This was disappointing...I love the ancient Greek setting and this is certainly a compelling part of its history. It's certainly a unique idea; the idea of a military campaign conducted with the aim of simply escaping a hostile land rather than for reasons of conquest, hegemony, etc. (Ancient Greeks were apparently VERY big on hegemony). The prose is fine and the details are all there. There was only one problem: I did not care about a single character. The narrator Theo and his friend the famous Xenophon were the most detailed and they were pretty much faceless, leaving the rest of the cast a bunch of unpainted puppets. The most feeling I could conjure up for these people was for Clearchus, and even I'd just call that "mild interest."

The battle scenes were well drawn and informative, but you have to care about the people in them and their outcome for it to be truly gripping reading, and I just didn't. It sucks, because this seems to be the fictional retelling of the Anabasis or Persian Expedition or whatever you wanna call it. I still have the aforementioned Anabasis to read so that seems it's gonna be the way to go on learning about these events. In hindsight, I probably should have started with that...the book started well enough but over time I just failed to make any kind of real connection.

I really think that the reason why this book failed was that it seemed to be...rushed or something. The plot moved much too quickly. We need more time with these people and this setting to get to know them! The heart of military fiction--once you're past all the formations, manuevers, weapons, tactics, ranks, and that kind of stuff--is all about loyalty, camaraderie, bravery and that kind of thing. It hinges on that stuff, and there was almost none of it in this one, or what there was felt synthesized rather than organic. It sucks, 'cause the author also wrote a novel about Mithridates IV which seems great material to work with. Maybe I'll give him another shot one day.16 s Giannis139 28

????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ????????? ?????? ??? ????????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ?????! ???????? ??????? ?? ?????????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ??????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ? ????????????!15 s Vicky Ziliaskopoulou610 107

????? ??? ?????????????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????????? ???? "????? ????????" ??? ???? "?????? ??? ??????". ??? ??????? ??? ????????? ? ???, ?????? ??? ?????????, ????????? ??? ???? ?????????? ??? ???? ?????. ?? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??????, ??? ?????????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?????. ????????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???????, ??? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ??????????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ????? ??????, ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ???????. ?? ???????? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ???????, ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ? ??????????.
????? ??? ???????? ???????? ??????, ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ?????????? ??? ?????? ???????, ????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???, ?????????? ? ?????????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????????. ???? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ???????, ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????????? ??? (????? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ?????????, ??? ???? ???????). ?????? ??? ????????? ??? ?? ???????, ? ??????? ??? ????? ?????????? ??? ??????? ?? ???????? ????? ?????????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?????, ? ??? ?????????? ??? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????, ???? ?? ?????????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ?????.

https://kiallovivlio.blogspot.com/???????? ????14 s Robert DayAuthor 5 books35

Chock full of sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll; a perfect antidote to the thought that anything of any note was invented in one's own lifetime - these Greeks were crazy mammas!

Imagine going off to war in your early twenties, becoming a General and then leading ten thousand battle hardened troops safely back home - can you imagine yourself doing that? Can you imagine doing that before GPS was invented? Before phones and internet and even before electricity. Before automatic weapons and helicopters? Can you picture this?

Actually - just imagine if you and your mates went to see your favourite team - let's say Manchester United, playing Tottenham Hotspurs away, and when you left the ground, you took a wrong turn and ended up stranded in London, with no money, dressed only in sandals, short dresses and red cloaks (oh, and maybe helmets with a horsehair crest), and you spent all your money on bags of chips and mushy peas with lashings of salt and vinegar. But then you found out that your phones didn't work and, in fact, none of the phones worked because electricity didn't work any more and so neither did the cars and then you had to find your way home, first across a hostile London landscape where the local gangs didn't speak mancunian and.. then there's the long trek north with only blackberries and hazelnuts for sustenance - harried by the locals, jealous of their own meagre provisions, and winter is coming on and it's getting dark and one of your mates snaps his ankle in a rabbit hole and you have to carry him 'cause you've known him for years, in fact, you grew up together, but under the pressure you start to bicker and turn on each other.. and, I guess this book's a bit that - only there's further to walk and the locals are armed and people die - properly dead - not just a game hide and seek. Dead.

