The Isle of Stone Nicholas Nicastro 9781539523093 Books
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It is a tale of two cities--the legendary duel between haughty, democratic Athens and brutal, unbeaten Sparta. After seven years of bloody conflict, a barren island in a remote corner of Greece becomes the stage for what promises to become a second Thermopylae. Four hundred Spartan soldiers are cut off by enemy ships on a narrow strip of land, starving, without supplies, yet sworn to uphold their indomitable heritage. Meanwhile, all around them, the powerful Athenian Navy masses for the inevitable assault. As the war of nerves wears on, Spartan nobles and Athenian demagogues maneuver in the background--and two estranged Spartan brothers serve together for the first time. The eldest, Antalcidas, is a legendary warrior hobbled by a damaging secret. His brother Epitadas is envied, popular, and cruel. Together they must overcome a lifetime of hostility to survive the battle of their lives. “With 'The Isle of Stone', Nicholas Nicastro joins the illustrious pedigree of Mary Renault, Valerio Massimo Manfredi and Steven Pressfield with great style and enormous panache. His hero's checkered life story is used to frame a dark and darkening history of Sparta between a hugely destructive natural disaster, a great earthquake in 464 BC, and a self-inflicted, man-made debacle during the prolonged and even more destructive Peloponnesian War. Nicastro knows his ancient sources intimately, but also has the born novelist's instinct to flesh out their bare bones all too plausibly. Nicastro's antiheroes of the isle of Sphacteria are the dark side of Pressfield's heroes in Gates of Fire both demand and repay the attention of all lovers of expert historical fiction.” --Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History, University of Cambridge, and author of "Alexander the Great The Hunt for a New Past" “From its explosive first pages, 'The Isle of Stone' draws you into the gritty reality of Sparta during the Peloponnesian War. Nicastro writes powerful prose, but this is no exercise in debunking. With drama, passion, and a sure touch for the facts, Nicastro reveals the heroism behind the humiliation of the shocking day when some of Sparta's unconquerable soldiers surrendered. His images of life and death under the Mediterranean sun hit you like the glare of a polished shield.” --Barry Strauss, author of The Battle of "Salamis The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece - and Western Civilization" and Professor of History and Classics, Cornell University "Having brought John Paul Jones and Alexander the Great to life, Nicastro ('Empire of Ashes') turns his formidable skills as a historical novelist on an obscure episode in the Peloponnesian War, that almost three-decade conflict between Athens and Sparta, which he labels antiquity's 'war to end all wars.' The choice to have a narrow focus, rather than an all-encompassing epic sweep, proves a wise one, as it enables Nicastro to go into nitty-gritty detail about the lifestyles of Greece in 425 B.C., making the harsh Spartan attitudes, for example, comprehensible, if not acceptable, to a modern sensibility. The author instills emotional depth in his three main characters—Damatria, a wealthy Spartan woman, and her two sons, Antalcidas and Epitadas—and the supporting cast through adept use of the telling descriptive phrase. The careful research and study that went into this book should enthrall fans of the classics, military history buffs and general readers." --Publisher's Weekly
The Isle of Stone Nicholas Nicastro 9781539523093 Books
There's an old chestnut in the writing business that hinges on the kindergarten "show and tell" time. Most children would be bored by a lecture on the zebra--they'd rather see one. Taken metaphorically, a good writer shows the important things that happens in his book and tells only enough to fill in gaps in the reader's knowledge.The Isle of Stone is the story of Antalcidas and Epitadas, Spartan soldiers and sons Damatria. Raped by a helot on her wedding day, Damatria is psychologically damaged and raises her two sons in markedly different ways, turning them into very different men. As adults, they find themselves trapped on a barren island, surrounded by their Athenian enemies and faced with starvation or death in battle. You couldn't ask for a more compelling setup.
