The young scholar Archimedes has just had the best three years of his life at Ptolemy's Museum at Alexandria. To be able to talk and think all day, every day, sharing ideas and information with the world's greatest minds, is heaven to Archimedes. But heaven must be forsaken when he learns that his father is ailing, and his home city of Syracuse is at war with the Romans.
Reluctant but resigned, Archimedes takes himself home to find a job building catapults as a royal engineer. Though Syracuse is no Alexandria, Archimedes also finds that life at home isn't as boring or confining as he originally thought. He finds fame and loss, love and war, wealth and betrayal-none of which affects him nearly as much as the divine beauty of mathematics.
Born in Arlington, Virgina, Gillian Bradshaw grew up in Washington, Santiago, Chile and Michigan. She is a Classics graduate from Newnham College, Cambridge, and published her first novel, Hawk of May, just before her final term. A highly acclaimed historical novelist, Gillian Bradshaw has won the Hopwood Award for Fiction, among other prizes. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and their four children.
Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this. Very likely Bradshaw's masterwork.
For SF/F readers: Think Ken MacLeod, in the days of the Roman Republic. High-order engineering and political fiction, with war & romance. Wonderful stuff.
One of my 100 (or so) best books I've ever read. Most highly recommended! Reread in early 2024. Even better than I remembered. Don't miss.
Not much is known about the life of Archimedes; but the author has done a very good job of writing a fictional historical novel on him. She made the the technical aspects -- math and engineering -- fairly understandable. I can now see their importance in our everyday life. I loved all the characters; however, King Hieron did seem a bit unbelievable, too good to be true, although I understand the historical King Hieron, was a very good king. I empathized completely with Archimedes' Roman slave, Marcus, and the moral dilemma he faced. I liked how the author treated culture clash between Greek and Roman civilizations.
Who knew a mathematician and engineer could be so interesting? Archimedes made over into a heroic figure crossed with an absent-minded professor, with a worldly but morally upright slave as sidekick and Good King Hieron to boot - who apparently was a most praise-worthy king in reality. Again, a charming read with delightful characterisation throughout.
Plot: 10 (always interesting with eventual momentum) Characters: 10 (lovable and distinctive) Accuracy: 8 (strong research is undermined by moral preconceptions)
This book is a charmingly eccentric account of Aristotle, here presented as a highly decent man who falls on a spectrum somewhere between distracted physics professor and a high-functioning autistic. The novel is set during the siege of Syracuse (not the famous siege of 212 where Archimedes died but the earlier one of 263) and details a young Archimedes’ rise to become the chief war engineer of Hiero’s Syracusan regime. Naturally, as the distracted professor type, Archimedes is less interested in his personal advancement than in exploring excited new ideas in mathmatics. At best, his work is an exciting chance to demonstrate those principles.
I don't know how accurate this highly idealistic account of Archimedes is. About the only facts that we're given about his personality do suggest a man easily lost in his own world. The famous “Eureka!” moment saw him running outside naked in his excitement at having solved a problem involving the calculation of density. Roman sources say he was killed because he got angry at a Roman sacking the city for “disturbing his circles.” Clearly he had a reputation as a bit of a madman. The depiction given here doesn’t hide from that in the slightest. One of the most amusing parts of his journey is his gradually coming to realize that he’s actually the most brilliant engineer in the world, a fact that takes him completely by surprise since he’d thought he was doing something quite easy.
The other lead character is the fictional character of his slave Marcus. Marcus is a Roman, or rather was a Roman before his murky capture and hidden origin. Marcus provides us with the outsider perspective we need to truly understand the distant Archimedes. He’s also there to bring a divided loyalties/outsider perspective to the whole piece. His personal story is also probably the weakest part of the book. While Archimedes’ abstract quest in his own little world is isolated enough to not get into the realities of ancient Greek life, Marcus is square at the center of them. Bradshaw’s not ignorant of the darkness in Greek society, but she does maintain a humanistic view of the world that just doesn’t match. Marcus’ story starts off well, capturing what it feels like to be an unfree man in a Greek polis, but gets increasingly more absurd as it nears its conclusion. I won’t spoil what that is exactly, but let’s just say that the Greeks did not tolerate slaves who placed the lives of all citizens in danger. If Archimedes could ignore it, fine, but there is no way the polis as a whole would allow the man to live.
