Gifts of
the Gods: Iron and Bronze
By
Thomas J. Berry
Five men and women in
Ancient Greece are set on a dangerous journey of self-discovery during the
bitter conflict of the Peloponnesian War.
Fifty years after King
Leonidas of Sparta and his brave 300 fought to the death against Xerxes'
Persian hordes at Thermopylae, a long and bloody rivalry erupted between the
new superpowers of the era. The world of Ancient Greece in 480 B.C. was
evolving into a new landscape. The isolated, socialist regime that grew from
their king's sacrifice soon found itself at a vital crossroads with the
democratic empire of Athens. The Peloponnesian War was not just a battle for
political ideology but a brutal military campaign pitting the world's strongest
army against the most powerful navy that ever sailed the seas. The fallout from
this consummate struggle would change the course of human history forever.
Amidst the battlefields,
ordinary men and women continue to work together behind walled cities and open
farmland in order to survive. The Olympic festivals honor the gods with their
renowned athletic contests and one woman finds herself in a deadly gamble when
she must make an agonizing choice. A young helot slave longs for freedom while
a new wife imperils herself to stand by her husband and home. When a wealthy
aristocrat finds his world turned upside down, he must learn what true
sacrifice and honor are all about. A Spartan officer who has lived by a strict
code of tradition must discover new ways to cope in an unconventional war.
Five people from
different walks of life must adapt to their changing world while remaining true
to themselves. Who will survive the war and what will their lives be like when
it's over?
War
brings a great opportunity for some — death for others.
The
year is 432BC and as the spectators gather to honour the gods and to witness
the might and grace of the Olympic Games, the threat of war continues to
rumble. For Kallipateira, her only concern is for her son, Peisirodos. She has
trained him well, but only time will tell if he will follow in his ancestors’
footsteps and win the coveted Olympic laurel.
For
Brasidas, a heroic Spartan general, this coming war will be a test of not only
his leadership but also his cunning. The Spartans are a force to be reckoned
with on land but on sea… It is the Athenians who rule the waves.
Matthaios
needs no war to tell him what suffering is. He is a helot slave. His life does
not belong to him, it never had. But when fate comes knocking with the
whispered promise of liberty, he would be a fool not to at least try to win his
freedom, no matter how forlorn that hope may be.
Evania
is a woman who longs for adventure and an end to the monotonous life she now
leads. While the Spartans lay siege to her home city of Plataea, Evania has never
felt so free, or so needed.
From
the slaughter of the Spartan army at the Battle of Thermopylae to the fragile
truce between the Spartans and the Athenians after a long 27 year war, Gifts of
the Gods: Iron and Bronze By Thomas J. Berry is the remarkable story of five
people whose lives are interwoven and changed by the terror that became known
as the Peloponnesian War.
From
the opening chapter, I was left in no doubt that Berry is a vivacious
storyteller. He writes with both elegance and authority. I lost myself in this
spell-binding epic retelling of the events that led up to the Peloponnesian War
and the war itself. This remarkable book captures both sides of the
battle-lines.
Berry’s
lucid historical insight gave this book authenticity, and the fast-paced
narrative kept me turning those pages. Gifts of the Gods: Iron and Bronze is an
example of historical fiction at its very best. Filled with memorable
characters, adventure, war, love, hate, retribution, and forgiveness, there is
certainly something for everyone within this book's pages.
The
battle scenes were skilfully done. As a reader, I experienced the anticipation,
the fear, the horror as well as the exhaustion of those involved. The realities
of what a soldier's life was like was not brushed over with fancy prose. It was
gritty and harsh. In other words, it was very real in the telling.
This
book explores both the darkness and the lighter side of human nature. There are
vile deeds but also brave endeavours. The plight of the helots was profoundly
moving. Matthaios was a character that I was rooting for. I so wanted him to be
free of his shackles and the fear that the helots lived in every day. The
hunting of the helots, as if they were deer, by the Spartans was particularly
terrible. I am not going to give away the plot, but there is another incident
that left me reeling. Moreover, I found myself asking how someone could be so
cruel to a fellow human being? However, this is a different time, and to the
Spartans, the lives of the helots were of little consequence. Their lives were
as insignificant as the lamb’s as it is led to slaughter.
I
adored the characterisation of Evania. Her life is one tragedy after another
and I shed a few tears for her. Like all the other characters in this book,
Evania was well drawn and so believable.
The
drawing of Pericles was particularly well done, as was the terrible plague that
ransacked Athens. Berry has to be commended for the amount of research he has
done to bring this ancient world back to life. The story is vast and yet
utterly dazzling. Gifts of the Gods: Iron and Bronze is a historical
triumphant.
I
Highly Recommend.
Review
by Mary Anne Yarde.
The
Coffee Pot Book Club.
Thomas J. Berry
Thomas Berry received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University. A lover of history and
literature, he has found his true passion in writing historical fiction. When
not writing, he enjoys long distance running and has completed several
marathons. He currently lives with his wife and five children in New Jersey.
Congratulations on such a fabulous review. I have just picked a copy of the book up on NetGalley, I can't wait to read it!
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