The Gates of Troy

The Gates of Troy

Book Two in The Adventures of Odysseus

The Gates of TroyIt is ten years since Odysseus and the warrior Eperitus joined the heroes of the age to compete for the hand of Helen of Sparta. Settled in his small island kingdom, Odysseus wants nothing more than to rule Ithaca in peace. Meanwhile Eperitus is frustrated at his quiet life and dreams of glory in battle.

When the lion-motifed sails of Agamemnon appear on the horizon, Odysseus knows that the time for peace is over and a new era of war is beginning.  Helen of Sparta has been abducted by a prince of Troy and the hosts of ancient Greece are gathering.

As the greatest names flock to join the crusade, only Achilles is missing. Odysseus must use all his wits and cunning to hunt him down and persuade him to join their cause. For without Achilles, the gates of Troy will never fall…

Reviews

Media

‘The long list of those who have, with varying success, expanded and elaborated on Homer is now joined by Glyn Iliffe: his six-volume Adventures of Odysseus are projected to cover the hero’s whole career, though it appears that he may intend to focus on events not described in the Homeric poems.  Iliffe is a talented storyteller… (he) does not so much offer an imaginative reconstruction of Greek life in the heroic age, in the manner of Mary Renault’s Theseus books, as a blend of elements taken from different periods of Greek history: Mycenaean, dark-age, and occasionally classical. Readers will have varying feelings about how successful this melange is – but they should consider that his practice is not so different from Homer’s’ –Gavin Kelly, Times Literary Supplement

Blogs etc.

‘The second installment in the Adventures of Odysseus trilogy takes him and his faithful companion, the warrior Eperitus, from a quiet life in Ithaca with his wife and infant son to the beginning of the long siege of Troy, the legendary battle instigated by Menelaus of Sparta when his beautiful wife, Helen, runs off with the Trojan prince Paris. Odysseus finds himself playing an essential role in the war, partaking in events key to Menelaus’s success, such as the search for the famed Achilles and the summoning of the young princess Iphigenia. Iliffe (King of Ithaca) displays his thorough knowledge of classical literature, vividly bringing to life the glories of Troy and the bloodiness of Bronze Age warfare, and revealing lesser-known facets of his unwieldy cast of heroes, like the sorrow of Queen Clytaemnestra. A slow start yields quickly to a satisfying tale of politics, romance, and war under the shadow of the Olympian gods in this comprehensive retelling of the genesis of the Trojan War’ –Publishers Weekly

Readers

‘This book picks right up were King of Ithaca left off (which was a great book) and this book is even better. Every battle scene gets your heart racing and leaving you wanting more. The author has an exceptional knack of allowing you to feel every feeling the characters in the book are feeling (which was mind blowing) and just keeps you hooked and wanting to know what happens next. Its safe to say when you read this book you wont be able to put it down. I can’t wait to read the third book The Armour of Achilles. A fantastic book from start to finish’ –Amazon 5-star review

‘This book brings the Greek gods back in a very natural and fully believable way.  This is the prelude to the Homeric Trojan War, given life and colour by an author who knows, and obviously loves, his subject.  Even though I remembered Homer’s works from college I nonetheless found this book to be a page turner. The author describes the sites, sounds, smells, and colours of the landscapes and towns so well that I could feel a soft breeze or the doom and foreboding of a monster in a cave. But it is not about the gods but about the men and women who lived in the times just before the formation of the Greek state. In fact the gods only occupy a few pages in this tremendous read’ –Amazon 5-star review

‘Fantastic series, the only problem (and it’s a BIG problem) is having to wait for the next book to come out, yes the books are that well written.  The characters are believable and real – even the gods – while the action keeps you gripped from the first page and leaves you wanting more when you reluctantly have to put the book down to get some sleep’ –Amazon 5-star review

‘Having read his first book, I pre-ordered this so that I could read it as soon as possible. Many years ago I read several of Mary Renault’s books, which are of a similar genre – reading Glyn Iliffe’s books gives me the same sort of enjoyment I got with them. In The Gates of Troy, legends and history are very skilfully interwoven, embellished and brought to life, while telling a ripping story. I really look forward to his next book’ — Amazon 5-star review

‘It was the story of the Iliad that first woke my interest in history, and this doesn’t disappoint in feeding that old love. Iliffe captures the heroes we love (and don’t) so very well and also adds some well developed and interesting original characters while weaving a very good and entertaining retelling of Homer’s tale.  This is the second of a series and ends with the Greeks landing at Troy and the first battle. Before that, Iliffe has included many aspects of the story, including ones from several sources that really add to the flavour of The Iliad. While I don’t always agree with his characterizations of the main players (I find his Paris too sympathetic, for example), they are well developed and given much more depth than originally. He has added some characters of his own, most notably Eperitus, who is Odysseus’ Captain of the Guard. Not only is he an interesting character in his own right, but in a story that is so well known, he is the one who keeps you guessing. Some liberties have been taken, but they work well within the story. I must go and find the first book in this series’ –Goodreads.com 5-star review

‘I loved Glyn Iliffe’s treatment of Odysseus in the first book of the trilogy King of Ithaca and have found no reason to change my mind in this second outing. I find the author’s take on all the legends and stories surrounding Odysseus, Achilles, Troy etc very refreshing and beautifully and evocatively written. He is now definitely one of my favourite authors in this genre’ –Waterstones 5-star review

Where to buy 

The books are available to buy in Hardback, Paperback or Kindle format below:

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