February book

I was only able to finish one book this month. It was Lion of Macedon by David Gemmell. I've read most of his books and I find them to be a little to formulaic. They usually have one hero who saves the day while losing his life. Also, they're always far too heavy on magic. I feel like magic is usually a cop-out in fantasy books. It's fine if it's done well, but far too often I find it's not. In some of his books the magic is just too bleah. This novel didn't have a whole lot of magic in it though. It was definitely well done.

The story is about the beginning of the life of Alexander the Great. It starts by following the life of Parmenion, the person who becomes Alexander's greatest general in the sequel. This book focuses on Parmenion's life growing up as a half-Spartan, half-Macedonian in Sparta. He is spurned by the Spartans for his mix-blood heritage, which hardens him into the warrior he will later become. The rest of the book follows his path to destroying the strength of Sparta. While doing this he meets Philip, the future king and "father" of Alexander. Parmenion is a great mercenary general who fights battles for the Persian satraps and, later, Philip. The book takes a turn from history when it is revealed that Parmenion is the actual father of Alexander, hinting at the future military brilliance of Alexander.

There is a lot more to the book but I don't want to give it all away. 5/5