The Olympian: A Tale of Ancient Hellas | E.S. Kraay | A born storyteller and a great story

The Olympian: A Tale of Ancient Hellas | E.S. Kraay | Worth more than gold medals

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The Olympian: A Ta...

	The Olympian: A Tale of Ancient Hellas E.S. Kraay BookSurge Publishing, 2008 - 310 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

In the 75th Olympiad by Greek reckoning, the strongest, fastest, quickest and most agile men in Hellas gathered at Olympia to celebrate life through athletic competition. That same year, 480 BCE by our reckoning, the Persian Emprie ruled the known world save for that small peninsula dominated by a dozen democratic city-states. To avenge the defeat of his father on the plain of Marathon 10 years earlier, Xerxes, the Great King amassed an army a million men strong to bring these free states to heel. Amid the cheering crowds, the sweat, dust and blood on the Elisian fields of friendly strife, and threatened by the impending clash of armies with the fate of Western Civilization in the balance, two men, one a boxer, the other a poet, come to the revelation that the true worth of a man is based on more than what he does for himself. The Olympian explores a little known reason why only 300 Spartans faced a million men in the Thermopylae Pass, and stands as tribute to those extraordinary warriors who waged a battle that saved Western culture.

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A born storyteller and a great story

Having written tales set in ancient Greece myself, I know how difficult it is to strike the proper feel, rhythm and tone of voice to attempt to re-create a world that is, on the one hand, vanished and, on the other, totally present and inhering in our modern, Western sphere. If you get too "ancient," you lose the reader. Go too contemporary and the piece feels fake. Eugene Kraay hits exactly the right note with this tale of Theagenes, the great Olympic boxer, as told by Simonides, the poet who wrote the famous epitaph for the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae. Theagenes is a tremendous character. Superhuman, larger than life, but deeply flawed, self-tormented, driven, even consumed, by inner imperatives of honor and redemption. This is very Greek (and very American) and "The Olympian" makes you feel it in your bones. It's a quest story. Theagenes starts out seeking one form of redemption, a bout with the great Spartan champion Lampis, and in the end finds another form that is unexpected, far deeper and rings absolutely true. I confess I was skeptical picking this book up because a friend had told me what its ambitions were. But it hooked me from the first page. I know Greece, the land and the sea, and "The Olympian" gets that right too. I felt as if I were reading an actual manuscript from those days that had somehow just been dug up from an archaeological dig. Eugene Kraay is a born storyteller. His tale zigs and zags and never loses a jot of momentum. He gets you "on the road" with his characters and you feel you're right there with them. The scenes at Olympia are tremendous sportswriting, if such a phrase can be applied. By the time the story reaches Thermopylae, to which Theagenes and Simonides have trekked because Lampis has gone there with his fellow Spartans to help defend the pass against Xerxes and the invading Persian multitudes, you are living every second with them. I won't spoil the ending. Suffice it to say, no one has ever hit Thermopylae from this angle and it is powerful, effecting and unforgettable. One final thought. There are many writers who can write a great sentence or a great paragraph or a great chapter, but very few can conceive a story from start to finish, make it unique, and have it hang together all the way through, so that when you've reached the climax, you can look back as a reader at everything that came before and see how nothing was superfluous and everything has borne you skillfully to the pleasure of the finish. Eugene Kraay does that with absolute ease and assurance in this, his first book. I can't wait to see what he'll do next!

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Worth more than gold medals

I heard an interview with the author here in New York City, and he struck me as the type of guy I'd like to have a beer with. Greek history seems like a hobby for him, but one that he has mastered. That's why I bought the book.

I'm into epic stories about heroes rising to the occassion, saving the day by making the ultimate sacrifice. While this story really does touch on all of the manly things that I typically enjoy in books and movies alike, it really gets down to a deeper matter, which is what I hope people really take from this book. The story, like others have said, is captivating and this is indeed an "easy read," but the underlying message beneath it all is one that isn't reflected upon often enough in today's society: A man's true worth is not found in what he does for himself. It's a very profound message and the author was very cheeky in making that point clear, all the while telling a gripping story.