Apart from that it's a cheery little read.10 s Alicja277 83

rating: 3.5/5

To review this book properly I have to split it into thirds (not equal thirds page-wise but just three sections) since it almost seemed three separate books in one and I had a very different reaction to each one.

I simply adored the first third (but page-wise about a quarter) of the novel dealing with Theo and Xenophon growing up in Athens and becoming men. I love 5th century Athens, the look at the life of citizens, especially Socrates' students. And Ford did it amazingly well (maybe not quite Renault well but I still fell in love with his descriptions of Athens' life). I also loved it for its character development and the in-depth look into the formation of Xenophon's character.

Then in the second third, the middle, it seemed character development completely stopped. We started to see less and less of Xenophon and most of the soldiers turned out to be nothing more than two-dimensional stereotypes. And the romance between Theo and Asteria was awkward and out of place. The descriptions of battles and strategies were brilliant but that could have been done in any non-fiction work. It was very disappointing.

Although I did love, love, love the rooster story! Its a campfire tale told by a soldier and there was just something about his description of the soldiers sitting around, drinking, telling amusing stories that made me really connected to them. I just wish the same feeling had carried over past this scene.

The last third dealt with the army's road back to Greece and it started to pick up again. I was still disappointed in how little we saw of Xenophon and what we saw of him was just the surface with little flickers of what could be happening deep inside. There was so much potential to creating a Xenophon that would stand out, the man behind the hero of the legend, but Ford shied away from making speculations on the impact that being thrust into leadership of a doomed army can have on a person and stayed nice and safe without any significant analysis of his character.

However, the descriptions of hardship and psychological depictions of the survival were impacting. The story strayed away from just depictions of battles and strategies and showed the humanity within that struggle. I think Ford did that right.

Additionally, the romantic entanglement between Theo and Asteria became less awkward (even as issues came up) and I started to enjoy their interaction even more. Although during the end, end I wanted to smack Asteria again. Not my favorite character but I could see the necessity to have her there (although, why we needed more of her and less Xenophon I'll never understand).

On an annoying side note, when the army first sets out home, Theo calls it the army of ten thousand. Then they start dropping dead left and right he keeps calling them the army of ten thousand until the very last moment. I remember having the following thought midway through their trek back, "Yeah, still ten thousand if you round up to the nearest ten thousand." I know it is such a small detail but had me wanting to chuck the book out the window from frustration.

Overall, it was a great novel but that could have been epic given the material Ford had to work with. I've noticed that often authors shy away from depicting legendary characters in a meaningful way ( some Alexander the Great novels do as well) and instead focus on everything except character development of those figures. Ford's lack of a meaningful depicting on Xenophon past his childhood felt safe, whereas a deep exploration of Xenophon is what I was most looking forward to. It also makes the novel sometimes awkward to read, especially since it is from the POV of his squire, the one person who supposingly knows Xenophon better than anyone else. Despite this major shortcoming, it was an overall enjoyable novel.ancient-greece ancient-persia ancient-world ...more7 s Olethros2,665 490

-¿La reinterpretación de un texto clásico, la reinvención de un texto clásico o su moderna perpetración?-.

Género. Novela Histórica.

Lo que nos cuenta. Desde el punto de vista de Temistógenes, esclavo de Jenofonte, y tras describirnos su infancia y juventud, nos narra su unión a un grupo de tropas griegas mercenarias al mando de Clearco que entran al servicio de Ciro El Joven, que pretende derrocar del trono de Persia a su hermano Artajerjes II. Tras la batalla de Cunaxa habrá que tomar algunas decisiones.

¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...7 s Bobby806 3

A very detailed story based on the writings of Theo, a former Greek slave who earned his freedom by saving the life of his master's son. He remains loyal to the son throughout a campaign in ancient Persia and the resulting horrendous trek the Ten Thousand undertook in an effort to get home through completely hostile lands after battling the Persians in 400 B.C. This novel chronicles that journey and what a trip it is. The descriptions of the land, tribes and weather that were constant deadly obstacles in their path is written in a way that had you on the road with the Hellenes. Well done.6 s Jane1,602 213

A fictional retelling of Xenophon's "March to the Sea" from Persia with 10,000 men. Exciting story, just as exciting as the original Anabasis must have been. A pageturner, although the outcome is known. Xenophon and his men march through hostile territory until they reach the Black Sea and cry out upon seeing it--Thalatta; thalatta! [The sea; the sea!]. They realize they are close to their homeland. The love interest was intrusive, however.

Subsequently, I did read Anabasis--in Victorian English--and it was just as thrilling an adventure with the added virtue of being true. Had I looked harder I probably could have found a more modern and satisfying translation than the one I did read. ancient-greece library reviewed4 s Michal186

It was an enjoyable book, but I have to say that I based this rating mostly on the first half of the novel, which was truly spectacular. In the second half, the story started to drag a bit (no pun intended) and some romantic aspects stared to appear that I did not really care for. Overall I would give it 3.7 stars.800bc-476ad_classical_antiquity calibre historical-fiction ...more3 s Tomas13 3

The best stories are from history. This book was so amazing I had to read the original Xenophon to see how historically accurate it was. It turned out to be a very accurate retelling of Xenophons adventures in asia. I'm sure his back story is a bit of fiction but who knows.historical-fiction3 s apple105 11

The first page gripped the readers fast and last page was as eager to let go. For an over 400+ page book, this one could do with more comic-relief characters and memorable one-liners. And more battle scene please:)historical-fiction3 s Kurt Rocourt393 1 follower

The story of Xenophon in the Expedition of Cyrus retold. I actually never heard of Xenophon until I read this book. It reads a movie which helps push the pace of the book. There's a sense of peril I don't find in many books. The feeling of escape or perish is something this book does well.novels3 s Lila Dimaki170 37

? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ???????????!??????????? ?????????,???????? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ????????? ??? ??????? ?????????? ??? ??? ????,?? ?????? ??? ?????????.3 s Jonathan775 109

Read this a long time ago in high school. I remember enjoying it. :)historical-fiction2 s Dean HamiltonAuthor 4 books14

The Ten Thousand: A Novel of Ancient Greece - Michael Curtis Ford

Between 401 BC and 399 BC, a Greek army (consisting of the wayward cast-offs of the Peloponnesian War) marched its way into the heart of the Persian Empire (current day Iraq, ironically enough), supporting a contender for the Persian throne. When their employer had an unfortunate (and fatal) encounter with a Persian sword and the army's supply train was ravaged by the Persian cavalry, the Greeks found themselves stranded and alone in the midst of the Persian Empire, surrounded by enemies, cut off from the sea.

This then is the famed tale of the Ten Thousand, The Anabasis, by Xenophon, an Athenian exile of noble blood, who helped lead the beseiged Greek army in an epic march across Persian and Armenia to the Black Sea and the safety of the Greek colonies.

I doubt anyone can read The Anabasis and not wonder at the Greeks horrific and epic struggle to reach safety, or not feel a tingle down their spine when they cross that last range of mountains and wearily raise their eyes to the spy the far blue of the sea...it is a tale indeed.

The Ten Thousand goes to great (and mostly worthy) efforts to retell the same tale as Xenophon, as told by his slave (later freedman) Theo. The characters are well-drawn, particularly the war-ravaged and acid-tongued Spartan general leading the Greek mercenary army but I found my interest flagging shortly after the long journey out of Persia began.

Despite efforts by the author to dress it up with a side-story romance between Theo and a beautiful Persian concubine, the journey of The Ten Thousand becomes much the journey of the Greeks - long, difficult, somewhat tedious, and intermittantly exciting. The first half of the book, leading up to the events of the Ten Thousand's March were (I thought anyway) far more interesting as it gave you a glimpse into the life in Athens, Spartan politics and the chaos that followed the long Peloponnesian War. It is not bad, but it is not great.

