The Prince of Alexandria

by Steve Stroble

1882. Egypt is on the brink of civil war as a British soldier and an American journalist find love and the story they've been waiting for.

262 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2012

Reviews

[Marie-Anne Mancio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure that the majority of the time the historical fiction author will know more things than they can use. There was an interesting interview with Hilary Mantel in which she spoke of how she re-reads all her research before writing a scene so that it informs the mood and dialogue of the scene. There's no doubting the breadth and depth of research that has gone into Steve Stroble's The Prince of Alexandria but, unfortunately, that's my problem with it. Rather than selecting choice details and seamlessly integrating them into his novel, he gives us big chunks of history that interrupt the narrative flow. (The author references Kipling; although a different time period, I'd suggest reading Graham Greene as an excellent example of how to convey the foreigner coping with colonisation. Greene gives you the smells, the attitudes, the history and it's all in the characters.)
Not that Stroble's research isn't interesting but the outcome is a novel that reads like two books: a work of fiction and a history text book. This leaves the point of view scrambled (e.g. "The British marines went ashore on July 14, 1882 to begin an occupation that would last well into the next century"), conveying information that those characters, at that time, couldn't know. There was the potential for some fascinating segments (the section on New Harmony could have been the basis for a novel of its own; likewise the story of Shareef's cafe) but I kept wanting the text book writer to disappear and for the story to be told through the characters' perspective.
I think the book could have focused on either one of the protagonists because there is so much material here (Egypt, Hong Kong, the Australian Gold Rush, Victorian London, America....) and the links between the men are rather tenuous. The desire to tie up all the plot ends led to some anti-climactic resolutions too (e.g. Adalet's story). Rod's story on the other hand ends superbly and elements of it could have been introduced as the substance of his plot far earlier on.
Sometimes I felt the prose was anachronistic (did people really say "you guys" in the 1880s?; phrases like 'scanned,' 'full-time' just sound too modern). There were other instances where the writing was cliched. I'd have like to have seen the characters' inner conflicts explored more. That said, there is a lot to admire in this book: its epic scale; its themes.... it's a story full of colour and imagination. I really hope the author can decide what he wants his next book to be.

[Alexes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Prince of Alexandria is more about an era than about the characters in the book. And what an era it was. This extensively researched novel uses as its framework the tale of two men caught up in war. Beginning in Egypt in 1882, the author also takes us to battles in the Sudan, an utopian colony in Indiana, war in India, the British occupation in Hong Kong, Australia, a farm in Indiana, the Boer Wars in South Africa, and touches on the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan in the early years of 20th Century America. Along the way, the author adds interesting tidbits such as gold prospectors in Australia using camels to carry their supplies. It’s a lot to take in, but it’s fascinating stuff, and provides the reader with a global context for the years covered. Because the main protagonists, Rod and Ben, are a newspaper reporter/farmer and a (nearly) career soldier, we see these years through the eyes of ordinary men and women struggling through extraordinary times.

Where the book faltered, in my opinion, was in the dialog. Too often it was mundane, cliché filled, and didn’t serve to further the story. I almost wish that the author had left out the characters and stuck strictly with history. The author shines in his ability to condense and yet fully explain what was happening during a certain time, in a certain place, and why. While I appreciated the exhaustive research, it sometimes seemed that the author felt the need to include absolutely everything he’d learned about a subject. (Do we need to know the exact cubic footage of air needed to shelter a horse?)

That said, I think this book would please readers who like history and appreciate a wide-ranging global viewpoint.