The New Achilles (Commander)

by Christian Cameron

'Superb . . . There are few writers since Mary Renault who are better than Cameron at conjuring up a vision of ancient Greece' THE TIMES

From 'one of the finest historical fiction writers in the world' (Ben Kane) comes a brand new series about the last great hero of ancient Greece.
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Alexanor is a man who has seen too much blood. He has left the sword behind him to become a healer in the greatest sanctuary in Greece, turning his back on war.

But war has followed him to his refuge at Epidauros, and now a battle to end the freedom of Greece is all around him. The Mediterranean superpowers of Rome, Egypt and Macedon are waging their proxy wars on Hellenic soil, turning Greek farmers into slaves and mercenaries.

When wounded soldier Philopoemen is carried into his temple, Alexanor believes the man's wounds are mortal but that he is not destined to die. Because he knows Philopoemen will become Greece's champion. Its last hero. The new Achilles.

In Christian Cameron's latest historical novel the old orders of the world begin to fall apart as Rome rises to supremacy - and Greece struggles to survive. Perfect for readers of Conn Iggulden, Ben Kane, Harry Sidebottom and Simon Turney.

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WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT CHRISTIAN CAMERON:

'Emotive and powerful, and very highly recommended' PARMENION BOOKS on Salamis

'A storyteller at the height of his powers' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY on The Green Count

'Cameron's artistry and craftsmanship offer much to recommend' THE GLOBE AND MAIL on God of War

'An extraordinary and staggering achievement . . . I doubt Cameron's expertise in Greek military history can be equalled' FOR WINTER NIGHTS on God of War

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CHRISTIAN CAMERON:

'Storytelling at its very best' Clemens

'Please, pick this up and read it and enjoy it!' J

'Lots of action, history, humour' Jonathan

'A writer who really can write convincing historical fiction' Cambsman

'Absolutely fantastic in every way' Trystan

• ISBN10: 1409176568
• ISBN13: 9781409176565
• Publish Date: 18 April 2019
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
• Imprint: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[amira_95]

I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.
I found this book from C Cameron weaker that God Of War.
The plot wasn't really engaging. I didn't find myself invested enough in the political plots going on and trust me I love political History of ancient civilisations.
Also the characters, I didn't connect with them. They were plain imo. Especially Alexanor, I didn't like his way of thinking (I know it's the 3th cent BCE but still) and he was quite passive.
And imo, Philopoemen kind of lacked charisma for someone called the New Achilles. To make it short, I wished the characters were more endearing.

[zooloo1983]

Wow, so I have just finished this mammoth book and I have now to try and find the words to formulate some review to get you excited by this book. I do not think, go buy this book will do it (although you should!).

This is not a book you can skim or take lightly. You have to concentrate on the wealth of information you have in front of you. Thank god I was reading this on my kindle because quite frankly I did not have a scooby what some of the words meant and so a lot of word pressing was going on and Google was my friend. I am blown away with how amazing this book is, although honestly, I did not have a clue what was going on for the first 20% of the book. You have so many characters, places, words, regions to get your head around, but I did not care that I didn’t understand half of it, because the storytelling of Alexandor and his life from “coward” to Priest was immense.

So, I am completely kicking myself as I have basically all of Mr Cameron’s books on my Kindle, along with Ben Kane and Simon Scarrow, because this is a genre I am completely fascinated with but have not had the chance to sit down and experience. I savoured the words on the page and I want more. I will be opening that Kindle and first chance I get, reliving more stories of the Spartans, Greeks and Romans to name the big few.

I loved getting to know Alexandor and Philopoemen, The New Achilles. We see both men, ravished by their past, both broken from these events, and both grown in well-respected men in their different areas. I do feel like there is potentially more to come from them.

This book was intense too when we had battles scenes, the night attacks, assassinations, I felt like I was there witnessing it, heart in my throat. I was never sure how these things would play out. I could not speed my way through the book to find out either, I had to sit back and watch the formations flank the enemy, I had to listen to the arrows flying through the air, all the while trying to find our heroes in the midst of battle, and hope they made it safely away.

I have been rewatching Spartacus on TV lately, so it was easy to envision the characters from the show in the book, Craig Parker (Glaber) or Simon Merrels (Crassius) could easily be Nabis!

I just have to reiterate that the knowledge of Mr Cameron is immense and it truly shows. It was also refreshing to have the main character as a healer, not a ‘barbarian’ of war. Not bloodthirsty, but one to shy away, Alexandor has some candid views on the world around him but naive at the same time. Between Philopoemen, who wants the glory without saying it, and Phila, the woman that Alexandor is drawn to, opens his eyes to what truly is in ahead of him.

So I refer back to my first comment, GO.BUY.THIS.BOOK!