I suppose if you haven't read The Anabasis previously, The Ten Thousand may be a more fresh and exciting story - but for my money, read Xenophon himself instead. There is less hand-holding and it is, as with many classical stories, written in a style that is sometimes stiff and archaric to modern readers, but...it is permeated with the beliefs and thoughts of its writer and participants, and so you get a direct sense of how the Greeks fought, thought and died, how they debated and made decisions, guided by both reason and omens from the gods.

A better book set in ancient Greece is Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, telling a vivid (and bloody) account of the Battle of Thermoplye and the 300 Spartans. I highly recommend this book.

If you are interested, you can grab the complete text of Xenophon 's Anabasis from Project Gutenberg. You can even download it onto your PDA...There's something rather kicky about reading a text written more than 2,000 years ago on a 21st century device, even if you do prefer paper.

2 s lamarcus brown47 3

This may very well be the best written book I've ever picked up. Remarkable considering this is the author's first book, or perhaps because of it.

He really has done his homework well, and according to his credits, has made quite a few contacts with others very knowledgeable of the times.

The story, a true story, takes place in and around 400BC and upon the occasion of an uprising of a Persian prince who feels he was wronged by his brother and wants to take the throne from him. This prince was no fool and he remembered well the tenacity and fighting skill of the Greeks, he therefore recruits a large number of them (10,000 plus retainers) to add to his massive army.

The well written part comes into play when you pick up the book and become an eye witness of the events; he puts exactly enough detail into the scenes he describes that it becomes so vivid, so real, yet not an ounce too much to where it would make the book more of a scholarly text. It’s fun to read, it keeps you attention, and it’s details of the life and times is fascinating to anyone who has ever wonder “…what life was for them.”
And as a bonus, you get to witness very real, very human lessons about the ways of the world: betrayal of the worst kind, complicated relations ships between sons and fathers, etcÂ…
2 s Masen Production131 2 Read

“I have 3 books by M C Ford..... :) Fiction set in ancient Greece now. Xenophon â?? a true legend whose adventure 2000 years old & still inspires many great fictional stories on the same. A follower of Socrates from Greeceâ??s affluent & powerful family, goes into hiding thanks to the rule of the 30 tyrants after Athens defeat at Spartaâ??s hand. Moves to the Army of Persian satrap Cyrus who wants to overthrow his elder brother Artaxerxses to succeed the throne of Persia. Unfortunately as in real life Cyrus gets killed in the fight he was winning. He leaves behind a 10,000 strong Greek mercenary army miles & miles away from home. The general Clearchus gets killed by deceit and finally Xenophon stands in as the General of this mercenary army of 10,000 and gets them back to Greece. All throughout the Persian army numbering 10 lakhs are following them and trying to subdue them from escaping. Itâ??s a fantastic story which Xenophon actually pens down himself. The same narrative is a inspiration for Alexander to invade Persia and he has this copy with him during the Campaign. This book is the Fictional rendition of the same story. Itâ??s well written and I find that the way facts blend with fiction itâ??s impossible to tell where exactly. Thus makes the whole read a very believable story. Good book for Historical fiction buffâ??s. ”
2 s Jefi Sevilay638 66

Türkiye'de "Historical Fiction" denen tarza talebin az olmas?ndan da kaynakl? gittikçe azalan çeviriye kar??n Da?lar?n Iss?zl???nda On Binler'i gördü?üm zaman aç?kças? sevinmi?tim. Sevinmi?tim çünkü kitapl???m?n Tarihsel Kurgu bölümü uzun zamand?r bo?tu ve Conn Iggulden'in okumaya k?yamad???m Gümü? ?mparatorluk, Tepelerin Kemikleri ve Fatih kitaplar? haricinde bekletti?im (ve güzel oldu?una inand???m) bir eser yoktu.