Two points I would like to make about the content of the story:
1. The scene at Thermopylae will choke the reader up. In that moment, you are watching these Spartans get slaughtered, and there's nothing you can do about it. In a time when terrorism steals the headlines, it will likely make you think of some modern day events (ie 9/11, Madrid, etc).
2. The way the characters speak, their language, is different from what I expected. It's almost as if you really are being told the story in the tongue of the ancient greeks.

Very good stuff.

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E.S. KRAAY - BARD, POET, HISTORIAN

Take note fans of historical fiction, the genre has a new star in E.S. Kraay. Novels with an historic focus, featuring actual figures from history present a great challenge for authors. Can the writer capture the flavors of the period without turning the story into a text book full of dry facts which overwhelm the story? A delicate balance must be struck to tell the tale and create the proper backdrop to honor the actual climate of the characters and their culture.

E.S. Kraay succeeds in this because he is an exceptional story teller. It is obvious that he is an outstanding historian, painting an extraordinary picture of ancient Hellas and its people. His descriptive and poetic passages bring to life the land and people of the story in all their glory as one of the ancient cultures responsible for founding modern western civilization.

Kraay's story is narrated by the Greek poet Simonides who continually weaves stories about honor and redemption throughout the entirety of the book. These tales succeed in establishing the setting of the story, the Olympic games and the battle of Thermopylae. Kraay's stories are exceptionally well told and very entertaining. I feel a good book should be easy to read because you are drawn into it and this novel kept the pages turning for me because I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

In addition to telling a great story, this book uses events from ancient Hellas to deliver a message that still rings true to us today. There comes a time when many a person faces a challenge to seek personal glory or decide to make a sacrifice for the greater good of mankind. Honor and redemption are tools that build great civilizations. Pride and personal glory are weapons that can tear down a civilization. The Olympic champion Theagenes and the "300" Spartans demonstrate the power of choosing a hire cause than personal glory.

Our own culture in America is currently facing tough times and serious challenges. The fighting men and women of the US armed forces are facing these threats on a daily basis. While reading this book I was able to draw many conclusions about our own era and country. While this book is a tale of ancient Hellas, its message is one for all ages and this is the mark of an amazing storyteller.

E.S. Kraay is indeed a bard, historian and storyteller for the modern age. As a huge fan of historical fiction, I truly feel a new star has arrived. If you choose to read this book, I promise you are in store for a great read.

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Exciting Epic

E.S Kraay's tale is one of integrity and intrigue. I read it quickly and wished I'd lingered longer in the Greek Isles in which it occurs. Men can live at peace with themselves after they've taken care of matters of grave import. Screen writers ought to check this one out!

The Olympian

Many books have been written about Ancient Greece in the last few years. Gates of Fire, Tides of War, The Ten Thousand...

"The Olympian" differs from most of these mentioned books in the fact that it deals with the story of two men, a poet and a boxer and how their fates become entwined within the events of 480 B.C. and the battle of Thermopylae.

Written from the memories of Simionides the poet, "The Olympian" covers the events leading up to Thermopylae and those directly afterwards.

Rather than being presented with a book which focuses on the now well known struggle of the 300 Spartans facing the Xerxes' Persian Army, "The Olympian" concentrates on the reasons why...

What drives a warrior to march against insurmountable odds? Do the Gods affect mans actions or does man affect the decisions of the Gods? What is the correlation between honour on an individual basis and that of honouring the Polis?

The Spartans, when they appear in the book, are represented in a way which has rarely been presented. Their respect and obedience to the laws of Lycurgus is emphasised in a way which lets the reader see the efficiency and professionalism of this warrior race while at the same time, not distracting the book's emphasis from the main characters.

A book titled "The Olympian" would not however be fitting if the Olympic Games were not to play an integral part of the story. This they do with an uncanny graphical representation which brings the reader into the games themselves.

"The Olympian" culminates in what can be deemed as an epic and unforgettable "final conflict"

In short, Mr Kraay has written a book which will no doubt belong in the row of "Classic" books on Ancient Greece and the battle of Thermopylae.

As I completed "The Olympian" I was left with one question, "What does it take to change the essence of a man?"

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reviews: page 1, 2

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