Fire from Heaven

Mary Renualt's tale of the youth and rise to power of Alexander the Great (the first of an amazing trilogy) is not to be missed. The characters are deliciously complicated, as decisively drawn as they are interesting to follow, and her intuition in exploring their desires and motivations is a joy. Renault's descriptions of customs, places and events are superb and effortless, her prose flawless. The entire book is more like a first-hand account than a novel, really. She has obviously researched her subject exhaustingly, but completely avoids the downfall of many historical fiction authors -- showing off their knowledge of the facts and/or oppressing the reader with their minutae while sacrificing the drama of the story. Renault weaves her tale with such skill that you can never quite tell where fact ends and fiction begins. Her interpretation of what is known of Alexander hits the mark on every page, and none of the dramatic license she takes rings false or feels contrived. I try not to believe anyone's hype until I can make my own judgement, and Mary Renault has proven herself an incredible talent beyond her impressive reputation.

This is a beautiful and romantic depiction of the young Alexander. It is hard to figure what the young boy had in mind while growing up and preparing to become the greatest and most charismatic leader of antiquity. Alexander has inspired other great figures such as Octavianus Augustus, Louis XIV, and Napoleon Bonaparte. Ancient Greece does not have a clear division between real historical events and mythological accounts. Mythology is so well rooted in the Hellenic culture that it exists on a continuum. Alexander is part of history and yet he lives between Herakles and Achilleus. Alexander accomplished what the two mythical heroes pursued in the legend. Thus, Alexander is history and legend, humanness and myth, man and divinity. Alexander, if not the greatest, is certainly one of the most remarkable men and leaders ever existed.Lysippos is the artist who best captured the visionary essence of Alexander. The neck slightly bent on the right, looking somewhere he only knew (the legendary vision): Zeus, the mountains before the desert, the world, his unlimited courage and geniality, the heroics Herakles and Achilleus, the desire to bring together different civilizations in a unique Greek speaking empire. Alexander may well be the father of globalization.There are so many books that have been written about Alexander. Many are just redundant repetitions; others try to embellish the little information arrived to us from Arrian, Plutarch, Curtius Rufus, Diodorus, and few others.Ms Renault is an excellent writer. Her many historic novels are in part fiction and yet the crop of her very sharp intuition and realistic imagination. She has read everything there was to read; she masters the philosophical thought of Aristoteles, Alexander's tutor. While we do not know what Alexander and Hephaistion learned from the Stagirite, we may however imagine the influence that Aristoteles had on the formative, cognitive, and intellectual growth of genial Alexander. We speak now about the importance of emotional intelligence. I believe that the adolescent Alexander was already extremely gifted ant that his intelligence had strong emotional connotations.I have read many books about Alexander. However, I bought this book because I was looking for a book presenting Alexander in a different light. Somehow, a romanticized Alexander, albeit Renault depicts him in Aristotelian virtuosity. The historical events described in the book are quite accurate, at least according the available sources. Neither Dover in Greek Homosexuality nor Cantarella in Bisexuality in the ancient world give any account of Alexander's presumed bisexuality. Plutarch narrates about Alexander and Hephaistion paying homage to the burial stones of Achilleus and Patroklos out of Ilion. In Renault's book, she often mentions a parallel between the two mythical companions and the two historical friends. Somehow, Hephaistion has been the greatest and most loyal friend of Alexander. Hephaistion was probably the

Fire from Heaven is the historical novel of Alexander the Great's life from his birth through the death of his father when Alexander was a young man. The focus of the book is on the development of the man's character and skills as a leader, displayed both in the context of his war experiences and his family. One of the repeating themes in literature and biography is the difficulty that eldest sons have in succeeding in their fathers' eyes. Alexander the Great was a notable historical exception to the usual rule. His father was exceptionally able, and united the Greeks prior to his assassination. Alexander was a greater man, and this book explores the development of their relationship amid the backdrop of court intrigues and Hellenic politics. Plutarch's Lives is the primary source for Fire from Heaven, but Mary Renault has drawn from other post-Alexander sources to weave a compelling historical novel of what it might have been like back in Pella.The Macedonians had a number of habits that some would be uncomfortable with today. These behaviors included killing as a rite of manhood, slavery, taking physical advantage of weaker people, plundering, polygamy, open bi-sexual relationships, raiding neighbors for pecuniary advantage, and sacrificing of animals to the gods. If any of these things distress you, this may not be the novel for you. These behaviors play a big role in the story. Alexander's father and mother did not see eye-to-eye. Part of the reason was that his mother was probably overly politically ambitious. Another part of the reason was the his father rarely saw a beautiful young person he did not find attractive, and he was a man to act on his impulses. The book explores how Alexander developed his independence of character and action from both of his parents.Much of the novel can only be guess-work, but the record is fairly clear that Alexander was able to command respect as a field commander by the time he was only 16. He also displayed a dislike for taking the easy way out, so his many principled stands make sense. The book also looks into his relations with his friends and colleagues, and leaves it open as to whether these were sexually chaste relations or not. The author's note leaves it up to you to decide what his preferences really were.The book was most appealing to me before Alexander was butting heads with his father. One of the most revealing episodes though is one where Alexander saves his father's life, and his father pretends to be ignorant of the fact. Actually, their relations were probably harmed by this, because it made them into peers before they were ready to accept one another in that way.If you are like me, you will find it intriguing that it could be difficult to be the son of a successful king, even if you are about to conquer the known world on your own. It was also interesting to read about what it might have been like to have had Aristotle as a tutor. The sections about Demosthenes also

This book is fantastic, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction, or has studied ancient history or classics. Actually I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a stirring read, but if you belong to either of those groups I know you'd love it. I'm a post graduate classics student, and I love this book (the whole trilogy actually) because it brings Alexander's whole world to life in a way nothing else can. Fire from Heaven tells the story of the boy, adolescent, and young man who would go on to become Alexander the Great, ending just at the death of his father, when he becomes king and leaves that earlier life behind. Ms Renault captures perfectly the unique influences and stresses that shape him into the adult he becomes, and she succeeds in making him a human and sympathetic character. She does the same for most of the other characters too, creating a cast of real people, all with genuine feelings, inescapably trapped by who they are: Alexander's warring parents for example, united only in their love of him, but failing totally to understand that their mutual hatred, and the way they use their son against each other, is driving him mad. Or Alexander's friends - some genuine, some attracted only by the wealth and position thet the future king might provide. I read this book for the first time when I was 12, and I've reread it countless times in the decade since. It never fails to transport me to another place and another time - one that could be harsh and unkind, but is nonetheless so very alive that I would love to have seen it.

Ms Renault's Fire From Heaven which is the first in a three part series of novels around Alexander The Great must surely rank as one of the best triologies ever written. Fire From Heaven chronicels Alexander's life from the time he was five up to the assisination of his father after which he was proclaimed King. Ms Renault has an ingenious way of presenting the past so much so it becomes like a movie where we the readers become privellieged intruders who are given a secret look at what went on then. So it is with this book. After reading it one can't but help saying that, "Yes, this is how it must have been." Alexander comes out as a real life human being whom wh have come to know on a personal basis instead of just another distant figure from the past. A really entertaining read which will be greatly loved by history buffs and by those who are in a constant search for something good to read.