Description:

From Publishers Weekly

This enjoyable historical fantasy set in ancient Greece spans three decades in the career of Parmenion, a Spartan of mixed ancestry whose life is being shaped and monitored by an aging seeress. Scorned as a half-breed by the Spartans, he leaves vowing to wreak vengeance--which he does, at the head of a victorious Theban ar- my. Parmenion goes on to become Greece's preeminent soldier of fortune, a brilliant military strategist and tactician. Eventually, he hires on to Philip, the beleaguered king of Macedonia. Parmenion provides the young king with military help but, more importantly, intervenes in a ceremony meant to secure the siring of a child whose birth might signal the ultimate triumph of evil. Parmenion's final--and most meaningful--battle takes place not in this world but in Hades, where the forces of evil are held at bay long enough to deny the Dark God dominion over the newly born soul of Alexander the Great. Particularly enchanting in Gemmell's ( Legend ) ambitious book is the appearance of Aristotle as a wizard and guide through the underworld, a Greek combination of Arthur's Merlin and Dante's Virgil.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An ancient seeress foresees the rise of a dark god whose rule will mean destruction and whose future is linked, for good or ill, with a half-Spartan, half-Macedonian warrior named Parmenion. Pre-Alexandrian Greece provides a rich background for Gemmell's novel of magic and destiny as Parmenion defies the fates to become the right-hand man of Philip of Macedon and plays his part in the struggle against the forces of chaos. Fans of ancient history will enjoy this mythic adventure.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.