The Great King

Long War #4

by Christian Cameron

Slave, pirate, husband and lover: Arimnestos of Plataea has been many things in the course of his life. But men remember him best as one of the heroes of the Battle of Marathon, the epic victory that prevented all of Greece from falling under the Persian yoke.

But now there is a new Great King on the throne, determined to succeed where his father failed. As rumours abound of a vast Persian invasion, an embassy is sent to forestall the threat.

Arimnestos is chosen to escort them - an honour he can hardly refuse. But as the storm clouds of war gather and factions on both sides begin to weave their treacherous plots, Arimnestos' journey begins to look more and more like a suicide mission.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, War, Fiction, Military Fiction, Ancient, Greece

401 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 29, 2013

About the author

Aka Miles Cameron. Also publishes as Gordon Kent with his father Kenneth M. Cameron.

Christian Cameron was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1962. He grew up in Rockport, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa,Christian Cameron and Rochester, New York, where he attended McQuaid Jesuit High School and later graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in history.

After the longest undergraduate degree on record (1980-87), he joined the United States Navy, where he served as an intelligence officer and as a backseater in S-3 Vikings in the First Gulf War, in Somalia, and elsewhere. After a dozen years of service, he became a full time writer in 2000. He lives in Toronto (that’s Ontario, in Canada) with his wife Sarah and their daughter Beatrice, currently age four. And a half.

Reviews

[Darek Zawisko · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For once I was glad of a prologue as hadn’t realised how much had occurred in the prior three outings..... our hero does “get about a bit”! And at least this time it was done via a neat short chapter as opposed to taking up a ¼ Qtr of the book briefly “visiting” the protagonists of the prior book for no other reason than to reacquaint the reader with them.

Even better the story starts from exactly where the last left off & we’re up & running.... sailing even.... towards Carthage with his Persian mates....... I say mates..... as he chooses to respect the tradition of “embassy” & delivers them safely to his enemies rather than enslaving them much to his “loyal” crews chagrin. Drachma signs were a-ringing!

Once they depart (flee) Carthage his crew decide for him to go watch the Olympiad which in ancient times was held every year & attracted all the Greek Cities, thousands are present & it being Greeks, there is plenty of politicking to enjoy, this time the Spartans are involved alongside the Athenians & we’re educated as to whose fore & against resistance to the Great King of Persia. The events are featured too & the plot evolves around one particular event.

With the Olympiad complete & the reader embroiled in the politics of Ancient Greece our hero decides to return home after 5 years away, a tearful reunion is had & we play at house for a bit...... before we’re off to the heart of the Persian empire via Sparta taking their envoys with him on this mission/adventure.

The adventure winds us through the Persian expansion before we get to the capital & its clear that Persia has committed its forces to invade Greece so the mission undertakes a spying element. It’s great for the h/f buffs amongst us BUT battles galore it is not......... it’s about the build up to the clash of empires & the nuances along the way.

For those that know the period, you’ll be acquainted with the rest of the sequence from the flavour I’ve given to now & the battles on land & sea we're leading upto, for those that don’t, I’ll stop here so as not to spoil the rest of the adventure.

A great series jus got better, clear 5 stars for me – Go’on folks give it a go.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arimnestos from his return from the West till the battles of Artemisium and Thermopyle(485- early 480); the first maybe 3/4 or 4/5 of the book are awesome, both among the best of the author and of historical fiction in general - among the highlights being the political maneuverings to unify Greece in the face of the Persian juggernaut, the Olympic Games of 484, Sparta and the Spartans as seen by Arimnestos, a trip to Susa and a memorable audience with Xerses...

The last 1/5-1/4 is more rushed and will be appreciated better once the next book (presumably dealing with the sack of Athens, Salamis, the departure of Xerses from Greece, Plataea, Mycale etc) is out as it covers the actual war in Greece and as we get only to Artemisium and Thermopylae, the story is very incomplete and that shows in the book - the earlier volumes all had great stopping points, this one though really needs volume 5 for completion

Full of larger than life characters from Aristides, Themistocles, Leonidas to Xerses, and from Briseis (still beguiling and full of surprises), Queen Gorgo of Sparta (Leonidas' younger wife), to a Babylonian princess and Queen Mother Atosa (wife of Darius and mother of Xerses)

Arimnestos finds out about his various children, gets to meet and help raise some of them, finds new and old enemies as well as new and old friends while being at the center of the action as usual

Great stuff begging volume 5 asap

[All the King's Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

We still have to bridge the time gap between Marathon and Salamis, so Cameron decides to let Ari experience a proper Ancient Greek Olympic Games as a spectator and a sponsor, followed by some political and diplomatic bickering resulting in Ari being sent on a diplomatic mission to the Persian Emperor.
Just like in the last book, the majority of the book is quite low stakes (relatively speaking of course) with a slice of life aspect. And as before, Cameron does an excellent job in bringing the Ancient world to life and painting a vivid picture of how life was back in those days.

