Lydias of Miletus, formerly a slave's son and horse groom, sneaked out to join Alexander's army after Hephaistion bought a horse from Lydias's former master. Now Alexander is dead, the successors are warring over regency while Roxane's son is an infant, and Ptolemy sets Lydias to divert Alexander's hearse for Egypt. Reading this right after Philip and Alexander made for a nice contrast in terms of telling stories and evoking myths, and while featuring the succession wars, focused on building Alexandria and finding a way to live outside Alexander's adventures. ( )

This is great. Jo Graham has written three books and somehow I tripped over all of them. This is the story of Alexander the Great's solider Lydias. Lydias is charged by Ptolemy to steal Alexander's body to return it Egypt.

I've been trying for a long time to find a good historical fiction book starring Alexander to no avail. This is the closest I've come to.

It's often an incredible story. It's a story not for every one with New Age reincarnation and bi-sexuality. But hey, let's face it, ancient Greek (including Alexander) did not frown at all on bi-sexuality.

Though this is a book with lots of battles, it didn't feel bloodthirsty. Many of the fights got whittled down to "Thrust. Block. Thrust. Block." This is fine by me because I tend to skim over the fighting scenes any way.

If you liked Jo Graham's earlier books, Black Ships and Hand of Isis, you'll like this book too.



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I'm a huge Jo Graham fan, beginning with when I read [b:Hand of Isis|3625889|Hand of Isis (Numinous World, #3)|Jo Graham|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428682008s/3625889.jpg|3668686]. This book is linked to that, though it occurs generations earlier. Graham is a very skilled writer, and one of her real strong points is the matter-of-fact way she writes about sex and diverse gender identity. It's never posed or forced, but embedded in characters so real they could be our family members or friends. These are thought-provoking historical novels and also great summer reads. ( )

I found this book quite slow, and not much exciting happened. It was just interesting enough that I was able to read it in a few days, but it read more like a history book than a novel. It was neat that it it covered the time after Alexander, not during like most books. ( )

I love this author. I love the series-but-not approach, I love how well she works with history, that her magic is subtle. Her characters are well rounded, well thought out, and heroes without being flawless.

And, well, I'm a pushover for a well-written queer character.