Book Review: Empire of Ashes Jeanne Reames University of Nebraska at Omaha, [email protected]
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University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO History Faculty Publications Department of History 2007 Book Review: Empire of Ashes Jeanne Reames University of Nebraska at Omaha, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/histfacpub Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, and the History Commons Recommended Citation Reames, Jeanne, "Book Review: Empire of Ashes" (2007). History Faculty Publications. 19. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/histfacpub/19 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Book Review: Empire of Ashes biographies of A. B. Bosworth, Peter by Jeanne Reames Green, or J. R. Hamilton. The scholarship consulted on Greek culture and warfare (by James Davidson, Victor Davis Hanson, and Nicholas Nicastro. Empire of Ashes: A Alexander displaced or who dislike histori- Sarah Pomeroy, for example) is more Novel of Alexander the Great. Signet cal novels that depart from the probable authoritative. (http://us.penguingroup.com), 2004. may not appreciate the twist. And although In the Afterword, Nicastro does explain Pp. 384. Paperback $7.99. ISBN 0-451- Nicastro’s Alexander is far from unsympa- his choices about changes in the historical 21366-1. thetic, those who prefer Mary Renault’s details in a sensible and logical fashion. more heroic conqueror may also find them- Some of these chosen alterations were hree historical novels about Alexander selves disappointed. I admit, however, that deliberate. Nicastro’s version of Alexan- Tthe Great were published in 2004 to I was charmed by the notion of a teenaged der’s death is unusual, to say the least, but coincide with the November release of Alexander with greasy hair and acne -- an to reveal it here would spoil the scene. He Oliver Stone’s epic film on the conqueror: image characteristic of Nicastro’s humaniz- mentions the possible pregnancy of Sta- The Virtues of War by Steven Pressfield, ing approach. He avoids both apologetics tiera, Darius’ wife, and her death in child- who is best known for Gates of Fire (1998) and exaggerated sensationalism. birth (141-143) but says nothing about Bar- about the Battle of Thermopylae; Queen of sine, Alexander’s known concubine. It the Amazons by Judith Tarr, who wrote seems a strange omission, as Alexander’s about Alexander once before in Lord of the involvement with Barsine was well docu- Two Lands (1993); and Empire of Ashes by mented, but anything with Statiera was relative newcomer Nicholas Nicastro. Nicastro’s pacing moves rumor only. In fact, the name “Barsine” is Empire of Ashes utilizes a frame format, the story along in a way used for Darius’ daughter and may account narrating Alexander’s story within the larg- that keeps the reader for the elimination of Barsine, Artabasos’ er context of the trial of Machon, a fictional engaged. daughter – an attempt to avoid too many Athenian in the retinue of Alexander. characters with the same name. Sometimes Machon stands accused of impiety and a historical alterations are done to avoid con- failure to fulfill his oath. The tale itself fusing readers. As Nicastro himself says in begins in Chapter Two where Nicastro his notes: “not all inaccuracies are mis- describes life in ancient Athens with a vivid- takes” (367). ness that leaps from the page. The trial is As an example of his more balanced When reading a historical novel about seen from the point of view of a jurist nick- approach, consider Nicastro’s treatment of Alexander, however, I am more interested named Swallow who first hears Aeschines Alexander’s sexuality. A number of modern in whether the writer has captured the over- argue the case against Machon and then critics of Stone’s film were either unable or all feel of the ancient world, even if the hears the detailed defense, given – to unwilling to grasp that the ancient world story may contain some incorrect details. everyone’s surprise – by Machon himself. might have seen sex differently than we do. Nicastro has indeed done so, making Nicastro captures the timbre of ancient Alexander, who reputedly said that “sleep Empire of Ashes one of the best recent nov- Athenian court rhetoric with Aeschines’ and sex remind me I’m mortal” suddenly els on the conqueror. prosecution, but the bulk of the story is became the subject of a media exposé. For- related in Machon’s more straightforward tunately, Nicastro treats the matter with Jeanne Reames is Associate Professor of first-person narrative. Nicastro’s obvious appropriate (and refreshing) nonchalance. History at the University of Nebraska, familiarity with ancient writing styles should He neither avoids mention of Alexander’s Omaha, specializing in Alexander and be well appreciated by classicists and histo- probable long-time attachment to Hephais- Argead Macedonia. She also has an rians of the ancient world, and his pacing tion nor dwells upon it. undergraduate degree from the University moves the story along in a way that keeps Empire of Ashes is not, however, without of Florida in creative writing and has kept the reader engaged. historical error, although most are minor. a review web site since 1997: Beyond Nicastro employs a bit of mystery involv- For instance, Nicastro mentions Macedon- Renault: Alexander the Great in Fiction ing Arrhidaios, Alexander’s half-brother, in ian military “buzz cuts” (19), which is far (http://myweb.unomaha.edu/~mreames/ order to hook the reader. He asks, “What if too modern, and his depiction of Olympias Beyond_Renault/beyondrenault.html). Alexander wasn’t the military genius that (74-75) might have benefited from reading history paints him? What if that were the work of historian Elizabeth Carney to Arrhidaios instead?” Nicastro’s Arrhidaios provide a more nuanced view of the polyg- is an “idiot savant” – autistic – with this one amous Macedonian court. Nicastro’s extraordinary gift for strategy. Is this histori- choice of biographies could have been cally likely? Not really. But is it possible? more critical as well. He lists the popular Yes, of course – and that is all one needs works of Mary Renault, Robin Lane Fox, for fiction. Those uncomfortable seeing and Michael Wood but not the scholarly 15.