Aç?kças? Da?lar?n Iss?zl???nda On Binler'de bu ak?c?l???, kurguyu bulamad?m. Ço?unlukla s?k?ld?m ve ne ortam ne de karakterler ile ba? kurabildim. Ba? kuramad???m zaman da sonunu bir türlü merak etmedim. San?r?m "usta yazar" biraz da burada ortaya ç?k?yor. Çünkü günümüzün kaynak bollu?unda yaln?zca "duygu katabilen" ve "bir?eyler hissettirebilen" eserler öne ç?k?yor.

Dolay?s?yla Michael Curtis Ford'un bu eseri ne olaca??n? merak bile etmedi?im bir zaman kayb? oldu. Aç?kças? iki önceki okudu?um fantastik edebiyat kitap olan "Dövmeli Adam"?n ortaça? tasvirleri ve karakter in?as? bile bu kitaba ikibinikiyüzellialt? basar.

Herkese keyifli okumalar!2 s Linda Humberstone589 14

What an amazing accomplishment and life Xenophon experienced. It beggars belief that in 400BC this army of Greeks marched to Assyria and back again mainly due to the tenacity of their untested young leader and that's without the battles and skirmishes they had to fight on the way together with suffering the cruelities of the different climate changes. A good account with a little unnecessary romance thrown in but which did not spoil the historical interest which was illuminating. What a pity his contemporaries banished him rather than acknowledge what was achieved under his command. I doubt if it could be accomplished again given the same conditions and equipment but, most importantly, without the Spartans!just-read2 s Allen BagbyAuthor 1 book30

Xenophon's Ten Thousand fighting their way back to Greece after betrayal in a distant land. This is not the stuff of legend, this IS what legends hope to be. The eternal spirit of courage in the face of impossible odds. A soldier's love for a mysterious and dangerous woman. Heart wrenching and beautiful. High adventure. Blew me away.2 s Beatrice Hoffman3

This is one of the worst books i have ever read. It was really hard to get through and i just wanted to throw it in a tube of toxic waste. bad-books2 s Mauro MartoneAuthor 2 books16

A Glorious novel, the best military fiction based upon actual events that I have read, and I have read a few. Up there with Flashman's retreat from Kabul and Manfredi's Alexander campaign.1 Christian Nikitas380 52

My husband enjoyed the book. Even though I do the time period, I couldn't get fully into the story.own1 ??????? ???????Author 1 book20

+????? ?????, ???????????? ?????, ???????? ??????????, ?????????? ????, ??????????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????????????.
- ?????? ???????
1 Vichy691 46

????? ??? ??????????. ?????????? ? ???????????? ? ???????????, ? ???, ?? ??????? ??????????? ?? ??????????? ?????? ??? ???????, ???? ?? ?????????? ??? ???? ?? ???????? ?????????? ???????????? ???? ????????? ??? ????.adventure american-literature chase ...more1 Joe Tucc2 1 follower

In ancient Greece there were many nations, who all had very impressive armies. But one rose above all others. It was constructed of many different soldiers, all with their own specialties in combat. It wasn't the biggest army of its time but its had, arguably, the most well trained personnel. Nowadays, this army is referred to as the Ten Thousand. Even though the army was comprised of roughly one hundred thousand soldiers, its foundation was a garrison of ten thousand greeks, who were from Sparta. This book beautifully describes the experiences of two young men with the highly praised army. The names of the two are Xenophon, the second son of a veteran general of Athens, and Theo (the narrator) a former slave, friend, and guide to Xenophon. One thing that really stood out to me in this book was the style. The author had detailed every moment to the fullest. I really enjoyed this in the combat scenes in the book, and when there was a change setting. It made me feel that I was with Xenophon, Theo, or the army in its entirety while reading. It was quite a treat to be given the feeling as a member of the great battalion. One moment in which this really stood out to me, was when an enemy army is approaching the ten thousand. Theo recalls the army’s approach as a, “dark shadow of a cloud, moving towards [the the thousand], inexorable and plague , as the massive forces of five times a hundred thousand mean horses approached [it] in formation”(185). Now that had sent a very strong image in my head about the enemy army. It brilliantly displayed how its numbers were enormous, and it was slowly closing in on the Ten Thousand. Unfortunately, in some instances all of the detail was a bit tedious. When the book was moving slower the author had continued highly detailing every moment. Since the book is about 450 pages, at times, that did get boring. But, every book has a slow moments, and it was nothing major throughout the story. Another aspect of the book I noticed, was the character development. It seemed I knew every character personally. Whether is was one of the larger characters in the book, or just the minor ones. The characterization is also something to be praised. Overall, The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford, is a truly exceptional book. At first, I was a little skeptical about the book due to its large amount of pages, but once I started reading, I knew it was going to be a great read. 1 Doug744

