Product Description

Troy: city of gold and heroes, beloved of the gods, where wealth, privilege and rapacious greed walk hand in hand, and where the greatest of tragedies is about to unfold. Helikaon, prince of Dardania, sets sail for Troy. On board his ship, the largest in the Aegean Sea, but regarded by many as dangerously unseaworthy, is his trusted friend and sea-captain Zidantas. Also aboard are a young, impressionable youth who has never been to sea, and a deadly Mykene warrior, intent on revenge. Their journey to the fabled city will encompass storm and near shipwreck, personal tragedy and a bloody sea-battle whose bloody aftermath will haunt Helikaon and his companions for the rest of their voyage.

Helikaon will also meet his old friend and master-storyteller, Odysseus, and fall in love with a woman as beautiful as a goddess. But when he arrives in Troy — a city riven by the destructive rivalries of King Priam’s younger sons —he finds a city ready to implode, and, with nearby enemy kingdoms eyeing the city’s riches, he knows a terrible war cannot be long in coming.

In Lord of the Silver Bow, David Gemmell has created a compelling fantasy — the first in an epic trilogy encompassing the Trojan War — combining vivid characterization and stunning action with a wealth of historical detail.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1405819 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-25
• Released on: 2005-10-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 449 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Bestseller Gemmell (Legend) boldly recasts the Trojan War in this first of a new trilogy, which centers on a warrior variously called Helikaon, Aeneas or the Golden One, who's blessed by luck to have all he turns his hand to prosper. Populated by compelling and finely drawn characters taken from either Greek mythology (Odysseus, Hektor, etc.) or the author's own fertile imagination, the novel lays the groundwork for the war to come. Spurred by prophecy, Agamemnon, King of Mykene, sets his men the task of killing Aeneas. The ensuing conflict threatens to engulf the Mediterranean. While this enchanting tale is more historical fiction than fantasy (the obligatory oracles and Kassandra's prophecies are the only hints of magic), genre fans and more general readers alike will have trouble putting it down.
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From Booklist
This hefty historical fantasy opens a trilogy dealing with the Trojan War but without the usual number of variations on the theme readers have come to expect from prolific and popular fantasist Gemmell. The title character is Aeneas, not outwardly the Trojan hero, however, but a Trojan ally using the name Helikaon. He and the Greek Odysseus are on terms of mutual respect, and he is also in love with Andromache, the betrothed of Hector, Troy's greatest warrior. When relations between Troy and Mycenae start deteriorating dramatically, Helikaon/Aeneas is in several kinds of dilemma. We soon learn that Gemmell's isn't the Homeric scenario of the Iliad, however, because this book's Hector doesn't survive the battles of this preliminary book, and those occur before Agamemnon sets sail for Troy. Gemmell is a master of fast pacing and original, not to say offbeat, takes on legendary and mythical characters. The alternate Iliad he launches here does honor to his reputation and promises to lift it higher while adding notably to readers' pleasure. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
David Gemmell is now widely acclaimed as Britain’s king of heroic fantasy. He lives in East Sussex.


From the Trade Paperback edition.