Oden (Men of Bronze
) follows his critically acclaimed debut with an eloquent and captivating historical thriller that chronicles the life of Memnon of Rhodes, a Greek mercenary in the service of Persia. A contemporary of Aristotle and Alexander the Great, Memnon flees his home on the Greek island of Rhodes after his father is beheaded during an uprising. Hoping to fulfill his dream of becoming "a living Achilles," he signs on as a lieutenant to a Persian provincial governor and discovers his talent as a leader and tactician—more an Odysseus than an Achilles. (He even has his own Penelope, a Persian princess named Barsine, who fulfills her role in the requisite tragic love subplot.) When Alexander invades Asia Minor, the Persian King Darius III retains Memnon, the foreign mercenary "with the powers of a Persian general... to repel the Macedonians." It's a spectacular battle that has dire consequences for Memnon. Historians have paid scant attention to Memnon of Rhodes, but Oden, who admits to "have taken spectacular liberties" with the incomplete historical record, brings the man and his times to life with a combination of vivid conjecture, deft plotting and graceful prose. (Aug.)
