Author:Steven Pressfield
From the pen of Steven Pressfield, author of The Sunday Times Bestseller Gates of Fire comes a captivating, gripping and atmospheric novel of military might and war.
"Awesome...this is an extraordinary work - an instant classic." -- DAVID GEMMELL
"Gripping, moving and literate...rarely does an author manage to recreate a moment in history with such mastery, authority and psychological insight." -- NELSON DEMILLE
"No one writes better historical fiction than Steven Pressfield" -- VINCE FLYNN
"This book doesn't 'grab you from the first page'; it slowly envelops you in silken claws until you realise that this story owns you" -- ***** Reader review
"Powerful and insightful" -- ***** Reader review
"Absolutely brilliant" -- ***** Reader review
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WHAT LENGTHS WILL THEY GO TO TO ACHIEVE VICTORY?
330 BC: Alexander The Great launches his bloody and brutal campaign in the Afghan Kingdoms...
Among the ranks of Macedonian infantry is Matthias. The youngest of three brothers, he is eager to prove himself, but as he joins the front-line, he comes to realise that warfare has changed. The Macedonians face a new kind of enemy, and must learn to fight a new kind of war.
Experiencing fear, euphoria, horror and shame, Matthias and his comrades undergo a rite of passage as they, soldiers of a Western force whose code is secular and humanist, confront a proud Eastern warrior people who possess a fervent willingness to die for their cause.
Just to survive, Alexander's men must shake off the trappings of 'civilization' and adopt the same unorthodox and barbaric tactics as their foe - but is that a price worth paying?
Pressfield's talent is awesome...The Afghan Campaign is an extraordinary work, an instant classic
—— DAVID GEMMELLAn impressive scholar and gifted storyteller...the finest military writer alive
—— STEPHEN COONTSNo one writes better historical fiction than Steven Pressfield
—— VINCE FLYNNA powerful description of a man's relentless decline
—— Ian Critchley , Sunday TimesStriking first work, sensitively translated by Sandra Smith
—— Sunday TelegraphA novel that resonates across the pages with the narrative mastery of the griot's voice
—— Wole SoyinkaA hauntingly beautiful elegy for those who killed and died in the service of a history that was not their own. Like Ha Jin's magisterial War Trash, Burma Boy wields the two greatest weapons in the novelist's arsenal - imagination and empathy - to shattering effect
—— James Schamus, producer Brokeback Mountain and The Ice StormOriginal ...often very funny. A magical book
—— Kevin MacDonald, Director: The Last King of ScotlandA riveting read, convincingly imagined and cinematically told. Bandele is a gifted storyteller
—— Linton Kwesi JohnsonA truly fantastic book. A caesarean cut through terrifying and hilarious history
—— Sven LindqvistIt is quite outstanding, full of beauty, pain and truth... We are lucky to have this book
—— Anne Chisholm , Sunday TelegraphThe facts surrounding the discovery of this book are as remarkable as its contents are magnificent... A triumph of indomitability and a masterwork of literary accomplishment
—— Sunday TimesDeftly translated by Sandra Smith, this is possibly the most devastating indictment of French manners and morals since Madame Bovary, as hypnotic as Proust at the biscuit tin, as gruelling as Genet on the prowl. Irène Nemirovsky is, on this evidence, a novelist of the very first order, perceptive to a fault and sly in her emotional restraint
—— Evening StandardAn heroic attempt to write a novel about a nightmare in which the author is entirely embedded
—— Anita Brookner , SpectatorRead this haunting novel, then read [Nemirovsky’s] letters in this edition to feel the full force of the work
—— Fiona Wilson , The TimesWhile marked by poppy wearing and memorial ceremonies, the First World War is also sustained through family history, handed down from one generation to the next. No book better articulates the impact of this narrative than Stephen Faulks’ Birdsong.
—— Lucy Middleton , Reader's DigestA truly amazing read
—— Gail Teasdale , 24housingI’d never read such descriptive literature, and couldn’t sleep at night for thinking about what I’d just read. His [Faulks] portrayal of terror on the battlefield is so powerful
—— Anna Redman , Good HousekeepingMy all-time favourite book
—— Kate Garraway , Good Housekeeping