Gates of Fire

One of the two best standalone books that I’ve ever read so far; this is truly historical fiction at its finest.

Lancelot by Giles Kristian was an amazing standalone and now, I’ve found Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. I’m starting to feel that historical fiction is the right genre to visit when I’m looking for amazing standalone books. In my opinion, both Lancelot and Gates of Fire achieved what I think at this point is impossible to find in SFF (my favorite genre) books: a standalone masterpiece. With fiery temerity, I’m not even afraid to claim these two as the best standalone books out of every genre I’ve ever read so far.

I could try to tell you all the incredible building blocks that make up this book and warrant these high praises but believe me that I will fail. Let me instead try to constrict my review to two factors: the philosophical content and the prose.

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“The hardship of the exercises is intended less to strengthen the back than to toughen the mind. The Spartans say that any army may win while it still has its legs under it; the real test comes when all strength is fled and the men must produce victory on will alone.”

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If I’m not mistaken, Gates of Fire is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Reading list. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because the philosophical content in this book is simply a jaw-dropping, resonating masterpiece. I’ve never been a soldier or marine, and I sure as hell don’t want to become one; the fear that would come with enlisting would probably make me shit myself to death. I’m always disgusted at the atrocities that humans can do to each other in the times of war. Ironically, wars also bring into focus how amazing and inspiring humanity can be. This book counters the fear and terror of war with perseverance, strength, and flaming resilience. Despite not being a soldier, I do believe that there are tons of incredibly positive messages you can get from reading this book. For example, the Spartans’ valorous attitude in the face of dominance and tyranny is something that's truly worth adapting to your life.

These results were possible only because of Pressfield’s usage of language. The prose was evocative and powerful, capable of igniting a variety of emotions. Pressfield also truly dived into the philosophy and psychology of the Spartans extremely well. Every word—even when they were info dumping—is imbued with a savage gravitational pull that utterly gripped me. Every scene was important in order to reach the culmination found in the final sections of the book, which was awe-inspiring.

Pressfield’s portrayal on The Battle of Thermopylae captured the power and strength of the Spartans. Told in vivid details that seems to transport all your senses into the book, you’ll feel the battle, tragedy, doom, and hope unfolding right in front of your eyes. You won’t be able to stop reading about the savage nature of humanity as it inflicts devastation and the counter method employed by the Spartans. I’m serious, these Spartans in a phalanx formation were a combination of almost literal demigods; functioning together with the same beating heart to become a windmill of death and defending their compatriots while killing anyone who approached them. A kindling ember of hope was lit by the 300 Spartans from the battle that results in a deluge of blood in the gates of fire, turning flesh and blood into gifts for Hades. This battle eventually would become the turning point for a future victory against the Persians and I enjoyed every moment of reading this book.

Picture: The Battle of Thermopylae



Suffice it to say that Gates of Fire has become one of the best escapism experiences I’ve ever had in my life. Don’t let the tragedy stop you from reading this book, because beneath the gores and battle, the nature of this book was hopeful and inspiring. There were myriads of incredibly positive messages in this book and I’ll definitely let them become a part of me as I move forward in my life.

Read this book and adapt the Spartans’ unconquerable strength and wisdom. Read this book at the risk of being invigorated, and adapt the Spartans’ valorous attitude. Read this book when you want to defeat Phobos (fear) and know in the end that strength in camaraderie, love, and good leadership always have a lot of power to pull you out of tough situations. I’m closing this review with one quote about leadership, it’s a bit long but trust me that you won’t regret reading it.

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“A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. A king does not command his men's loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them...A king does not expend his substance to enslave men, but by his conduct and example makes them free.”

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An excellent historical fantasy that tells the story of "300" from the eyes of a servant in the Spartan army.

This is only the first Historical Fiction book that I have read, and given that I liked (but didn't love) the first one I read, I had mixed feelings going into this one. Over the past few years I have been exclusively a fantasy reader, but I am also Greek and have always been fascinated by the Battle of Thermopyle - which this book is about. Ultimately while I do think there were some issues that prevented me from giving this a 5/5, I thought this was a riveting story that was excellently written and would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind reading books with lots of violence and profanity.

