Troy: Lord Of The Silver Bow - David Gemmell

“Lord of the Silver Bow” is the first book in a trilogy about Troy and was one that I had thought about reading for a while. Having finally picked it up in the library, I’m certainly glad I did. I found this a very readable book and very enjoyable. It was easy to get into despite the subject matter being based on the classic tale of the Iliad and the stuff of legend.

Gemmell switches between different characters and so the story is never ...
...war and the siege of Troy by the Greek states and so acts as a scene setter – we are shown the various characters of the nations involved.

Troy is shown to be an ostentatious place, wealthy beyond belief and very strong in its alliances. However, Priam, the king of Troy, is not well liked among his subjects and peers and is constantly thwarting attempts on his life and throne.

The Mykene are shown to be war hungry and vicious, ... more

“Lord of the Silver Bow” is the first book in a trilogy about Troy and was one that I had thought about reading for a while. Having finally picked it up in the library, I’m certainly glad I did. I found this a very readable book and very enjoyable. It was easy to get into despite the subject matter being based on the classic tale of the Iliad and the stuff of legend.

Gemmell switches between different characters and so the story is never seen from only one viewpoint. The book begins before the war and the siege of Troy by the Greek states and so acts as a scene setter – we are shown the various characters of the nations involved.

Troy is shown to be an ostentatious place, wealthy beyond belief and very strong in its alliances. However, Priam, the king of Troy, is not well liked among his subjects and peers and is constantly thwarting attempts on his life and throne.

The Mykene are shown to be war hungry and vicious, led by the ambitious Agamemnon. The other nations know that the pirate ships raiding the region are in the pay of Agamemnon, although this is publicly denied. Agamemnon is envious of Troy’s wealth and power and wants it for himself.

The Ithakans are led by Odysseus, the wily and adventurous King who is well liked and respected by the other nations. Thanks to Odysseus, Ithaka remains largely neutral but still has to tread carefully between the Mykene and Troy.

Dardania is an area north of Troy, allied to it and led by its Queen, Halysia, and her stepson Helikaon until Halysia’s son Diomedes is of age to rule. Helikaon was disinherited by his father but is happy to support the rule of his younger brother.

There are various smaller nations such as Sparta – which is being attacked by the Mykene during the book – and Thebe under Plakos, which maintains its alliance to Troy by betrothing a Princess to the warrior Prince of Troy – Hektor.

“The Lord of the Silver Bow” of the title is Helikaon of Dardania, also known as Aeneas, and he is one of the main characters of the story. Helikaon is shown to be cruel but fair and is generally a likeable character. However he has a dark side and makes his enemies suffer when they cross him in any way. Helikaon is shown to be an honourable man and this is contrasted with several dishonourable characters and the acts they perpetrate.

We are introduced to all the main players of the Iliad, such as Odysseus, the ugly King, and the saviour of Helikaon from his troubled youth. We are introduced to Priam, the powerful and arrogant king of Troy and his forceful but slowly dying wife, Hekabe. Priam and Hekabe are both presented as quite unlikeable characters – they are cold and arrogant with most people, except their favoured children, such as Hektor.

Hektor’s bride Andromache is also presented to us but she is not a willing bride due to several years spent as a priestess of Thera. As a priestess Andromache lived on an island without men and therefore led a life of almost complete freedom. She is only sent to Troy after the death of her sister who was originally betrothed to Hektor and chafes under the restraints she is placed under.

Hektor himself is built up throughout the book as a great hero and Priam’s favoured son. As readers we see very little of him until the end of the book but Gemmell hints that there is some secret surrounding him. Many of the characters assert that Hektor hates war and would rather breed horses than fight; however his name is legendary in battle.

There are several small sidelines such as Helikaon’s search for his father’s assassin and the mystery surrounding who ordered his death. The character of Gershom is also a sideline in the reasons for his escaping Egypt and why the Royal guards are searching for him. Another few episodes involve a young boy named Xander and his adventures on Helikaon’s ship.

Another important character is Argurios, a legendary Mykene warrior sent on a mission by Agamemnon to Troy. He ends up travelling with Helikaon despite their mutual dislike of each other and at first comes across as an unlikeable character. When Gemmell switches to Argurios’ point of view his rigid character is soon explained. He lives by a very clear moral code and has not endeared himself to his king with his truthfulness.

The action of the book is well balanced by the smaller storylines of Gershom and Xander but they all still tie up together well. The various threads of the book could be confusing but I felt that Gemmell did a good job of differentiating the characters without forgetting about the main storyline.

One part that I did find amusing was Gemmell’s representation of Paris and Helen – Paris is a stoop-shouldered scholar who hates war and Helen is a plain faced country girl. Kassandra is already presented as an oddity - a young girl who speaks in riddles to those around her and who is often disregarded.

I felt that this book did a good job of bridging the classicism of the Iliad and popular historical fiction. It is a very readable book and you don’t need to be familiar with the story of Troy to pick it up and become involved in it. Of course Gemmell has taken liberties with the story and this book begins before the period that the Iliad was set in. However much of the story of Troy is legend anyway so it doesn’t worry me much.

Gemmell’s version of Troy is quite realistic, as is his version of the politics of the nations surrounding it and their interaction with Troy. I felt that the interaction between Helikaon and Andromache was a bit much but that is probably because I don’t enjoy romance in my novels anyway.

The battle scenes could be a bit brutal but in all fairness this is probably what Gemmell was trying to portray. Battle is brutal and the nations surrounding Troy and Troy itself were not exempt from that brutality.

I’m looking forward to getting the next book in this trilogy and would definitely recommend it for a bit of escapism.
 

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