Gates of Fire

I enjoy reading, especially fiction, and even more specifically science-fiction and fantasy. I don’t really read historical fiction, but that might change. I am currently taking a military literature class and we just finished Gates of Fire. Gates of Fire is a novel written by Steven Pressfield about the Battle of Thermopylae (the battle with the 300 Spartans fighting the Persians). Gates of Fire is one of the few books that I have read in school and thoroughly enjoyed, another such book being The Count of Monte Cristo. I’m not saying that I hated every book I’ve read in school, far from it really, but I consider Gates of Fire to be a part of a special category.

BRIEF SPOILERS FOLLOW

The very basics of the plot involve the narrator Xeones relating his story, starting with the destruction of his home and ending with the battle of Thermopylae, to the Persian King Xerxes. The story follows all sorts of twists and turns, both in plot and in chronology, as it traces Xeones’ life and recounts how he came to know many of the most valorous Spartans that died at Thermopylae.

SPOILERS END

Gates of Fire is a rather long book. It consists of 38 chapters divided up into 8 “books”. And throughout these 8 books, a deep, complex narrative unfolds. This book does require some patience before it starts to get really good, but even at that the beginning is pretty interesting. It also requires a bit more effort than many other books, because the plot doesn’t unfold in a straightforward manner. Instead, the book will advance in time, then go back for a chapter, then jump ahead again. But every change in time has a purpose. Every little aspect of the book has a purpose and contributes to the overall message, meaning, and development of the book.

Gates of Fire also has something for everyone. It has an interesting and compelling story, humor, albeit coarse and vulgar most of the time, intense action sequences, and deep truths about life. Pressfield does a great job of emulating the kind of language and humor used by soldiers, so it can be a bit vulgar at times. That’s not a bad thing, per say, because it contributes to the realism of the novel and makes the characters seem more alive. And while many of these characters are made up, such as Polynikes and Alexandros, some were real, such as Leonidas and Dienekes.

Something else that the book does very well is its exploration of human nature. Throughout the story, the reader grows closer to the characters and watches them grow and develop. Many of the characters do genuinely change. This book is not full of static characters that don’t learn; the characters are complex, and the reader can relate to them and learn through them, especially concerning courage and what it means to fight. The violence can be extremely graphic, but it serves to contrast with the overall fragility of life. Even the characters that are great warriors ultimately die. The horrors of war shape and change the characters, and this can be seen towards the end of the book. The conversations afterwards that these battles spur, conversations on courage and what it means, can also be beneficial to the reader. By defining courage and what it entails, it can help the reader see how and where they can be most courageous in their own lives. The book can be very thought-provoking, because it deals with heavy themes. Death and war are both rather common themes in literature, but their implications and effects aren’t always explored, but Gates of Fire explores their impact on people beautifully.

Concerning war, Gates of Fire portrays it brutally. The climactic battles are terrible and the carnage is immense. But despite this, I couldn’t tear myself away. The battles were fascinating and exciting. I wanted to keep reading, I wanted to see what happened to everyone, event though I already knew the answer. But just because you know how something ends doesn’t mean you know what happens, so even though the reader knows how the battle ends, that’s all they know. They don’t know how each character finally dies or what they do. And because of this unknown factor, Gates of Fire is even more compelling.

Gates of Fire is a great book. The characters are complex and relatable. They provide real insight into life for the reader and teach valuable lessons. The violence and bloodshed is extremely realistic and described with gory detail, but there’s something about it that’s just so exciting and interesting to read. The violence helps to drive the last few sections of the book, but it never becomes a dominating or pervasive element. This book really isn’t about war, it’s about how war impacts people and how they choose to deal with it. I would highly recommend this book.