I thought the choices the author made in terms of how this story was told was brilliant. This doesn't take the "300" route and tell the story from the perspective of King Leonidas - but instead tells it from the perspective of a servant in the army. This made the book feel much more alive and gave a richer sense of what the common soldier was going through than would have been otherwise possible. I also loved that this story used a framing narrative, where the story is being told by this Greek servant to the Persian forces after the Persians won the battle. It allowed the author to make frequent jumps from the present push into Greece, as well as spending most the time going back in time to tell the story from the Greek side.

Strangely enough, I actually thought that the strongest parts of this book were the parts leading up to the battle itself. Learning the backstory of this Greek servant, and seeing the training regimes of the Greek soldiers was absolutely wonderful in every way. And while the battle itself was interesting, it's also the part that I already knew so a lot of the sense of wonder was removed and resulted in me just wanting the battle to speed along so I could get back to learning more about the parts I was not clear on.

I did find myself a bit underwhelmed by the ending of this book. The ending of the battle itself is not the end of this overall conflict. There was more too it that involved the Greeks ultimately repelling the Persians later on due to the efforts made at Thermopylae. But these events are very quickly skimmed. And while I'm sure most people that read this are done with the story after the central battle was concluded, I kept wanting more and feeling a bit cheated.

Ultimately though, this is a wonderfully crafted book that is rich on detail - that any fan of history (and likely people that aren't) will get great enjoyment out of what Steven Pressfield has written here.

An excellent first-hand account of Spartan life and training, culminating with the epic battle of Thermopylae. As much a novel as history.
Well researched and gives an insight into a society built around its military. As a former Special Operations soldier, I found the details about how the Spartans trained fascinating; it's intriguing how some thing don't change in the warrior profession.

Υπέροχο βιβλίο. Το δανείστηκα και το διάβασα, μετά το αγόρασα για εμένα αρχικά και ακολούθως πολλές φορές για δώρο.

Υπάρχουν βιβλία που με τη διήγησή τους σε κάνουν να "ζεις" τα γραφόμενα. Με αυτό το βιβλίο έπιασα τον εαυτό μου να κλαίει με ένα θάνατο.. κανονικό κλάμα, με λυγμούς. Και δεν το έχω εύκολο το κλάμα.. Αγάπησα τους Σπαρτιάτες, κόλλησα με την ιστορία τους, αλλά άλλο βιβλίο ισάξιο με αυτό (για ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα μιλάω) δεν βρήκα.

rating: 5/5 (more like 4.75 but I'll round)

The story didn't really grip me (although it was still interesting)until the last 3 books (the novel is split into 8 "books" or sections), which were filled with jaw droppingly amazing battle and camp scenes from Thermopylae. I am a sucker for well written battles and soldier camaraderie and this was it, one of the best I've read so far.

It was filled with a ton of historical accuracy, from the events to the historical people and through battle techniques, Spartan battle training and laws, through to how ancient Greece looked, felt, and even smelled. The description and details were captivating.

The character development was good as well, I fell in love with Xeo and his telling of Alexandros, Dienekes, Leonidas, Suicide, Polynikes, and others.

However, the story was told by Xeo, looking retroactively at the battle and the lives of the Spartans, as told to the Persian Great King Xerxes and involved jumping through time in a non-linear fashion. It also included some notes from a Persian historian, as if he were recording the story and happenings currently, post Battle of Thermopylae. I understand why the author made those choices, there were things that Xeo couldn't witness and an understanding we could only get from a Persian POV. I get it. Still, it served to drag me away from the story and my emotional involvement with it, and sometimes even caused confusion as to the timeline. The disruption wasn't terrible but it was enough to strip this novel of its potential to be one of my all-time favorites.

Despite this, it was still amazing, brilliant, and breathtaking; a worthy read and one of the better ones on ancient Greece. I would recommend it to everyone, especially those that love historically accurate detail and ancient military history, tactics, and battles.

If you like your historical novels on the bloody side, this one’s for you. (The gore begin in earnest in chapter 24.) Apparently the book is a favorite of people in the military -- although I suspect if Pressfield had covered the Spartan man/apprentice “mentoring” program in a bit more depth the military might not be as crazy about the book. That said, it hits many of the points they try to instill in people in the various leadership schools.

Along with battle tactics and weapons, Pressfield did a very good job describing Spartan women but, I would have liked to have seen a bit more about Diomache. I wasn’t clear on how she ended up where she did.

