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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780312980320
ISBN number: 0312980329
Label: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: October 13, 2002
Publishing house: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Sale Popularity Level: 55309
Studio: St. Martin's Paperbacks
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Product Description:
In 401 B.C., a thundering army of mercenaries, camp followers, dreamers, and glory seekers set off to help a rebellious foreign general named Cyrus. In the months that followed, ten thousand men--trained and hardened in three decades of war in Greece--would engage in pitched battles, witness untold horrors, and begin a desperate march across he desert, over raging rivers, and into the jaws of hell itself. By the time it was over, some would be alive, others dead, and one among them would emerge and the greatest hero of all...In a novel of high adventure and riveting historical drama, Michael Curtis Ford brings to life an amazing true story from Greek antiquity--Xenophon's march of the ten Thousand. A tale of war and peace, of loyalties and betrayals, and of a soldier's love for a mysterious and dangerous woman, The Ten Thousand captures the eternal spirit of courage--in the face of impossible odds.
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Rated by buyers 
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In THE TEN THOUSAND, Michael Ford uses Xenophon's ANABASIS (or, as sometimes published, THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION) as his outline. The potential is tangible; ANABASIS is an account of outnumbered, outpowered, and out-of-their-element mercenaries who overcome a near endless series of hardships and dramatic reversal of fortunes to get back to their homeland. Moreover, the original story reads as a bit of a travelogue, and although it has it's shining moments (indeed, I gave it 4 stars for it's depiction of Greek Virtues), suffers from some pacing issues and remains somewhat flat when compared to conventional narrative prose.
Potential is the key word here. Although Ford has a terrific flare for description, and a thorough knowledge of Ancient Greek Culture, he largely fails to improve upon the pacing issues of Xenophon's original (which for Xeno is largely forgiveable, as he was not writing a mainstream Novel). The story still remains primarily a series of skirmishes, travel, and rest periods (and to be fair, changing it too much would be straying from the real story). Ford attempts to balance out this aspect with a secondary story arc, involving a love affair between the narrator Theo, and a member of Prince Cyrus' entourage who is not who she seems to be. This story arc, in the end, supercedes the main plot to become the final character climax of the story, with very unsatisfying results, as this arc is introduced too far into the plot to be of any signifigance to the reader save to break up the mundane aspects of travel. The 'revelation' of the girl's identity is clear to anyone paying attention hundreds of pages earlier. It won't do to have the reader realize something so major, and leave the protagonist willfully ignorant of it until it is, literally, shouted in his face. This still would not be so bad if not for the other major flaw the author fails to overcome; characterization. Xenophon himself is cited historically as a devoutly superstitious (read: religious) man, who always consulted the Gods on all decisions. The Xeno we see in this book is flippant, and saves his major libations for the end. If it were a conpletely fictitious character I would be ok with this, but as an historical account it is totally untrue of the real person. These are the kinds of details an author disregards at his own peril.
ANABASIS was certainly not a story of 3-dimensional characters. Many come and go, with little resolution to their inclusion. Ford does add more personality to the characters, but this is merely pushing them to 2-dimensions, tops. To have the added character interactions hook the reader at all, they have to be likeable, and most of the main characters are not that exciting to listen to. The most grating to me was Theo's frequent waxing into philisophical musing, the apex (or antapex, if you will) of this is his thoughts on how the night smells during a full moon, and the life affirming sound of an earthworm. This is hamfisted and nonsensical. The moon doesn't smell like anything. It's an abstract of an abstract.
I could go on, but I will stop. Suffice to say I had some problems with the story, although some of them are probably due to my previous knowledge of the events in the book. But that is only accounting for some of it, the rest are chalked up to just plain bad storytelling. If I were to re-read one of these 2 stories, it would be Xenophon's original book. Despite it's flaws, it rang truer, and contains additional exciting events after the Greeks get to the Black Sea, which Ford uses as his cut-off point.
I don't want to end on a completely negative note, however. I did, after all, give this book 3 stars. That is because it does do a great job of transporting you into the ancient world, and Ford does show obvious enthusiasm and fondness for his material. He's certainly a good author, and I would probably give him another shot. This was his very first published novel. If i was too agressive in my attack on this book, it is due to it's comparisons to Steven Pressfield's GATES OF FIRE. GoF looms over all other Greek Military stories in the way Everest looms over foothills. For every 5-star story, well, Something has to suffer in comparison.
Rated by buyers -
As a fan of history I enjoyed this book. It was interesting to know what life was like for a Greek Hoplite on campaign.The battle scenes are done well as are the characterizations. I never realized how much rivalry there was in the Greek city states. The Spartans were incredibly different from the other peoples of Greece and it shows in this book. The things these men had to undergo in the deserts of Persia fighting is amazing that any of them returned home. A great read for people interested in historical fiction.
Rated by buyers 
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Well written account of the ten thousand, for his very first book it is quite good. I thought that the book did not need the love story angle,but other than that I loved it. Very graphic and detailed battle scenes, and good characters.A must read for historical fiction fans of greece
Rated by buyers -
This book is a very long read, and it's a VERY slow read. But it's well worth it. You truly feel like you're there with the soldiers. When they hurt you hurt etc. Definitely a good read.
Rated by buyers -
Military history buffs will love this book. It is a very fast read. It brings enlightenment to a character that few people are familiar with, but will become enamored with! Ford does not disappoint!
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