que me linchan.