A very interesting read about the whole concept of the Olympics, and the travel/adventure part into the Persian Empire was simply amazing. I loved this book.

[Michal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how Christian Cameron's experience with reenacting shapes the experience of individual characters of the story as well as the descriptions of naval strategies and of encounters of different cultures. In addition, this book brings less stereotypical (and back-and-white) picture of Spartans, Athenians, and Persians around the events of Battle of Thermopylae, and it focuses on the overlooked naval aspect of the whole war. Overall it was a very good read, even though I liked this particular book a bit less than the earlier books in the series.

[second reading - correction, it is slightly worse than the previous one in the series, but still superb]

[Mark Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just brilliant roll on the next book

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 4th book in Christian Camerons Long War Series that tells another episode in the life and times of Arimnestos the Plataean. Past 30 years old now, and after his adventures in the western mediterranean, the outer sea, Iberia and Ghaul following the victory at Marathon in Poseidons spear Arimnestos is back in Greece again, deeply involved in cementing an alliance of the divided Greeks against the threat of the Great King of Persia. He's at the Olympics, acts as an envoy and embassy for the Spartans, travels on a diplomatic mission to the Great King in Susa, and when war with the Persians has become inevitable, Arimnestos gathers his warships and his Plataeans to fight with the Greek fleet at the sea battle of Artemisium.
Everybody who knows his classical Greek history knows what comes next: The greek victory in the Battle of Salamis and the crushing defeat of the persians at Plataea.. But that is not in this book.
It is really nice to see how Christian Cameron blends Arimnestos the spear and his Plataeans from that small and inconsequential little green town at the foot of mount Kithairon into the great events of Classical Greek history. And of course the vivid descriptions of everyday life, the food, cooking, feasting,smithing, commerce, greek martial arts.. wrestling and pankrathion, navigation, sailing and sea battles, and a number of intriguing historical personalities like King Leonidas and queen Gorgo, Aristides and his wife Jocasta.. Like you are really there,, and what it is like to walk around as a guest in ancient Sparta and meet the Spartans...It is a bit of a trademark of Christian Cameron, writing with such realism about the ancient world and in the meantime pouring a whole library of historical knowledge into a story without you even noticing it. In no way all of that knowledge interferes with his strong and moving storylines and characters. Yep... another brilliant addition to the Long War epos of Arimnestos the Plataean and a worthy follow up to Long War #3 Poseidons Spear.

Only problem is.... the leader on goodreads is a bit misleading... Arimnsetos doesn't go on a Greek expedition into the land of the Sphinx in `the great King'.. but perhaps a treat for the follow up. And the leader is about a millennium inaccurate on the timetable.. `Imagine you are in 5th Century Egypt' nope 5th Century BC Egypt. Don't let this sloppy copywriting scare you off. the novel is brilliant and worthwhile checking out.

[Robin Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find it more and more difficult to write a review of Christians books, it’s so expected to write how wonderful they are.
This book is no exception. The characters as ever are some of the most rounded and real that you will read in any historical fiction novel, the action is probably the most realistic and authentic (all driven by his passion for Re-enactment and trying to live the parts, to write about them). What sets these tales apart is that while i get the cut and thrust of battle that i love in these ancient tales, i also get so much more.

The Hero Arimenestos isn’t perfect, he is very flawed, he can be vain, arrogant, passionate, impulsive, heroic. But more than that, he is a family man, his family being more than just relations, his ship mates, his friends, Plataea and his fellow hero’s. So often he finds himself on opposing sides to people he cares about while fighting with of for those he is indifferent to, but country wins over personal loyalty. The tug of war for his soul played out on the page. It’s this emotional tug of war that Christian Cameron excels at in his writing, drawing on what i can only assume is personal experience in the armed forces, and his own innate kindness as a human being.

I can’t go into the history behind the novel in anywhere close to the depth of the author or even JPS (review on here) what i can say is that i felt the history, it felt real. I felt i was there for every battle, for every race, for every tear and every heartbreak and betrayal. The ending and the inevitable death of the Spartan king is heart-breaking and crushing for the reader, portraying a fraction of what the men of the time must have felt. all again showing the skill of the writing.

