rajigo's review
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
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
- 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
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.
wen's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
eegah's review
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Alexander the Great's coming-of-age, beautifully rendered.
There's a lot of cut-to-black time skipping, and having some knowledge about the time period before reading helps, but overall this was painstakingly put together with a lot of good research backing it. great for fans of Classical Greek history.
There's a lot of cut-to-black time skipping, and having some knowledge about the time period before reading helps, but overall this was painstakingly put together with a lot of good research backing it. great for fans of Classical Greek history.