Stealing Fire by Jo Graham

[Alexias]

I finally got round to reading this, having given it a miss when it came out in 2010 as it wasn't directly about Alexander (or Hephaestion). It is set after Alexander's death and he does appear 2 or 3 times, but he is more an underlying thread than a character. Hephaestion appears quite a bit in the first half of the book, and then rather disappears. His character is more clearly defined than Alexander's.

The main character is Lydias, a Carian who becomes one of Hephaestion's cavalry officers, then becomes involved with Ptolemy and Thais following Alexander's death and is instrumental in hijacking Alexander's funeral cortege and taking his body to Egypt. The battle scenes are quite well and convincingly done, showing how commanders had to think on their feet and react to the course of events.

Overall it is a well-constructed novel, with themes interweaving and reappearing, and a decent read, though it won't change your life. The narrative is rather bitty, being constantly broken up into small sections, and in the first half of the novel there are a lot jumps back into the past, giving the impression that several different stories are being told. This tends to make it difficult to become immersed in the world being created, and the pace at the beginning of the second half of the novel definitely slackens and loses momentum once these flashbacks virtually stop. There are otherworldly, spiritual themes, and a strong belief in reincarnation that may nor may not be palatable. Personally I found it unconvincing as I am not sure Egyptians or Persians believed in reincarnation, and though the minor historical inaccuracies, and annoyancies such as steel breastplates are distractions, they didn't seriously flaw the novel.

[Emma]

Thanks for posting this review.
I skipped most of the mystical parts, but I kinda enjoyed the battle scenes.
What did you think of Hephaestion’s characterization? I quite liked the way he was portrayed—though I felt the depiction of his relationship with Alexander was a bit modern. At least he wasn’t portrayed as overly feminine or vulnerable.

[marcus]

I haven't come across this book, but it sounds interesting. Thank you - I shall look out for it and might buy myself a cheeky present ...

[Alexias]

I skipped most of the mystical parts, but I kinda enjoyed the battle scenes.

Yes, ditto. I've been told that younger officers just stayed put in battle and only did what they were told. Yet how did they learn to command, if they didn't didn't use their initiative to a degree once the cohesion of the initial battle plan broke down. And what happened when it completely went to pot? A good officer would try to rally his men and extract as many of them as he could.

What did you think of Hephaestion’s characterization? I quite liked the way he was portrayed—though I felt the depiction of his relationship with Alexander was a bit modern. At least he wasn’t portrayed as overly feminine or vulnerable.

Yes, he was decent, likeable, the sort who introduces himself to a horse. Yet that is the only clue really to why Lydias fell in love with him. I felt there was a story there that just wasn't given enough depth or scope. Clearly Lydias learnt to command from watching Hephaestion in battle - though we are never told this. But you feel a better writer would have been able to hint at much more. Yet by the end of the novel, I was left with the impression that the whole point was that the author's characters were there just to be reincarnated and do it all again. Just my impression though.

[Alexias]

I haven't come across this book, but it sounds interesting. Thank you - I shall look out for it and might buy myself a cheeky present ...

It is worth a read, and it is interestingly a product of the post-Stone's film era and notions raised - Alexander linked to Prometheus, Ptolemy always having had his eye on Egypt, Hephaestion being upset about Alexander marrying Roxane, Bagoas being devotedly in love with Alexander etc. There are other pointers as well that the author was influenced by fan fiction, but it is better than that.