This truly ranks up there as my all-time favourite series.

(Parm)

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give half stars, this would be 4.5 out of 5. Easily my favourite of the series. Loved the Olympics, the politics between the Greek city states especially between Corinth, Sparta and Athens, the embassy to Xerxes and Arimnestos just being a father for a change.

[Gaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Only fools doubt that the gods walk with men "

I found this book on a library sale for literally 1 dollar last year, I mainly bought it because of the cover and because it seemed interesting at the time.

I ended up reading the Long War series just so I could reach this book and I'm not disappointed, I have greatly enjoyed reading about Arimnestos and all the glorious Greek heroes and the politiques of ancient Greece, and I can't wait to continue reading this amazing series to see how it ends.

But tonight, drink to Leonidas of Sparta, who died for Greece - and Antigonus of Thespiae and all his men, who died with the Spartans. And all the men - Corinthians and Plataeans and Athenians and Aeginians and Spartans and Hemioanians and Tegeans and every other man if Greece who fell into Poseidon's waters off Artemesium, fighting for Hellas.
Here is to heir shades!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series. I love reading a balanced book on history, that I know has been made into a semi-fiction story. But brings the characters, country's, battles and politics of the time alive.
I found it hard to follow the Greek and Persian names of people and places. But that is my problem. The story and adventures, battles and tactics are so well written. It didn't end on this the forth book, I don't know if there is a plan for a fifth book? I do really hope so.

[Tobias Wieczorek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's say 9/10
Much better than the previous volume, again we are back in Greece and it's great! I loved how the book opens with the ancient Olympics and from there it only gets better
The dedication of Christian Cameron to make the world of ancient Greece and Persia feel as real as possible definitely pays off! Kudos to the man!

[Shane Findlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combat scenes penned by an author who has been in actual combat is nothing short of fucking AMAZING! Man, do I love this series! The Greeks of old were tough bastards. The Persians more so.

[Gabriel d'Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a Platean. Nobody can say otherwise.

[Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good recovery after the disappointing third book. Beautiful.

[S.J.A. Turney · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’re well and truly Arimnestos’ captive audience now. We’ve seen him grow and become the warrior, the leader, the sailor, the merchant, the pirate, the explorer. But the third volume in the series, while being a departure that took us on a great adventure, ended with us coming full circle, back to old friends and right back into the heart of what our friend the Plataean had for so long left behind.

And so The Great King picks up from that moment. This book will take you to amazing places and see astounding things, and interestingly, it includes two of the greatest and most important pivotal moments in Greek history, though the reader will not be aware of this initially, since the book’s title refers to neither directly. I will try to hint and explain without spoilers.

To some extent, ignoring the divisions into parts that are handed us, I would say there are three distinct parts to The Great King. The Games. The Journey. The War. And throughout the three parts, certain themes wind and develop.

Our friend Ari finds himself in the company of old Persian friends and in the odd situation of having to help the enemy of his people form alliances with Carthage against Greece due to his old oaths. Of course, we also know that Ari’s great personal nemesis – Dagon – is Carthaginian and that there can be no doubt that these two will meet again.

And, having delivered Persian ambassadors to hated Carthage, Ari finds himself in the company of a Spartan athlete who seeks passage to Olympia for the games. Thus opens part one, in which we are treated to a stunning and fairly in-depth depiction of the Olympic Games, entwined with plots and enmities between competing states, and a gathering of some of the most important men in Greece to discuss what to do about the Great King in Persia, who has begun preparations for the invasion of Greece on a grand scale. Here a new thread in the tale is opened and in addition to the wonderful material about the games, we are treated to a great introduction to Sparta and the Spartans. This famous state and its people had, you might remember, fought against Arimnestos with his Plataeans and their Athenian allies four books ago. Frankly, with this new insight into Sparta (who I’d always thought of as complete tossers) I have suddenly found that I love them and their leaders in Cameron’s tale. And the Spartans are a theme that will play out throught the book.

With the ending of the games, Ari goes home and tries to put his house in order, and this is nice to see from the point of view of the character’s progression, but is something of an aside in the main plot.

