Geekess reviewed The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney
Review of 'The Ten Thousand' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I love this book. It is well written, no, beautifully written. The language and style are elegant and p0ignant, without going over the top a la Guy Gavriel Kay. Yes, I'm comparing to GG Kay, because the book is Historical Fiction, albeit a lot more accurate than Kay's works.
The series is based on Xenophon's Anabasis, which I have, of course, read. This means that I know how the story will unfold, and certain key (twist) elements weren't a surprise. That wasn't a problem, it made the drama and expectation better.
I like the characters. Kearney creates nicely rounded characters (not too difficult, as he only has to base them on historical figures, but still... ) with gray mores.
This book is slightly reminiscent of Steven Erikson's Deadhouse Gates. It has the same theme. Erikson, being the scholar that he is, has probably taken something of the Anabasis for his …
I love this book. It is well written, no, beautifully written. The language and style are elegant and p0ignant, without going over the top a la Guy Gavriel Kay. Yes, I'm comparing to GG Kay, because the book is Historical Fiction, albeit a lot more accurate than Kay's works.
The series is based on Xenophon's Anabasis, which I have, of course, read. This means that I know how the story will unfold, and certain key (twist) elements weren't a surprise. That wasn't a problem, it made the drama and expectation better.
I like the characters. Kearney creates nicely rounded characters (not too difficult, as he only has to base them on historical figures, but still... ) with gray mores.
This book is slightly reminiscent of Steven Erikson's Deadhouse Gates. It has the same theme. Erikson, being the scholar that he is, has probably taken something of the Anabasis for his terribly haunting book.
Kearny's book doesn't have the same emotional impact the Deadhouse Gates has. For example, I can picture myself re-reading it anytime soon, which I can't really say of Erikson's book, where every re-read grows heavier and less likely, because of the impact.
It is Erikson-light, but that is in fact a compliment. It is hard to find a fantasy book as well-written as Kearney's, and I laud him for it.
Now, if it only could have been an audiobook... having to actually read instead of listen to it, really impedes on my schedule :-)