lazylys's review against another edition
5.0
Mary Renault ama la figura storica di Alessandro Magno, e questo romanzo ne è l'ulteriora prova. Uno sguardo romanzato, ma anche sostenuto da ampie ricerche, sulla prima metà della vita del Macedone: dalla nascita alla formazione, dai primi incarichi alla morte del padre.
Purtroppo mai tradotto in italiano, Fires from Heaven è un libro splendido.
Purtroppo mai tradotto in italiano, Fires from Heaven è un libro splendido.
cryo_guy's review against another edition
4.0
This one was pretty good, much better than the Theseus books. But my favorite will still be the Simonides and the two Plato books.
I don't have a whole lot to say other than that I think Renault was brutal to Demosthenes. She says she just writes plausible stuff based on primary sources and its not all that unlikely, but its certainly an unfavorable portrait lol. As for Philip and Alexander...Alexander is a little shit, but I enjoyed all the interactions, even Aristotle. I think one of my favorites was near the beginning when Alexander's various tutors are discussing his potential and how best to cultivate that through different disciplines. And the political machinations of later in the book are also cool.
In the end, good enough to read the sequel :D
I don't have a whole lot to say other than that I think Renault was brutal to Demosthenes. She says she just writes plausible stuff based on primary sources and its not all that unlikely, but its certainly an unfavorable portrait lol. As for Philip and Alexander...Alexander is a little shit, but I enjoyed all the interactions, even Aristotle. I think one of my favorites was near the beginning when Alexander's various tutors are discussing his potential and how best to cultivate that through different disciplines. And the political machinations of later in the book are also cool.
In the end, good enough to read the sequel :D
gnomeshill's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rajigo's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
grauspitz's review against another edition
3.0
Didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did her other books, but that might be because I’m not as enamoured with Alexander the Great.
thesingingbook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
hackedbyawriter's review against another edition
5.0
i must say i really liked alexander's characterisation and this is less misogynistic than the theseus dulogy. also alexander + hephaiston >>>>
paigepm's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
starryeved's review against another edition
3.0
"'Man's immortality is not to live forever; for that wish is born of fear. Each moment free from fear makes a man immortal.'"
Fire from Heaven is such an extensive, in-depth venture into Alexander the Great's childhood and youth that I feel bad for not rating it higher. It is a grittier, blunter shadow of Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles, with incredibly detailed and nicely lyrical writing and extremely compact text. This is the type of book you have to really focus on every single line for, lest you get lost - hence the amount of time it took for me to complete. Not to mention the PDF version I read had so many rudimentary typos it was quite difficult to navigate at times.
While the writing and battle scenes and political manipulations were all quite well-written, I didn't find myself as immersed in the glory of the age as many others were. The transitions between events were smooth, the characters were intricately developed, and the subtle depiction of Hephaestion and Alexander's relationship was definitely soft and enjoyable, but perhaps the sheer density of the writing and name-piling was just a little much for me to handle. A very decent, 3-4 (for me, a very high 3-star) star read for those who enjoy slow, detailed reads and anything about Alexander the Great - and great he was indeed.
Fire from Heaven is such an extensive, in-depth venture into Alexander the Great's childhood and youth that I feel bad for not rating it higher. It is a grittier, blunter shadow of Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles, with incredibly detailed and nicely lyrical writing and extremely compact text. This is the type of book you have to really focus on every single line for, lest you get lost - hence the amount of time it took for me to complete. Not to mention the PDF version I read had so many rudimentary typos it was quite difficult to navigate at times.
While the writing and battle scenes and political manipulations were all quite well-written, I didn't find myself as immersed in the glory of the age as many others were. The transitions between events were smooth, the characters were intricately developed, and the subtle depiction of Hephaestion and Alexander's relationship was definitely soft and enjoyable, but perhaps the sheer density of the writing and name-piling was just a little much for me to handle. A very decent, 3-4 (for me, a very high 3-star) star read for those who enjoy slow, detailed reads and anything about Alexander the Great - and great he was indeed.