Connected to this is Hiero II, who is just too saintly to be believable. Yeah, he was a good king and a popular guy who ruled wisely and successfully for many decades. He was not a saint. No king could tolerate behaviour such as Marcus exhibits, nor were they likely to follow a human rights approach to prisoners-of-war. Being a good king in the Hellenistic era didn’t mean not torturing people, it meant torturing only the right people. Slaves aren’t people. Neither are enemy combatants, captive or otherwise. That makes them fair game.
The book is a charming work, with a detailed character study at the center and the everpresent threat of war safely in the background. Archimedes’ rise is handled gradually and in a satisfying manner, while the political situation is allowed to develop naturally. Some elements of the book don’t hold up as well, but on the whole the story captivates throughout.
Libro narrativo de ficción histórica que cuenta parte de la vida de Arquímedes (el científico de entre otras muchas cosas: el volumen de un cuerpo sumergido es igual al volumen del fluido desplazado).
No se mete mucho en la parte científica ya se usa como desencadenante de los sucesos.
Es un libro corto de muy buen ritmo. Tiene, eso si, multitud de elementos clásicos: el protagonista es un genio pero realmente no se da cuenta, es un músico consumado, el rey es sabio y juega a muchos niveles, interés amoroso “prohibido” por clase social, se van construyendo cosas cada vez más grandes… Luego entras en wikipedia a ver todo lo que hizo y ves que en el libro se queda en extremo corto.
Además he encontrado que comparte muchos parecidos con El nombre del viento (Patrick Rothfuss) en los elementos típicos pero más corto, conciso y sin magia.
El libro está bien y si se quiere optar por una lectura ambientada en la antigüedad es una muy buena opción para los no habituales del género histórico.
Einer meiner historischen Lieblingsromane! Gillian Bradshaw schreibt einfach wunderbar, wie schade, dass es in den letzten Jahren so ruhig um sie geworden ist! Die Geschichte über Archimedes ist mitreißend, spannend und zugleich eine unterhaltsame Liebesgeschichte. Rundherum perfekt und für mich absolut 5 Sterne wert!
Debo reconocer, para empezar, que la novela histórica no es lo mío. Sin embrago, reconozco así mismo que me ha interesado este relato sobre la vida de Arquímedes. La autora ha detallado minuciosamente los usos y costumbres de la época, al tiempo que relata los trabajos de un joven Arquímedes con las armas que le encarga el rey para defender a Siracusa del asedio romano, todo contado con un ritmo lento y apacible. Este tipo de lecturas son siempre recomendables por lo que con ellas se aprende
At the outset of the First Punic War Archimedes returns from Alexandria, where he has been studying mathematics and building his famous water-screw, to his home city of Syracuse in order to help with the construction of catapults to fight off the besieging Romans.
Gillian Bradshaw paints a compelling portrait of a gifted man, torn between delight in the possibilities of large-scale engineering and horror at the damage done by the machines he designs. In addition, she neatly weaves into the plot a love affair between Archimedes and the sister of the ruler of Syracuse, and a conflict of loyalty experienced by his slave, a former Roman soldier.
A natural storyteller, Bradshaw's narrative voice is wonderfully relaxed. You want things to turn out well for her characters, even if you suspect that everything is not going to go as smoothly as they themselves imagine. As always in her fiction, the evocation of the ancient world is carefully researched and vividly imagined. Once I started reading this book I found I could not put it down. .
I have shiny sparkly hearts in my eyes. Plot I understand and historical accuracy and complex characters and they talk to each other and they have relationships with each other and these relationships change because there are consequences for actions and the hero is a math genius and omg the only thing I regret is that I cannot read this again for the first time.
