Admittedly, when I first tried to read the book I got bored because of its unfamiliar style of writing. Then again I was a young and impatient teenager at that time. Taking up the challenge again with a more open mind, I am forced to scorn my younger self for giving up too easy. The author's ability to write in an classical way is amazing, giving a convincing sense of the epic and ancient times the Amazons and the Athenians lived in. I am usual taken aback by stories that start from the end and work its way backwards through the events that lead up to it, but the author does a wonderful job doing it, especially when it leads to twists in the plot.

What I will say is that the descriptions and the language used can initially be difficult to grasp. But once you get past that, it's quite a good story with a sad but satisfying end, and an inspiring one for would-be writers.

JUST EXCELLENT!!!!!

Take another journey into the Bronze age with this tale of the Son of Poseidon and Founder of Athenian Democracy meeting the steppe warriors who would be known as Amazons. This story of semi-mythological fiction reads like a spoken sage as was the fashion of written word in the era of The Epic Cycle. The Amazons are truly savages living in a savage time. Last of the Amazons is a eulogy for a lost tribe whom lived lives that cannot even be fathomed in this day and age. I found it difficult to be sympathetic towards the Amazons while reading this, despite that clearly being part of the authors goal. They are barely more than animals; in fact they consider themselves peers with horses and credit the horses as their greatest teachers. The debate between the merits of civilization versus a nomadic, steppe warrior life is a constant theme through the story. The brutal life of constant war this tribe leads often takes away from the story as much as it contributes. So if you don't tolerate senseless violence this would not be the greatest choice. Overall very immersive which is Pressfields greatest strength. I would recommend if you are fascinated by Bronze age stories as I am.

The core of this novel is about change and how it came about. Change in this book's context refers to the make over of civilization from a life lived in the openness of the plains to a life lived within walled cities. During the timeline of this book, there is conflict between the free living Amazons and the nation state of Athens taking its baby steps in the direction of democracy.

The plot line in this book is one ripe for any author to sink their teeth into. Historical certainty is not one cloak that covers the shoulders of the king Theseus or of the race of the Amazons. Their lives and all that transpired therein have their roots more firmly lodged in mythology than in history. This makes room for retelling in any way that an author deems fit. Contained here is the story of the battle between the Amazons & Athenians. One that heralded the end of days for a race and signaled the beginning for another. This being said, I did not much favor this book. One prominent reason for that being the fact that it is filled with tirades. At the drop of a hat an Amazon or an Athenian would begin to extol the virtues of their civilizations unlike no other. After the first three, I skipped pages for the others & just as I expected I did not loose even a thread of the plot's flow. There is a lack of tension here, which for a war novel can spell doom. It is exactly as one of the soldiers in the novel remarks It will not be the siege that kills us, it will be the boredom.

Steven Pressfield is an author whose works I favor tremendously. The singular reason for this is his grip on depicting battle scenes. I have gushed words upon words for his take on Thermopylae & on the campaigns of Alexander.It is no different here, the battle scenes are just as lively. The stars I give in the review are just for these. There is but a lack of urgency in the total nature of this tale that defeated the whole purpose of the novel.

Did the Amazons exist? We may never know... but Steven Pressfield gives us a tremendous story that sure makes it possible to believe they did. Great read. Starts a bit slow, stick with it!

This novel tells of the great battle between the Athenians and the Amazon warrioresses that took place after the Athenian king took one of the Amazons back to Athens to be his wife. I’ll admit I was entirely unfamiliar with this history/legend until I read this book; while I enjoy history and historical novels, my interest tends to skew more modern day, not ancient times. So I didn’t really know what to expect or had very high hopes when I started this book.

It started off slow, and I was a little confused about the point, but once I realized the majority of the book took place in the past with Damon and Selene alternately narrating, it was easier to follow and I eventually began to get invested in the characters. Unsurprisingly, given the title, it did have a somewhat sad, bittersweet ending, but one that I liked and thought wrapped up the story well. Not my favorite book, but I can appreciate the talent and skill of Pressfield. I give it a B-.

Could not finish it. Dropped at chapter 17. Very harsh book, lots of descriptions of traditions without anything happening. And when happening - it is just too bloody and too weird to continue reading. I would say at chapter 17 the story still hasn't started yet.

