Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow

Last night I finished reading Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell. I started out having a real problem reading the book, I kept trying to figure out who everyone was in the context of the Iliad and Odyssey. It was not until about sixty pages in that I realized that even though the names were similar, this was not just a retelling, but instead a complete reimagining.

I was just rereading the back cover of the book, and the synopsis is not really all the close to the actual book. Unless some of this stuff happens in the second and third books, then it seems the person writing the back cover did not actually read the book itself.

These are some of my thoughts, favorite moments, predictions:

-I was upset that Diomedes dies. In the Iliad he was one of my favorite characters. It was weird to see him as a child and then killed so swiftly.

-Halysia's baby will grow up to become Achilles. It seems much of Helikaon's attributes would fit with Achilles. I think she foresees him becoming the greatest warrior, surpassing Hektor (or did I imagine that)

-I enjoy that Gemmell added in some historical "facts" as well, such as the Hittites and Egyptians and the Battle of Kadesh. Sometimes though, his dates and rulers are bit jumbled, but not a big deal.

-Gershom, also known as Prince Ahmose of Egypt is an interesting character. It will be cool to see how he gets back to Egypt in order to help free the desert peoples and lead them back to the promised land.

-Xander will travel to give the message to Zidantas' daughter Thea, they will fall in love.

-The girl that Helikaon helped saved (she thought he was the god Apollo) at the beginning will somehow come back into play. It seems silly to introduce a character, only to show how generous Helikaon can be.

Well let me know your thoughts on the book, if you read it.