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crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
4.0
Bullet Review:
I REALLY REALLY liked the first half and that would have been 5 stars. But then we started doing the time warp and I felt I was really an anthology of various people who knew Alexander instead of a cohesive novel. Still some good characters, but huge leaps in time skipping numerous events. But the end was worst; large jump in time, summarizing events.
Full Review:
Alexander the Great is dead (this is not a spoiler), and the various men and even women who knew him (or of him) desperately claw to get on top of the pile and to rule over the massive Empire Alexander carved.
At it's most basic, that's exactly what this story is, though there is far more going on that this one sentence cannot get into.
I'm sitting here, thinking, and I don't even know how I would begin to do what Renault did. What happened after Alexander died, the chaos, the power-seeking - there's a LOT of STUFF that happens, many people clawing to get to the top. So many people, all with different motivations and hopes for the kingdom, whether it be unification or just a small place to call his or her own.
I loved the first half. LOVED. Slowly, I'd been "getting" Renault and her craft as I've read through her Alexander the Great trilogy, and it was the first half of this book that everything clicked. I loved the characters, the way the story flowed - everything.
The problem happened as soon as we did the year jump. In previous books, time does pass, but it's nothing quite as jarring as seeing the big block letters "320 B.C." on the top of the page. I think, in order to show as much chaos and all the different peoples' intricate plans, Renault felt she had to do the Time Warp. And I don't know if it quite succeeded. When you jump a year, there are things that happen - such a Ptolemy moving to Egypt and taking over governorship there. This is something that is a given; the audience never sees it. And it feels weird that I should just accept it happened, when normally, this would be one more piece in the puzzle. (In fact, I think Ptolemy in general gets the shaft because we hardly see him at all in the book.)
We have quite the build-up to talking about Antipatros' reign - and then fast forward to the end and boom, yet time for another power struggle! What about the politics in that year of his reign? You cannot tell me that life was hunky-dory while he was ruling, that Eurydike and Roxane and Kassandros had just thrown their hands up and accepted his rule.
These are just a couple of the instances where I felt that I was only getting a small, small snippet of the most "exciting" portions of post-Alexander life. In many ways, it felt more like an anthology, a collection of short stories than a full-length cohesive novel.
And really, the disconnectedness is what makes me rate this lower. There's still a mighty good story - I loved Eurydike, even if she was incredibly stupid at times - but it feels like excerpts of a story instead of a full blown one.
Coming to the end of this book, I felt kinda sad. I've been Buddy Reading this trilogy with my friend for over a year now, and it's sad to leave the fascinating and exotic world of Alexander behind. I have really grown to appreciate Renault and her way with words and history. To people who think all history is boring, lemme just say: If you find it boring, you are reading the wrong author! Because history is absolutely FASCINATING in the hands of a competent author.
NOTE: Thank you to the amazing, Iset for a fabulous Buddy Read! This was an enjoyable run; let's do this again!
I REALLY REALLY liked the first half and that would have been 5 stars. But then we started doing the time warp and I felt I was really an anthology of various people who knew Alexander instead of a cohesive novel. Still some good characters, but huge leaps in time skipping numerous events. But the end was worst; large jump in time, summarizing events.
Full Review:
Alexander the Great is dead (this is not a spoiler), and the various men and even women who knew him (or of him) desperately claw to get on top of the pile and to rule over the massive Empire Alexander carved.
At it's most basic, that's exactly what this story is, though there is far more going on that this one sentence cannot get into.
I'm sitting here, thinking, and I don't even know how I would begin to do what Renault did. What happened after Alexander died, the chaos, the power-seeking - there's a LOT of STUFF that happens, many people clawing to get to the top. So many people, all with different motivations and hopes for the kingdom, whether it be unification or just a small place to call his or her own.
I loved the first half. LOVED. Slowly, I'd been "getting" Renault and her craft as I've read through her Alexander the Great trilogy, and it was the first half of this book that everything clicked. I loved the characters, the way the story flowed - everything.