It’s an extensively researched book, written by a first-rate storyteller. It’s well worth your time if you don’t mind buckets of blood and guts. As with many historical novels, I think it’s too long. I like books around 300 pages or shorter. Although I suspect most readers of historical fiction will disagree with me on this point.

One final thought: What is the opposite of fear? If you want the answer it’s the last sentence of chapter 31.

Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.

Gates of Fire is a work of historical fiction that tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae. The history itself is well known. In the fall of 480 B.C., King Xerxes led an army of 2 million soldiers in their second attempt to invade Greece. King Leonidas of Sparta led 300 Spartans and a total force of around 4,000 Greek soldiers to engage the Persians at Thermopylae (the “Hot Gates,” in Greek), a natural choke point between a mountain wall and a seaside cliff that would reduce the Persians’ numerical advantage. After four days of holding the Gates while the Persians massed, and repelling the invaders for another two days in pitched battle, the Greeks were betrayed by a man who showed the Persian Immortals a mountain trail to sneak around the Greek lines and attack them from behind. Despite knowledge that they could hold the Gates no longer, Leonidas—who had received an oracle that either he would die or Greece would fall—sent the other Greek forces home while the remaining Spartans and Thespians fought to the death to protect their escape, delay the Persians as long as possible, and inspire a nation to defend themselves from Persian rule. And their sacrifice worked. A few weeks later, the Greek Navy routed the Persian fleet at Salamis and, the following year, a unified Greek army ended the Persian invasion at the Battle of Plataea.

The set up of Gates of Fire is that Xeones, a Spartan squire who survived the battle, has been asked by King Xerxes to speak about the Spartans who had proved so formidable. Xeones tells a winding tale about the fighting between Greek city-states, how he came to Sparta at 12 after his own city fell, the agoge school that trained Spartan boys to become Spartan soldiers, and the women who form the true backbone of the city. Xeones provides detailed backstories for the characters who ultimately played a role at Thermopylae, both the historical ones (King Leonidas and the Spartan officer Dienekes) and the fictional ones (most notably the Olympic champion Polynikes, young warrior Alexandros, the bastard Dekton, and the Lady Arete).

There are a number of things that make Gates of Fire work so well. First and foremost is the rich detail in the novel, covering everything from day-to-day life in Greece to the presentation of the battle itself. There’s discussion of not just the military tactics used by the Spartans, but their ethos, philosophies, and world views that led them to the Gates. The fighting here is brutal and bloody, completely realistic. It’s war, but thought of and presented as work. Even though you know going in that the Spartans are doomed to provide their noble sacrifice, the novel makes it both grittier and somehow more human and noble.

So, as the Spartans would apparently say, close your cheesepipe and “wake up to this.” Gates of Fire is an extraordinary work of historical fiction about a battle and defensive stand that Hollywood would reject as unrealistic if it weren’t true. Highly recommended.

I originally gave this five stars but looking back the constant switching of time and place got irritating near the end. It was fine at first, but when you're in the middle of the gripping titular battle the last thing you want is to zoom away to some other point in time. This is probably the most I've ever learned about the realities and intricacies of war from a single book. If you want a good way to find out exactly why the Spartans are still revered as amazing soldiers today read this book. That said, if this was primarily focused on just the battle the book took its name from I'd probably get really bored. Instead Pressfield tells a moving story of a man whose life is destroyed early in his childhood by a rival city-state and how he comes to fight in Thermopylae.

You'd think that a book like this would be constant aggro manly chest-thumping and stuff like that, and there is a good deal of that kind of thing, but what surprised me is how touching the book can be. It's really focused more on how intensely the bonds can be between human beings in stressful times and how far they go for each other. I've never been in any kind of military situation but this book helped me see how deep the camaraderie and compassion can go between soldiers. What these dudes did over the course of those days was one of the most selfless acts in history, even if they did believe in an afterlife where they would be rewarded for such acts.

This was a really great book and it just barely missed the five star mark in my humble opinion. I just look back and remember that annoying jerkiness in the narrative but everything else was fantastic. The titular battle is seriously awe-inspiring and just...epic. I don't mean that in the "it was fucking epic, man" hyperbolic sense but in the sense that it seems like something you'd read in The Odyssey. It's just a really unbelievable story and Pressfield makes it that much more vivid by painting human faces on the people involved.