Friday 10 January 2014

ALTERNATE HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: Colossus - Alexander Cole

Release Date:  02/01/14
Publisher:  Atlantic Books

SYNOPSIS:

Alexander the Great rests in Babylon as he decides which should be his next world to conquer. A war elephant, Colossus, disturbs the peace of the camp when he is provoked to a killing rampage. Only one young mahout has the courage to stop Colossus. And when Alexander notices his bravery, Gajendra begins a meteoric climb through the ranks of the Macedonian army. Gajendra is fiercely loyal to Alexander, the great General who plucked him from obscurity. But as he rises to become Captain of the Elephants, Gajendra sees how Alexander is being corrupted by luxury and power. Forced to choose between keeping faith with Alexander or with his comrades, Gajendra must find the strength to make the right decision as Alexander's army approaches the gates of Rome.


REVIEW:

There are times as a reader when as a reader you'd love to sit back and ponder the "What if" question and whilst a lot of books take the reader into the fantasy realm, this title brings one of History's Greatest General's to the fore, into a story that could have happened had he not died so young.

Here in this case, the reader is asked the question of "What if Alexander the Great had invaded Carthage?" And to be honest, it generates not only a fascinating story but gives the reader a tale that has not only fascinating ponderings but generates believable battle sequences that goes to show a war thats all or nothing.

Its a cracking read and with Alexander giving me as a reader just the right blend of action, some great machinations of personal and political asides and when added to a writing style thats easy to get on with all round gave me a tale that was hard to put down. Great Stuff.

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