For soon, Ari is bound for the heart of the enemy’s lands. He is tasked with taking Spartan heralds to the court of the Great King of Persia. Despite his Persian friends, guarantees of passage and so much more, there is tremendous danger in the exotic Persian court. Here we are treated to the most fascinating clash of cultures – the rigid, haughty, ascetic Spartans and the languid, oiled and perfumed, glittering Persians. But you know, if you have any inkling of what’s to come in Greek history (and if you’ve been paying attention in the book’s first half) that nothing can really come of this, barring intelligence gathering, for Xerxes of Persia will not be turned from his course of war.

And so we move into the third part of the plot for me, as Arimnestos returns from the great journey. There follows an odd little interlude of sailing, trading and piracy, and then, finally comes the main event. I won’t spoil it. You might already know what’s coming, but for those who don’t I won’t give the game away. Suffice it to say that the war now begins in earnest and one of the greatest moments in the world’s military history will come to pass. You will read lines early on that will reveal what is to come. The last part of this book contains the opening salvos of the greatest war the states of Greece ever fought. It contains battles on land and sea, Ari’s quest for revenge against Dagon, and pivotal moments that will leave you breathless and exhausted.

As with all the Long War books (and all Cameron’s work, in fact) the writing is excellent. It is at once immediate and action packed, and yet thoughtful and educational. A weight of knowledge and a wealth of powerful and heady descriptive is conveyed without sacrificing pace, excitement, humour and horror.

And you know what? Thank good old Zeus that Salamis is out, because when you read the end of The Great King, you’ll really not want to wait.

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This most fascinating book by Christian Cameron is the 4th volume of the "Killer of Men" series.
The storytelling is again of great quality, the historical events are wonderfully pictured and the characters come vividly to life within this astounding tale.
Like his former books, this book contains a lot of historical details, including an informative glossary and Notes on Names and Personages, which does the book great credit.
In various stages the book tells us of an attempt to forestall an invasion by the Persians into Greece by way of peace talks, but at the same time the start of preparations of war are taking place, which will finally result in the Battles of Thermopylae/Artemesium of 480 BC.
Arimnestos of Plataea, our main real character, is chosen by King Leonidas of Sparta to escort a peace delegation to Persepolis, the home of the new Great King, Xerxes, but behind these negotiations both sides are already plotting towards total war, and so this mission was doomed right from the start and logically it will end up in total failure.
So the final reckoning on land will take place with the Battle of Thermopylae, and of course at sea, which this book covers singly but in really such a brilliant way, with the great Battle of Artemesium of 480 BC.
Fully recommended because this book is "A Great Historical Read"!

[Paul Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this volume of The Killer of Men series, Arimnestos continues the telling of his story to his thugater (daughter) and her friends; a story that has seen Arimnestos return to his beloved Plataea to rebuild his home and his life. But, the killer of men was called upon to convey Spartan envoys to Persia to meet and try to placate Xerxes, the mercurial King Of Kings. Of course, as we all know from history, Xerxes was not placated, mollified, or deflected from his goal to annihilate the Greek mainland. Once again, the author has taken the historical record and created a stunning account of the Greek resistance to the Persian juggernaut. Exquisitely detailed, elegant use of language, and an intriguing glimpse at the political and cultural climate of the times make this tale a very enjoyable read. Make no mistake, The Persians are coming even after the great battles of Artemesium. Salamis is next. 4.7 stars

[Matt Heppe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great novel from my favorite historical fiction author. As usual, Cameron brings history to vivid life. The Great King mixes edge of the seat action with politics, culture, and great characters. Loved it.

[David Newell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant instalment from Cameron. Exciting, evocative, and epic, nobody else writes ancient historical fiction this good

