Pick another Pressfield book. Too long and should be listed as fantasy

Rounded up from 2.5 stars.

Read my review here.

A great historical fiction novel

There is so very little information about these legendary warriors part myth part history that are emerging into historical reality little by little.
Tombs have been found. DNA confirm there ascendancy and descendants at the border between China and Russia.
And most important, one of the social drafts for communities.
Failed but worth understanding it’s origins and its demise.
There is so much to discover of the amazons! And the author brings them to life with such dignity!

Pressfield's other books like the Gates of Fire and the Tides of War were excellent historical fiction novels. This one however just did not live up to his standards, I think. The story was slow and not very compelling, I think that is because it was more about an individual than it was famous wars in history.

This is a good story buckling under poor writing. The overly flowery language makes it hard to follow what is even happening at points. The use of overcomplicated language, instead of just being clear about what it happening, reminds me of something my students do when they use fancy vocabulary in their essays to make themselves sound smarter. It comes across as really pretentious here, and the longer I read, the more grating it got.

There are different narrators, but save for Selene, none of them have any sort of personality that makes them ‘sound’ different from the others. It made the POV shifts, especially since a lot of it is structed as flashbacks within flashbacks, pointless. It showed a lot of weaknesses in Pressfield’s writing, which could have been avoided if he kept to one POV. The worldbuilding is great, but even here it just feels like Pressfield is trying too hard- shoving so much in to make it as real as possible, to the point of over explaining and making things confusing.

There were also some weird, I’d call them translation issues. Like the use of capital G God and Hell, neither of which work in the context of Greek mythology. Like sure, as a rough translation, but the context between them is so off the mark it completely changes themes. This is also a book that desperately seems to be trying to have A Point, although that also doesn’t work here. This is based in Bronze Age ancient Greece, but they have Theseus being a paragon of democracy like some mythological version of a Founding Father. That doesn’t work, even if you get on board with the way the book idealizes Athenian democracy (that came way later than when this book is set and wasn’t started by a king). This book is meant to be historical fiction, but it is for sure historical fantasy (these Amazons are so overpowered they’d fit in with the DC ones).

Once the book stopped focusing on set up and got into actually telling a story, it became fun to read. Even with that, it was too long and began to get boring. This was especially obvious when the big battle, which could have been a huge climax, dragged on and on over multiple chapters, explaining every little detail that the armies were doing. It had a perfect ending, then had one last chapter that downgraded it and took out the impact. It didn’t ruin it, but that last chapter added nothing.

The one thing I have to give Pressfield hands down is that he’s good at painting horror imagery. There are visceral and gut wrenching scenes, and he is able to build tension in a short amount of time.

***Includes Spoilers***
Once again, Steven Pressfield dazzles with a masterful account of antiquity. His prior works have focused on classical Athens or Alexander's empire. For this venture, he takes us back further, to roughly 1300 BCE--a generation before the Trojan War. His subject matter represents a clash of cultures--that of Athens vs the Amazons--and a series of dichotomous conflicts: The confrontation between patriarchy and matriarchy, of urban vs rural, or that of city vs steppe; also, of group vs individual combat, and ultimately, the discord between the cultures of guilt and shame.

The Amazon call themselves tal Kyrte--ironically, the free people (wasn't that the Athenians?)--and the book shines when describing them, fleet of foot, lithe of limb, and unmatched on the hoof. Interestingly, the book slows and has a tendency to grow stodgy, whenever the Amazons dismount.


Pressfield describes the Amazons and their culture in lyrical terms. The beauty of their lives is sharply contrasted with the destruction they wrought on any who trespassed against them. And make no mistake about it: They absolutely destroy anyone who challenges them on the steppe. Even fellow horse folks, the Scythians, are no match for them.

One-on-one, the Amazons cut the Athenians to pieces. When forced to fight dismounted, or in urban terrain, the Athenian group tactics are more effective. Ultimately, the attrition of urban warfare, takes such a toll on the Amazons that they cannot recover.

Moreover, as Pressfield describes Athenian democracy, it does not come off better than the Amazonian matriarchy. And yet, the Athenians are heroic in their own way, even though refusing to meet the Amazons on the open plain. The heroines of the story, unrivaled Antiope, vengeful Eleuthera, and yes, the dogged hero, Theseus, are all larger than life. The humanity of the story is provided by the more down-to-earth Damon, Selene, and Bones (our narrators)--not to mention the aptly-named "Stuff."

Thus, Pressfield describes the long slow transition from the heroic age of Herakles--the first to defeat the Amazons--to that of the early classical polis. The victims of that transition were the Amazons and Theseus. Pressfield captures the poignancy of the transition brilliantly, when Theseus confronts Eleuthera again, decades after their horrific single combat. Eleuthera remarks, "Hate is a bond, Theseus. And I have hated you for a long time...The time of the free people is over. And here is the irony my friend. You who have destroyed us, you of all, Theseus, understood us best and loved us most deeply. You are one of us, and have always been (p. 377)."

The real irony is that Eleuthera was wrong: The Amazons destroyed themselves. First they cast off their greatest leader, Antiope. Then, when she left for Athens with Theseus, they decided against letting her go. Eleuthera, who's name means freedom, was the prime architect of this Athenian war. And so, the elite cavalry of the Amazons pounded themselves to dust against the Acropolis.

It went

Super great - Great - Super Great - Good - Myah - Good - Great.

DNF at 10%

The unique narrative skill of Pressfield brings to life a myth that many historians claim to be a legend. By the end of the book you will have known the Amazons; the Kar Alti, in the deepest sense.

I loved the writer's style: it was more literary and complex than much HF that I read. This can make it a little hard to follow. The story is important: a fleshed out version of what may have happened in Athens in 1200 BC. The military descriptions take up way more of the story than necessary, so it took some patience to follow the plot through the battle scenes. This rendering of what the culture of Amazon may have looked like I found to be very powerful.

Steven Pressfield is master of describing war. But this is a conflict of cultures on many layers. Greeks, Athenians, civilized builders of towns. Amazons, tal Kyrte, wild tribes of women warriors living in steppe. As the Greek hero Theseus sails for adventure, meeting Amazons, titanic clash of these two cultures starts. Resulting in epic siege and war.
I perceive this not only as an adventurous or military story, but as an epic mythological tale about the end of the prehistoric era and dawn of antique, golden epoch of Athens and Greece. The conflict takes place on several levels - family, nation, religion and honor.
Through the eyes of young Athenian girl, daughter of the noble lord, we can see the the women-lead culture of Amazons, proud and combative tribe who in the name of honor declare war to Athens. Women, who above else appreciate freedom, fight against rule of men. Or, you can see it as clash of barbarism with civilization. The choice is yours. But the book is excellent in either case.

While I am a huge fan of myths and legends, especially Greek mythology, I just could not get into this book. I didn’t even finish it and that is extremely rare for me to to finish a book, even when struggling. But this one was beyond me. Very disappointing.