The problem happened as soon as we did the year jump. In previous books, time does pass, but it's nothing quite as jarring as seeing the big block letters "320 B.C." on the top of the page. I think, in order to show as much chaos and all the different peoples' intricate plans, Renault felt she had to do the Time Warp. And I don't know if it quite succeeded. When you jump a year, there are things that happen - such a Ptolemy moving to Egypt and taking over governorship there. This is something that is a given; the audience never sees it. And it feels weird that I should just accept it happened, when normally, this would be one more piece in the puzzle. (In fact, I think Ptolemy in general gets the shaft because we hardly see him at all in the book.)
We have quite the build-up to talking about Antipatros' reign - and then fast forward to the end and boom, yet time for another power struggle! What about the politics in that year of his reign? You cannot tell me that life was hunky-dory while he was ruling, that Eurydike and Roxane and Kassandros had just thrown their hands up and accepted his rule.
These are just a couple of the instances where I felt that I was only getting a small, small snippet of the most "exciting" portions of post-Alexander life. In many ways, it felt more like an anthology, a collection of short stories than a full-length cohesive novel.
And really, the disconnectedness is what makes me rate this lower. There's still a mighty good story - I loved Eurydike, even if she was incredibly stupid at times - but it feels like excerpts of a story instead of a full blown one.
Coming to the end of this book, I felt kinda sad. I've been Buddy Reading this trilogy with my friend for over a year now, and it's sad to leave the fascinating and exotic world of Alexander behind. I have really grown to appreciate Renault and her way with words and history. To people who think all history is boring, lemme just say: If you find it boring, you are reading the wrong author! Because history is absolutely FASCINATING in the hands of a competent author.
NOTE: Thank you to the amazing, Iset for a fabulous Buddy Read! This was an enjoyable run; let's do this again!
phloon's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
4.5
A beautiful ending to a remarkable series. I have not read so much political intrigue and back stabbing since Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was all very entertaining with nice prose to top it all off.
mpal's review against another edition
3.75
dramatic but also informative on the various political dramas after alexander’s death, it was very cool to get to see more from the other actors.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2020/03/03/review-1479-funeral-games/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2020/03/03/review-1479-funeral-games/
julesmd16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
goldenassam's review against another edition
5.0
At the end of every page of Funeral Games, I couldn't help but think what a fantastic Game of Thrones-style TV show its plot would make! We have an enormous number of impressive characters, intrigues, battles, murders, fortunes and misadventures. Beginning in Babylon on the eve of Alexander's death, a gigantic power struggle unfolds between the Adriatic coast and the Persian Gulf. Apart from Ptolemy, the only one of Alexander's successors who arouses halfway sympathy and who is the only one who keeps his ambitions in check.
As noted in other reviews, in the second half Renault's book sometimes feels a bit rushed, skipping years when very little has happened. The 232 pages of the ebook version I read could easily have been spread out over three times the number of pages. I myself didn't find that too bad, since I was already familiar with most of the characters and events beforehand. However, I can imagine that others might find it unsatisfactory.
After reading Funeral Games I'm finally going to catch up with Fire from Heaven, the first book in the trilogy. And probably ponder for a long time what the perfect TV epic about the Wars of the Diadochi might look like: Which actors could take on which roles; who should do the music (Ramin Djawadi is an obvious choice); with which events the individual seasons should end. Where, pray tell, can I start a petition to get this TV show made? :)
Spoiler
, at the end of which, three decades later, pretty much all characters will have met a gruesome and bloody demiseAs noted in other reviews, in the second half Renault's book sometimes feels a bit rushed, skipping years when very little has happened. The 232 pages of the ebook version I read could easily have been spread out over three times the number of pages. I myself didn't find that too bad, since I was already familiar with most of the characters and events beforehand. However, I can imagine that others might find it unsatisfactory.
After reading Funeral Games I'm finally going to catch up with Fire from Heaven, the first book in the trilogy. And probably ponder for a long time what the perfect TV epic about the Wars of the Diadochi might look like: Which actors could take on which roles; who should do the music (Ramin Djawadi is an obvious choice); with which events the individual seasons should end
Spoiler
(for me, Meleager's death would be the decisive event of the penultimate episode of season 1)montryall's review against another edition
3.75
if it was all just a Ptolemy & Bagoas team up it would be 5 stars.
shhhleebag's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
adrianacheerios's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0