The majority of The Isle of Stone is telling rather than showing. Nicastro seems to prefer--until the very end--narrating from a distant remove to bringing us into the nitty-gritty action of the story. Some passages that should be exciting are as bone-dry and analytical as Thucydides, who at least recognized that an audience has to be entertained if they're going to keep reading.
The biggest problem with the "telling" is that the two main characters, Antalcidas and Epitadas, are almost never shown fighting or doing anything noteworthy until the end of the book. When they go to battle, Nicastro shows us the action from a distance or the perspective of several minor characters, and only after the fact is it revealed that it was one of our heroes that did this or that. Some of the narration is so allusive or vague that important details slipped by undetected--for instance, until they were shown on the island, I had no idea, based on Nicastro's narration, that Antalcidas and Epitadas were among those stranded there. That's the kind of thing that needs to be made clear.
I've dwelt on the book's problems, but I must say that the end of the book was good, almost making up for the ill-paced stuff leading up to it. Here Nicastro does what he should have been doing all along--bring the reader into the action and showing Antalcidas and Epitadas under fire. The final battle scenes are gripping--on par with the repeatedly-mentioned Stephen Pressfield--and created a powerful sense of desperation and disappointment in me as I read. Especially moving, or perhaps upsetting, was the fate of Antalcidas's wife and child.
On a side note, it seems that Nicastro is trying to do a hit-job on Sparta, and that makes The Isle of Stone almost an anti-Gates of Fire or anti-300. He dwells on the cruelty and seemingly humanity-bankrupt aspects of Spartan culture. The result is just as realistic as Pressfield's work, though the two authors emphasize different sides of the same coin.
Other good parts of the novel included the characterization of Cleon, an actual historical figure from Athens and a notorious demagogue. Some of the banter between the Acharnian sailors is hilarious and the very personal nature of Athenian politics was well-drawn. And the specialty of this kind of fiction--the grueling Hellenic combat--is superb once Nicastro brings the reader into the action.
Overall, I want to give The Isle of the Stone the benefit of the doubt. Four stars seems too high and three too low a rating, but I'll compromise in favor of the parts of the novel--the first chapter and the final sixty pages or so--that worked so well and moved me so much.
Recommended.
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Tags : The Isle of Stone [Nicholas Nicastro] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. It is a tale of two cities--the legendary duel between haughty, democratic Athens and brutal, unbeaten Sparta. After seven years of bloody conflict,Nicholas Nicastro,The Isle of Stone,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1539523098,Historical,FICTION Historical General,Fiction,Fiction-Historical,PRINT ON DEMAND,FICTION Historical
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The Isle of Stone Nicholas Nicastro 9781539523093 Books Reviews
Love reading about the Spartans and this was a good book for the most part. Personally I read to get out of my head and go to another place of glory and prestige, or a place of fantasy and wonder. These stories that are just depressing just don't do it for me, but the book was writtin very well and was a good read for the most part.
I don't like the Athenian parts, and that's not to say that I'm against the Athenians in the Peloponnesian War. The difference in the writing Nicastro uses is vast when writing about Demosthenes (Athenian general) and Antalcidas or his brother Epitadas (protagonists). Overall, as in my title, four/fifths of the book meets and exceeds my expectations. If the Athenians weren't portrayed so diplomatic/politically obsessed, I would have found them more interesting. Yes, I know that was a major part of the Athenian culture, there are just more interesting aspects to Athens that could have been used. Very good read though. I do recommend it.
Some weird jumping around in time but overall an outstanding work which shoes a thorough knowledge of the period. Some purists with quibble with details but the book is packed with compelling characters. Bravo.