Having heard countless times and from various other stories about the march of the ten thousand, I was looking forward to this retelling. The story of Xenephon, who led the army on it's 1000+ mile journey home, is told from the point of view of his servant. While interesting, I wasn't all that impressed. This did give me a feel for what they had gone through and also provided some background. I mean, come on, they were there for plunder and gold, and when the person who hired them got killed - even though their part of the battle was a success, they 'lost'. Their enemies still feared them - no doubt about that, but they were a small force, in the middle of hostile territory and with virtually no supplies. That is where the real story should have begun (at least for me.) The lead in/backstory of how/why Xenephon became the man to lead this 'lost' army was not, in my opinion, very well told. [then again I don't know how much the author had to work with -- any sort of original docs, or if he was creating it all himself.] The whole story of how they went from a beaten army with no purpose to the decision to march 1000+ miles home - that's where the story is and while it was OK, it was just OK - I didn't find it all that compelling. Perhaps I need to read the original (Anabasis?)english-lit1 Sergio1,118 78

Un'ottima versione romanzata della famosa "Anabasi" di Senofonte che narra il difficile ritorno in patria dei diecimila soldati greci, in gran parte spartani, assoldati da Ciro, principe persiano, per usurpare al fratello Artaserse il trono. La battaglia di Cunassa, dove le forze persiane e i mercenari Greci si scontrano in campo aperto, dà la vittoria ai Greci ma Ciro perisce nello scontro e da quel momento per i Greci, privi di altri scopi, c'è un unico obiettivo: sopravvivere e rientrare in patria; ma tra i mercenari Greci, che perdono tutti i comandanti in un agguato, e la casa lontana c'è un territorio di popoli ostili e condizioni climatiche estreme: Senofonte, apprezzato e amato per le sue qualità umane e strategiche, viene eletto unanimemente comandante e nulla tralascerà per raggiungere il traguardo. Curtis approfitta dell'argomento per allargare lo scenario del racconto incentrando l'attenzione su Senofonte e la Grecia appena uscita dalla Guerra del Peloponneso, la sua vita prima della scelta di andare a combattere mercenario, i difficili rapporti con il padre, gli strascichi sociali e politici in una Grecia oppressa dalla lunga guerra intestina e questo mi ha permesso di avere una visione più chiara di quegli avvenimenti e di partecipare emotivamente a quei fatti.antica-grecia scrittori-americani1 Danny Shelton23 1 follower

I picked up this book at a mall bookstore, and couldn't put it down. The historical story of the Ten Thousand was written by Xenophon several thousand years ago, and it is the story of several thousand greek soldiers brought together after the disillusion that followed the Peloponnesian War. In a ploy to retake Persia from Artaxerxes, Cyrus hires an elite band of mercenaries from Athens and Sparta, amongst others. After an overwhelmingly successful battle their camp is destroyed and their leaders are beheaded, and the Ten Thousand are forced to march back to Greece without food or water. The book by Ford is the story of Xenophon's best friend. The story itself is fiction but is based largely off of Xenophons records, and it serves to be a modern literary work which gives apt descriptions of Greek life in Athens after the Peloponnesian War, and of the Greek military apparatus. The story itself is one of survival and one that flows very well. Despite what one would think upon knowing of the subject material, very little of the content is dedicated solely to battle, and that this work can remain as gripping as it does in spite of this is a great achievement. 1 ?????? ??????????121 1 follower

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