[John McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Read

The story is immersive. You’re sucked right in to engage with real people from history. I’m already deep into the next book in the series.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m re-reading this series for the second time…this time with no long pauses between books.
Of all the books I’ve read about Ancient Greece and specifically the Persian War, I think I’ve enjoyed this series the most.
Not only is the writing superb, but Cameron has clearly done his research. Where the historical record leaves blanks, he’s very skillful at filling in with highly probable/possible scenes that are, themselves, used beautifully to illustrate and portray some aspect of the ancient world that the reader might otherwise not have known.
I’ve spent the last four years obsessively reading every book set in the world of 600-200 BCE that I can get my hands on and a good amount of primary sources. I don’t understand why but you can believe that I know what I’m talking about when I say these books are fantastic!
This entry into the series, along the Poseidon’s Spear, is my favorite because of Arimnestos trip to Persia and the account of the always-overlooked sea battle at Artimesium. As Cameron noted in the Afterword, it is all too easy for a writer to cast the Persians in a single dimension of evil faceless barbarian enemy. Although quite different from the Greeks, there was a great deal to admire about them and their accomplishments and societies. I was glad to see Cameron emphasize that the “Persian Army” was not a unified mass of Persian people but an insanely varied polyglot of people conscripted from all the different lands over which Persia had sway. Taking into account fighting styles and strategy as well as language, the differences between the various Greek states were negligible compared to that of the Persian army, which I believe, contributed enormously to the shape and outcome of the various engagements.
I’m looking forward to re-reading Salamis next!
Last year I took a 3 three week trip to Greece to visit many of these spots and, by sheer chance, got to spend Easter roaming all over Salamis, or Salamina as they call it. Which, despite being a 15 minute ferry ride, is decidedly NOT a tourist spot, but a weekend/holiday place for Athenians.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing book - so much so that I stayed up until 11pm last night to finish it off. I like that it explores the complex relationships between the Greek city-states, reminding us in the process that "Ancient Greece" was not one unified nation as we tend to assume. Each city-state had its own priorities, their own view on the conflict with Persia and their own plans of what to do about it. Arimnestos, as ever, is in the middle of those plans.

I also liked that Cameron does not resort to stereotypes - he does not simply paint one side as "good" and the other as "bad". Arimnestos has seen enough of the world now to know that people are more complex than that. And I like the fact that the story focuses on human relationships just as much as it focuses on the military and political sides of things. You care about these characters, which of course makes you what to know what happens to them.

I look forward to reading part 5.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was superb, one of the best historical fiction books I've read and clear step up from the previous books in the series. There is not even too much happening in terms of the big events of the Greco-Persian War. We have the indecisive Battle of Artemesium (although depicted here as a Greek victory) and the Battle of Thermopylae, which happens off-stage. Nevertheless there is a magnificent rendition of the dread and foreboding that descends across Greece with the coming of the Great King, and wonderful detour into Persia in a diplomatic mission. The details of hoplite and naval warfare are brilliant - clearly Cameron knows exactly what he's talking about, which is very rare. It's a shame Thermopylae didn't feature but with the decision to go with first-person narration at the series beginning, that was always going to be impossible. By the way, either my memory is shot or the blurb on this page is way off. There was nothing about Egypt!

[Linda Humberstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book, with a wonderful description of the events leading up to, and describing, the sea battle of Artemesium when the little navy of the allied Greek city states harassed and injured the grand navy of the Persian King Xerxes, whilst Leonidas held at Thermopylae for as long as possible. The book is so well written it makes the politics involving the build up to the alliance of the Greeks and what was happening around the Mediterranean at that time so interesting and easy to understand. The characters, both factual and fictional, are well depicted and brought to life throughout the story.

[NekroRider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved the opening section of the books with Olympics, probably my favourite part of the book! Rating this book is a bit difficult just because I found the pacing a bit fast. After the Olympics it felt like a lot of events were crammed into what felt like not very many pages. The first two books definitely the best pacing so far imo. That said, the world feels very rich and real real, and Cameron really did his research to make the ancient world come to life, not only in the military events described but cultural life as well. I also liked that in the end the focus was on the battle of Artemesium rather than Thermopylae.

[Theo Kokonas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of the Long War series, so it's best if you've read the previous three books.
Much like the other books in the series the story gets very gripping in places, particularly if you've ever had a passing interest in ancient Greek culture.
It covers the battle of Thermopylae very briefly and it's treated as a minor piece in this story but it brings to life King Leonidas and other protagonists of the period.
The author himself admits there's limited historical material to go on from back then, but he's done some impressive research, and to top it off he's even an active recreationist who's lived and breathed what he writes! A highly recommended read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started this one and was ploughing through the review of the rest of the series at the beginning (I wonder if this was a publisher requirement to try and attract the stand alone audience who don't want read the whole series?) I was thinking there might be too many books in this series. However, once I got into the story this one was just as good as the others and I will be continuing with the next one.

[Peter Krevenets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic and beautiful - I can give a long list of things done right, of adventures, travels, and heroics. Ancient Greece come to life with Leonidas, Themistocles, and others, with great cities of Babylon and Susa, with the ominous Carthage. Great events are unfolding and we are right in the middle of them, hanging on every word of our storyteller, eager to know what comes next... which means I'm going to plunge into the next book right away!

[Colin Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another rousing adventure in this excellent series.

Mr Cameron keeps your interest from the beginning to the very end. He excels at describing battles and you feel as if you are in the thick of the action. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical military fiction.