A review by redrocketpanda
Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Started reading this just a few days ago and stormed through it. This is the kind of book that frequently kept me up until 4am because I couldn't put it down. It is heavy on military and political strategy so if that's not your thing you might struggle. As to the gay romance between Alexander and Hephaistion, the romance is depicted on page though isn't centre-stage and sexual scenes occur off page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape

Spoiler

wrapping in spoiler just in case! There is frequent depiction of emotional abuse (potentially mental illness) from Alexander's mum towards him. There are mentions of adult/minor relationships given that it's set in Ancient Greece, and also occasional mentions of rape as something which occurs but which isn't depicted on screen or in any detail. The main characters never rape anyone though there is a short scene where Alexander and Hephaistion protect a women fleeing from rape.