A review by mallorysaga
Killer of Men by Christian Cameron

5.0

I put off too long starting The Long War series by Christian Cameron. Killer of Men is the first installment of the epic story of East vs West, pitting the Greek city-states against the might of the Persian King of Kings. That is the backdrop to this thoroughly entertaining tale of one man's journey from his home in Plataea becoming a feared warrior, a killer of men. The author deftly constructs the world of Miltiades of Athens and Darius the Persian; the descriptions of everyday life, the detail in the battle scenes, the scope of heroism and betrayal displayed by well written characters - besides the protagonist, I especially enjoyed the portrayals of Briseis, a woman who will scheme with the best of them and of the philosopher Heraclitus (a personal aside - one of my favorite philosophical aphorisms comes from Heraclitus, the one about not being able to step into the same river twice). All of those elements propel Arimnestos from a lowly farm existence to his eventual status as a hero. As far as the war is concerned, this volume is an excellent stage setter for the next book, Marathon and I will not put off reading that one. 5 stars for Killer of Men.