The Godless Man

Paul Doherty is the consummate professional when it comes to writing historical novels. I for one do not know how he can be so prolific with his offering of books and yet make sure that each of them is well researched. Whether they be 13th, 14th, or fifteenth century they are always true to the period. He also writes about Ancient Egypt and now he has taken to writing about Alexander the Great. Paul Doherty has the rare talent of making you feel as though you are there, be it medieval England, or battling with Alexander. The sounds and smells of the period seem to waft from the pages of his books. 334 BC, Alexander the Great has achieved another of his triumphs that many said could never be achieved. He has smashed the might of the Persians at the Battle of the Granicus. Alexander is finding out what many later army commanders in history would realise. Meeting and beating an army face to face is a matter of bravery and using the right tactics and Alexander was a master tactician. But sometimes winning a battle against several thousand men was easier than catching and killing two or three men who did not want to be caught. Alexander has made his way to Ephesus, but his success could be ruined by a spate of murders brought about by a Persian, known as the Centaur. Worse is yet to come when Leonidas, one of Alexander's old tutors is found drowned in a stagnant pond at the House of Medusa. Telamon, Alexander's old firend and physician sets about trying to unravel the mystery that surrounds the spate of deaths. But Alexander is not always the easiest man to work for or with and his volatile and unpredictable nature may hinder rather than help the physician.

Paul Doherty (or P.C. Doherty, or Paul Harding, or Michael Clynes, or Anna Apostolou, etc., take your pick) usually writes of medieval England. His Brother Athelstan series, his Sir Roger Shallot series, his Canterbury Tales series, and his Hugh Corbett series are all riveting accounts of Merry Olde told with great interest and authority on the time and place. Doherty, certainly a learned man in his own "write," is well documented. His Egyptian series and now his Alexander the Great works probably only show how erudite he is! "The Godless Man," the second of the Alexander the Great tomes, seems to lack not only the enthusiasm but the documentation Doherty usually provides to become really thorough. Granted, this is a work of fiction and authors do not have to be historically accurate or even convincing, for, after all, it's the storyline that primarily counts, not incidental elements. Taking on Alexander the Great is a more daunting task that concentrating on one of Chaucer's pilgrims! Of course, "The Godless Man" is not really about Alexander; instead, it is the story of Telamon, who is The Great's physician. Assisted ably by Cassandra, Telemon must solve the puzzle of a mass murder in the Temple of Hercules in the newly occupied city of Ephesus. And such a quandry, as the denizens of that capital city are not too keen to help the occupying force, concerned with their own immediate problems. They've seen occupying armies come and go and they suspect that the Macedonians won't hang around either!But Alexander is insistent that these murders (and subsequent ones to keep the plot suspenseful) be solved, for it reflects directly upon him and his abilities to occupy a conquered city.Telamon, a childhood friend of Alex's, rises to the occasion and some 300 pages later succeeds.Doherty seems intent, himself, upon a conquering of sorts--to conquer the world of historical fiction. And may he succeed, as he's a delightful writer to read. However, veering away from England seems to lose something in its translations. This book is worth the read, but arguably he should concentrate on his own native shores, or else go beyond what he has presented and work for a more mesmerizing plot. He seems to spend too much time trying to justify what he's doing in time frame in the first place. The subtitle of the book is "A Mystery of Alexander the Great" and is a bit misleading. Probably few historical figures are more interesting than Alexander and Doherty gives little insight (other than to proclaim emphatically that he and Hephaestion were NOT lovers!)into one of the greatest generals of all time. Fans of Doherty (and I am one) won't flee the gates, however. Doherty deserves his praise!

This is an excellent book. But, if you're looking for a story specifically about Alexander the Great...this isn't it. The story revolves mostly around his physician and his ability to use his extraordinary sense of observation to put clues together and collect information for the King. At first, when starting the book, I was a little disappointed that Alexander wasn't the focal point of the story. He almost becomes an after-thought in the scheme of things. But, the further you get into the story, the more you become ensconced in the mystery and can't wait to turn the page and get more clues. Dispite the fact that the title is a tad misleading, it's still an excellent read. I enjoyed it a lot.

After his great victory at Granicus, Alexander rests at Ephesus, a large Greek city of Asia Minor. Yet, although he has achieved victory in a battle, Persia remains strong and its fortress city of Miletus seems impregnable--and essential to Alexander's hopes for continued conquest. Worse, Ephesus, like many Greek cities, is torn between parties who use every opportunity to make war on one another. Persia's spymaster is using this civil war to keep Ephesus in turmoil, and to threaten Alexander's word, his life, and his hopes for the future. Alexander turns to his physician, Telamon, to discover the true explanation of a classic closed door mystery--the murder of a group of Oligachs within the sealed walls of the Temple of Hercules--after Alexander had given his word that they would be safe. The Persians attempt to destroy the myth of Alexander before they kill the man, and Telamon resolves to find the true spies within the city. With a little help from his beautiful Celtic assistant, Cassandra, and less help from Alexander's spymaster, Aristander, but with a lot of the logic he gained from studying under Aristotle, Telamon peels away at the veils of secrecy that pervade so much of Ephesus. Author Paul Doherty writes convincingly and compellingly of Alexander's conquest. Badly outnumbered, deep in the enemies territory, Alexander has enough problems from the Persians, yet his Greek 'allies' can be even more dangerous. Doherty's Alexander is powerfully, yet humanly drawn--with all of the arrogance you'd expect in a man who intends to conquer the world, yet with the keen intelligence of the man who, in all history, came closest to doing just that. Telamon, too, is a believable, yet admirable character. The slowly evolving relationship between Telamon and Cassandra adds just a hint of spice to a well-served mystery.