4.5 A really lovely book. The story is engaging and the characters are almost all very likeable. The history and historical detail flowed through the story naturally and I really wanted to hear the music described.
Read for literature with Sage. Young Archimedes was a fascinating character to read about. Both Sage and I loved the story. Recommend for any budding mathematicians or historical fiction lovers.
This was a fascinating book both for the story and for the historical aspect. I had known nothing about Archimedes before I read this book (although I vaguely knew that he had something to do with math and science). Very involving even if one isn't really into history, but especially if one is. Incidentally, I've liked all of her books that I've read.
For lovers of prehistory, or mathematics, or well crafted historicals: a fascinating read about the mathematician Archimedes of ancient Syracuse, a Greek city-state of Sicily when Rome was just beginning to flex its militarist ambition on its neighbors. Nicely detailed as to Alexandria (Egypt) and Syracuse. Well paced, engaging main character in Archimedes and also his servant/slave Marcus.
I’ve been enjoying Gillian Bradshaw’s works recently, including this book, The Sand-Reckoner. The title was borrowed directly from an actual mathematical work by Archimedes of Syracuse (also, the main character in this Bradshaw’s historical fiction book) regarding the infinite number of grains of sand. Bradshaw’s The Sand-Reckoner is set in the time during the First Punic War and also when the Roman Republic decided to wage war against Syracuse with Carthaginians as a fickle ally, hovering between either Rome or Syracuse—depending on which one benefit the Carthaginians the most.
Archimedes of Syracuse, a mathematician prodigy, was recalled from Alexandria—a city where the most brilliant minds gathered to exchange ideas and create wonderful innovative devices—back to Syracuse, to visit his ailing father and obviously to help Syracuse against the impending Roman invasion. Archimedes set to work as a catapult engineer, captivating everyone including Hieron, the Tyrant of Syracuse. The story then follows Archimedes’ struggles to understand the people around him, their intentions, and their inability to understand his brilliant mind all the while he worked on catapults, inventing mind-blowing and problem-solving war devices that will help Syracuse big time on thwarting the Roman invasion.
Bradshaw is a compassionate writer and The Sand-Reckoner is perfect for young audiences who might feel out of place in the world while enjoying a good story. Archimedes is clearly being painted not just as a mathematician prodigy but also as a neurodivergent individual who might not notice people very well yet very much focused on things like geometry, shape, numbers and incredibly good at it. All around Archimedes are also people who genuinely support him, and while they might not be able to understand him fully, they are always there and accepting him. Hieron, as a Tyrant of Syracuse, was a talented manipulator but used his skills well to defend Syracuse and rule the city wisely. Marcus, Archimedes’ slave, was different than his master in any way yet he was loyal, caring in his own way, straight-forward and full of integrity. This is a light-hearted fiction but full of wisdom and tells the many ways human relationship works. Highly recommended for everyone whether young or old.
Gillian Bradshaw returns to historical fiction with this lengthy novel about young Archimedes, picturing him as what we would clearly call a nerd. (She insists this's in the ancient sources; given that he died when he was too sucked into geometry to answer a Roman centurian sacking the city, I can't object.)
Archimedes loves pure math, and loves jumping into and working out new ideas. But he's just been forced home to Syracuse from Alexandria by his father's impending death... and stuck there by his duty to his city during a war with Rome. But he hates war, and repeatedly constructing catapults is boring. How can he make a good life for himself through this - and also with all the people around him that he's neglected?
This's one of Gillian Bradshaw best books, and I've already recommended it to one of my nerdy friends.
Excellent book! I tore through this in a few days, even though I meant to make it last a few weeks! My recent obsession with Ancient Greece 500 to 200 BCE was perfectly fed by this! I had read The Bearkeepers Daughter and enjoyed it but I felt she put far more effort into this novel! My single complaint was with the ending…it felt too rushed and uneven. And it also made me quite sad about Marcus…was that necessary?? I would rather have had a few scenes with Archimedes sister and mother….you can’t just drop them out of the book with a scene of them being in turmoil at all the rapid changes! I mean, sure…the implication is that they’re fine, but still…. Despite my dissatisfaction with the ending, it was still an amazing read!
