Utterly, utterly compelling book. It's as if Ms Renault had known Alexander in real life. The characters, mostly his family, the relationships, the history. Superb. ( )

Compared to the last of the wine, this one felt less realistic and historical. Alexander is this figure of myth and his awful parents who hate each other try to manipulate him to their side.
However, I liked it more as a story. It follows Alexander from infancy to about twenty, from a child to a respected general whose succession right is debated. This felt like a grand character arc instead of the grand plot that was the Peloponessian war.
Following him as he learned what he could do (and what he shouldn’t) to outwit opponents made this book a great read.
The book is in third person and sometimes the many perspectives jumps made it feel like a story about Alexander, not the story of Alexander. ( )

I like Mary Renault's books, because she makes her subject come alive (& I can feel like I am improving my mind with high-browed reading about Alexander the Great & the Greeks).
I'm impressed by the psychological study and how Renault ties in clues found in historic writings. e.g. creating an episode where Demosthenes assumes he is a servant/kept boy, Alexander's hero worship for Demosthenes (based on his writings) gets shredded by this meeting, and he plans a silent confrontation during an important public event which causes Demosthenes to lose track of his oration: this last fact is in written history. I've got a lot of sympathy for the way Alexander was raised, caught in the power struggle between his mother & father. The development of his character from relatively happy precocious child to repressed and driven man is clearly explained by the unfolding of events.
I can't say I ended up learning more history. I tended to skim over details of people's names and places without bothering to remember their historical context. About halfway thru I finally pulled out my copy of Hammond's Historical Atlas so I could figure out where all these kingdoms and countries stood in relation to each other & in relation to the former Greek Empire and the current Persian Empire. City groups, e.g. Amphissa, were undifferentiated in my mind from larger country groups, e.g. Chalcidiceans. And I still don't have a sense of it all, but did enjoy the telling. ( )

This was amazing - where's Mary Renault been all my life?!

It's a beautifully imagined retelling of the youth of Alexander the Great, and the ancient world it describes is gorgeously alien and yet psychologically authentic.

Apparently there are another two books of this, so know what I'll be reading in the run-up to Christmas. ( )

I found the writing in the book too awkward and ugly for me to finish it. The dialogue is awful, and although the action is fairly well described, I couldn't follow what was happening because I couldn't keep track of the characters. Also, I suspect that maybe nothing happened in the fifty or so pages I read. It's a shame, because this is in the gay canon, but I just didn't enjoy it. ( )