Τελευταία υπάρχει μία τάση στην τέχνη εκλογίκευσης των μύθων. Πολλά έργα έχουν παραχθεί που επιχειρούν να δείξουν τι μπορεί να συνέβη στην πραγματικότητα και να έχει φτάσει στις μέρες μας ως μύθος. Το βιβλίο αυτό όμως ακολουθεί μία διαφορετική προσέγγιση. Ο συγγραφέας αντί να προσπαθήσει να απομυθοποιήσει τα πράγματα παίρνει τον μύθο ως δεδομένο και προσπαθεί να τον δραματοποιήσει και να τον επεκτείνει, αφήνοντας τη φαντασία σου ελεύθερη σαν πολεμικό άλογο.Έχοντας έτοιμη αυτή τη βάση ο Steven Pressfield δεν έχει τίποτα άλλο να κάνει από το να χρησιμοποιήσει την εκπληκτική αφηγηματική του δεινότητα και να δημιουργήσει μία συναρπαστική και βαθύτατα συγκινητική ιστορία. Φυσικά το αποτέλεσμα είναι κάτι περισσότερο από μία ιστορία πολέμου και έρωτα καθώς όπως είναι γνωστό ένας μύθος δεν έχει καμία αξία αν δεν έχει κάποιο βαθύτερο νόημα, κάτι να μας πει για να μας βάλει σε σκέψεις.

I really enjoyed the other Pressfield books I've read. This one didn't live up to expectations, though. The big battle scene towards the end was excellent, but the rest of it felt like a meandering mess. The storytelling was confusing, with too many narrators skipping between different time periods. And if it's supposed to be based on the "historical" Theseus (who may or may not have existed), then I wish he'd made the Amazons "historical" too. They weren't Greek, and they wouldn't have had Greek names or worshipped Greek gods.

Έχοντας διαβάσει κάποια έργα του Steven Pressfield στο παρελθόν, ήμουν σίγουρος πως και το συγκεκριμένο θα χαρακτηρίζεται από κάποια δεδομένη ποιότητα. Εδώ λοιπόν ο συγγραφέας πλέκει τον μύθο (;) των Αμαζόνων σε συνδυασμό με την γέννηση της Δημοκρατίας στην πόλη των Αθηναίων επί βασιλείας του Θησέα. Παρότι βρήκα πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα την εισαγωγή στην ιστορία και την πλοκή έως ένα σημείο, κάποιες φορές οι περιγραφές των λαών της Ανατολής με κούρασαν, με αποτέλεσμα να μην κυλήσει όσο ευχάριστα θα ήθελα η ανάγνωση του βιβλίου. Σίγουρα είναι λογικό, εφόσον πρόκειται για ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα, ο δημιουργός να θέλει να παραθέσει όσο το δυνατόν περισσότερα και αξιόπιστα ιστορικά στοιχεία απλώς εν τέλει δεν μπόρεσα να τα συγκρατήσω όλα στο μυαλό μου. Ωστόσο, οι περιγραφές των μαχών ήταν όπως πάντα εξαιρετικές και οι σχέσεις μεταξύ των πρωταγωνιστών αναπτύσσονταν με αξιοθαύμαστο τρόπο. Πιστεύω πως οι λάτρεις του ιστορικού μυθιστορήματος σίγουρα θα εκτιμήσουν το εν λόγω έργο, απλώς εμένα δεν μπόρεσε να με κερδίσει όσο θα ήθελα.

This was given to me by a friend who thought it was really good. The premise behind the book is the author reading in Plutarch about the Amazons laying siege and taking Athens, back in the days when Theseus was in charge. The tale is told through flashbacks. However, what put me off about this book was the catalyst for moving the story forward (after setting the scene) was the gang-rape of Selene, a former Amazon warrior taken captive after the Amazon siege of Athens. And it is years later, because the king, Theseus, comes to give her some news about the now ruler of the Amazons, who was a very good friend of Selene's. The ordinary men-folk of the estate (not the lord-owner class but the stablehands, the farmhands, etc.) who normally are afraid of her think they need to take her down a peg after that, and no one in a position of power on the estate intervenes, they just let it happen. So I found that rather offensive. Like, the author couldn't think of anything else except a gang rape to set things in motion. I am sure there were other ways this could have been done, I do not think the author had to resort to gang-rape.

Osprey is a publisher of military histories, which go into the minutest details on various battles. They are really good books if you want to know exactly what happened in a battle. I recommend them, and I enjoy reading them when I am in a history mood. Last of the Amazons has many battle scenes and the author goes into excruciating detail of who was where and did what when and how so and so did that and the other group did this in response and ....yawn. Bored now. To me it didn't further the story any, it was just a lot of blah blah blah about a battle.

So if you like historical fiction where there is a ridiculous amount of attention to detail on multiple battles, and you don't mind gang rape as a plot point, this is probably a book you will like.

Another solid book from Pressfield. His books are so much better than other historical fiction because they address much deeper themes— it isn’t just a vacation in mythical age Greece. While another reader felt that the philosophical conversations of the characters were out of place, I’m willing to let it go and treat it with the same grace as you would a classical play. The idea of freedom within or without of civilization was done very well. It didn’t hurt that this book had some of the best action scenes of all time.