I read this book years ago, and it did not disappoint upon rereading it aloud to my 15-year-old twins. Bradshaw's mastery of history is abundantly clear and adds fascinating detail without ever feeling pedantic or intruding upon her ability to weave a compelling story with believable, lovable characters. Archimedes is particularly well-drawn as an awkward yet brilliant and appealing young man. In many ways this is a timeless nerdy-coming-of-age story, and the kids adored it. Historical knowledge of the man himself and the place and time he lived in offers a strong framework with plenty of wiggle-room for fiction, and this is a deft and memorable tale of war, love, loss, art, music, mathematics, triumph, and commitment to being truly oneself.
I love the way Gillian Bradshaw effortlessly transports her readers to the 4th century BC. This story is set in ancient Syracuse which was a Hellenistic city. I wish this book covered Archimedes' entire life, but it is set during the First Punic War so Nevertheless, I learnt a great deal about Archimedes' life and his inventions such as the water-snail, also known as Archimedes' Screw. Archimedes' Principle (volume of water displaced = volume of the fully submerged body) was the only thing I knew about him. I had no idea he built catapults for a living. So, I'm glad I read this book.
My children and I read this together as part of the Building Your Library Level 8 curriculum.
We loved reading this book. It's perhaps a little melodramatic at times, but the characters seemed realistic and Archimedes seemed more real to us than he had when we'd read about him other places. It's difficult to imagine what life was like in ancient times, and books like this help to remind us that people from long ago were still people and, despite different customs and hygiene and social structures, not really all that different from people today.
We all appreciated the ending, too. We weren't particularly happy about it, but it was a good ending.
I knew surprisingly little about Archimedes and Syracuse going into this book, but enjoyed it nevertheless--maybe even more so, because the historical Archimedes is a hazy figure that gives Bradshaw a lot of creativity in fleshing out his story. Archimedes is a genius, operating on a mathematical and engineering level far beyond anyone around him, but he also struggles to stay focused on the real world. I liked Philyra (Archimedes's sister) and Marcus (the family's Roman slave) as well, but struggled a little with the ending--Philyra drops out of the narrative in the later part of the story, and Marcus's fate hit me hard.
I can't decide about this book. I never would've read it if I wasn't doing my library shelf challenge. It's about Archimedes and set in Syracuse around 240 BC. I learned a lot about history and the mathematicians life. But it was also very dramatized with little love interests and fluff. Would I have read anything about Archimedes any other way? So for increasing my overall knowledge, I'd give it 4. For the story alone, probably a 4. But for the story and Archimedes together, maybe a 2? Haha. I guess I don't think of that time period as fluffy.
In some parts of the book I wondered as to whether it was historically correct in a broad sense, as I realize that it is a historical novel. For example, when "atoms" were mentioned, I googled to see if there was any awareness of atoms at the time the book is set. To my surprise, I discovered that indeed there was some awareness of atoms at that time...and that this knowledge was "shelved" for centuries before it was pursued again. All in all this was a pleasurable read with a plausible plot line. I appreciated the historical footnote at the end.
I didn't really enjoy the beginning of this one, but it got really good after the start. Some of the passages about Archimedes' wonder and awe over mathematics etc. were really lovely. It has good prose, and some of it was surprising, in a good way. However, while most of the ending was happy and well done, there was one particular event which I really did not like. It didn't match the tone of the ending, in addition to making me upset. Other than that, a good read.
Tengo pendiente leer más libros de esta autora. Escribe muy bien, sus libros son amenos, y tratándose de novela histórica podemos decir que "juega en corto y al pie". Es decir, que no nos mete un millar de páginas para contar algo.
Cosa que yo valoro mucho en este tipo de literatura, que para divulgación histórica ya están otro tipo de libros más densos, aunque haya autores que se empeñen en demostrar su curriculum dentro de la trama del libro.