The Isle of Stone

De: Nicholas Nicastro

Narrado por: Jack Nolan

Duración: 10 h y 51 m

Resumen del Editor

It is a tale of two cities - the legendary duel between haughty, democratic Athens and brutal, unbeaten Sparta. After seven years of bloody conflict, a barren island in a remote corner of Greece becomes the stage for what promises to become a second Thermopylae. Four hundred Spartan soldiers are cut off by enemy ships on a narrow strip of land, starving, without supplies, yet sworn to uphold their indomitable heritage. Meanwhile, all around them, the powerful Athenian Navy masses for the inevitable assault.

As the war of nerves wears on, Spartan nobles and Athenian demagogues maneuver in the background - and two estranged Spartan brothers serve together for the first time. The eldest, Antalcidas, is a legendary warrior hobbled by a damaging secret. His brother Epitadas is envied, popular, and cruel. Together they must overcome a lifetime of hostility to survive the battle of their lives.

"With The Isle of Stone, Nicholas Nicastro joins the illustrious pedigree of Mary Renault, Valerio Massimo Manfredi and Steven Pressfield with great style and enormous panache. His hero's checkered life story is used to frame a dark and darkening history of Sparta between a hugely destructive natural disaster, a great earthquake in 464 BC, and a self-inflicted, man-made debacle during the prolonged and even more destructive Peloponnesian War. Nicastro knows his ancient sources intimately, but also has the born novelist's instinct to flesh out their bare bones all too plausibly. Nicastro's antiheroes of the isle of Sphacteria are the dark side of Pressfield's heroes in Gates of Fire. Both demand and repay the attention of all lovers of expert historical fiction." (Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History, University of Cambridge, and author of Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past)

©2005 Nicholas Nicastro (P)2018 Nicholas Nicastro

Spartan Historical Fiction Novel

I enjoy a good historical fiction novel, and the Spartans and Greeks are a fascinating culture to me, especially considering how different things are today. This book will bring up the many negative aspects of Spartan society, so people that aren’t aware of the history may be caught off guard or squeamish at some parts. This book focuses on two brothers, who were brought up very differently, due to their conception, and how they grew into two very different men. This book focused quite a bit on the day to day life, because of this, it is more a slower-paced novel. Overall, it’ was an Ok listen.

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.