I love to read Historical Fiction. Not only it exercises my imagination, but it teaches me about the past. When I put a novel down, I am a better person because of the time I spent with it; this is probably why I do not care to read spy or fantasy novels. At the end of the day, a question that matters to me is "Am I more competent and knowledgeable after reading this novel or not?" In the case of The Isle of Stone, the answer is a resounding YES! I was not aware about this little known episode, in which a contingent of Spartans and their accompanying helots were trapped on the island of Sphacteria in 425 B.C. by besieging Athenians and their allies. The book opened my eyes to several things that were wrong with Sparta a) The enslavement of fellow Greeks (the poor Messenians); helotage (the way Hitler would have treated the subdued Russians); the dreaded Kripteia, a secret Spartan Society (a KGB like organization) devoted to murder and mayhem; eugenics (would YOU like the State to have the power, through its magistrates, to determine which baby lives and which one dies?); systemic child abuse in raising the young; enforced sodomy; lack of appreciation for the Beautiful and the Truth (in favor of modesty and simplicity); the laconic style Spartans were famous for (in speech, mannerism, way of life); lack of emotions (making Japanese samurai look like drama queens!); unforgiving spirit towards the weak and the occasional "back-sliders."
Nicastro's novel encompasses all this and more, as he documents the way Antalcidas and his brother Epitadas are brought up, up to the battle on Sphacteria Island. An excellent read, to be recommended to High School and College students in their History classes.
There's an old chestnut in the writing business that hinges on the kindergarten "show and tell" time. Most children would be bored by a lecture on the zebra--they'd rather see one. Taken metaphorically, a good writer shows the important things that happens in his book and tells only enough to fill in gaps in the reader's knowledge.
The Isle of Stone is the story of Antalcidas and Epitadas, Spartan soldiers and sons Damatria. Raped by a helot on her wedding day, Damatria is psychologically damaged and raises her two sons in markedly different ways, turning them into very different men. As adults, they find themselves trapped on a barren island, surrounded by their Athenian enemies and faced with starvation or death in battle. You couldn't ask for a more compelling setup.
The majority of The Isle of Stone is telling rather than showing. Nicastro seems to prefer--until the very end--narrating from a distant remove to bringing us into the nitty-gritty action of the story. Some passages that should be exciting are as bone-dry and analytical as Thucydides, who at least recognized that an audience has to be entertained if they're going to keep reading.
The biggest problem with the "telling" is that the two main characters, Antalcidas and Epitadas, are almost never shown fighting or doing anything noteworthy until the end of the book. When they go to battle, Nicastro shows us the action from a distance or the perspective of several minor characters, and only after the fact is it revealed that it was one of our heroes that did this or that. Some of the narration is so allusive or vague that important details slipped by undetected--for instance, until they were shown on the island, I had no idea, based on Nicastro's narration, that Antalcidas and Epitadas were among those stranded there. That's the kind of thing that needs to be made clear.
I've dwelt on the book's problems, but I must say that the end of the book was good, almost making up for the ill-paced stuff leading up to it. Here Nicastro does what he should have been doing all along--bring the reader into the action and showing Antalcidas and Epitadas under fire. The final battle scenes are gripping--on par with the repeatedly-mentioned Stephen Pressfield--and created a powerful sense of desperation and disappointment in me as I read. Especially moving, or perhaps upsetting, was the fate of Antalcidas's wife and child.
On a side note, it seems that Nicastro is trying to do a hit-job on Sparta, and that makes The Isle of Stone almost an anti-Gates of Fire or anti-300. He dwells on the cruelty and seemingly humanity-bankrupt aspects of Spartan culture. The result is just as realistic as Pressfield's work, though the two authors emphasize different sides of the same coin.
Other good parts of the novel included the characterization of Cleon, an actual historical figure from Athens and a notorious demagogue. Some of the banter between the Acharnian sailors is hilarious and the very personal nature of Athenian politics was well-drawn. And the specialty of this kind of fiction--the grueling Hellenic combat--is superb once Nicastro brings the reader into the action.
Overall, I want to give The Isle of the Stone the benefit of the doubt. Four stars seems too high and three too low a rating, but I'll compromise in favor of the parts of the novel--the first chapter and the final sixty pages or so--that worked so well and moved me so much.
Recommended.
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