This is about a soldier in the time of Alexander the Great of Macedon, around 330 BC. Alexander the Great has conquered everywhere using standard tactics of drawing out his enemy and defeating it on the battlefield. And he has conquered the Persian empire, the greatest in the world. And, on the way to the riches of India, lay the Hindu Kush, present day Afghanistan.The Afghan Campaign is written from the point of view of a new soldier. During the war against the Persians Matthias joins the Macedonian army, following in the footsteps of his brothers. However, he is too late to join in the glorious wars against the Persians. But, he arrives in the Hindu Kush, after the main battle. But the war is not over. Over the course of the campaign, Matthias sees victory, loss. Friends are killed in barbaric ways and he takes part in atrocities that make him sick. His family gives his support, and his fiance leaves him. And at the end, he is frustrated with the war, has the spoils of war that his brother tells him to take home, and decides to continue with Alexander.So, what is the point? Why this pseudo-history of the ancient world? The question for this is not to present a history, but to present an experience. So, do I think it is accurate, all things considered. And, well, it is. When you are in the middle of things, you don't have too much time to think about the big picture, unless you have that kind of position. Your general thoughts as far as war is concerned are about the day in question. But there are times to think about other things. You are very concerned about your comrade around you, their fortunes, successes, failures. Their hurts and their victories are shared and felt by you. And you think of loved ones behind. Of people back home who support and love you. Of those who have forgotten you. And those who have let you go and gone their own way.Someone asked me if I missed anything about serving in Afghanistan, it was that. The sense that we shared in the struggles, successes and frustrations of each other. The guy who we all said had the worst job in the office, as he was having his direction of effort changed almost hourly, and never could get what he was doing done well enough to be satisfying. The senior officer who did not have a well defined job, who spent his time making snide remarks and complaining about little mickey mouse issues. The guys who got regular packages and letters from home (I was one of them), especially the newlywed whose wife sent him a package including baked cookies weekly (the winner). We worried about the guy who was a bit of a loner and never got packages (and were real relieved when his mother sent something). I loved it when all the guys on the staff were pulling for me when I gave a big presentation that needed very senior officer support, giving me feedback, suggestions, and general "ask for whatever help you need" support. We talked to our families and shared in the fustrations, joys, stories (funny, sad, frustrating and proud). The ideas, dreams and hopes we had for the future. All the things that make us real human beings. And Pressfield presents that well, both the good and the bad.Obviously, the book is for a certain type of person. The gore exists, as it is also a part of war. But it is not there for its own sake. It is there because it is part of the environment that shapes the people. And to that extent, it, like some of his other works (e.g. GatesofFire?), does the job wonderfully.
The man who at less than 30 years of age had carved out an empire sprawling halfway across the world, the man at the statue of whose feet Julius Caesar is said to have wept thinking that he at that age had not accomplished even half of what this giant of a man could : Alexander the Great. Myths surround him, historians dub him one of the greatest generals who ever lived and one theatre of war that took him by surprise was Afghanistan. I have read in some other work that one of Alexander's battle hardened generals called the land as the "Arse-Hole of the civilized world" for its inhospitable terrain and fierce warriors. The author takes the narrative to a new level by viewing the battle through the eyes of an infantry man who is in the thick of the melee.It occured to me while reading that Afghanistan has a unique military history. Scores of invaders have burned their hands in subduing the land and the land stood defiant and so did its fiercely independant people. Geographically the land is savage and beautiful at the same time from dust bowl to craggy mountain slopes, from snow capped passes to lush vales is all a matter of distance in the land. After bringing the persian empire to its knees, Alexander had to pass through Afghanistan into the hindu kush to India. It was in Afghanistan that he had to spend three years in fighting the most brutal of his enemies, a place were alliances shifted in just days and were there was no code of honor or chivalry. As one solider puts it "Here ony winning matters, honor & courage are worth nothing".This said the tale lacks the finesse of Pressfield's other works at places. To my prejudiced eye, it was too melodramatic as it neared the climax and it even occured to me that most of the Greek soliders speak the language of the gung-ho US Marines we see in the movies. Pressfield never fails to dazzle when it comes to battlefield action, the scenes are so vivid to make one hear the thundering of the horse's hooves and clash of metal on metal. True to the narrative, Alexander appears in cameos in a few chapters and never overshadows the lead characters at any point. The narrative is strikingly good at points where the writer tells of how the horrors of war transforms the minds of people. To sum up it is a tale of how a strapping 20 year old becomes a dispassionate killing machine in three years in brutal conditions.A good read....
What do You think about The Afghan Campaign (2006)?
Another excellent novel by Steven Pressfield. It was a fast read, but by no means lacking in depth. The writing is interesting, illustrative, and direct. The characters were convincing, and the action scenes were fantastic. Steven Pressfield does a great job at illustrating what life was like for the combatants, civilians, and animals during the campaign. The picture he paints is also representative of what other peoples endured during Ancient times, and even in some areas of the world today. The vivid depictions of killing are not pretty, to say the least. But they are hard and accurate for the times. He also does an excellent job at conveying how to soldiers feel about their king.
—Kevin
A really interesting book by Steven Pressfield. This is the second book of his that I have read and am hooked. He has been called an expert on ancient warfare and I believe it. This also reads like a history book. He does great character study and development while weaving in historical movements and happenings. I sometimes get caught up in wondering if things were as advanced as he makes them seem in that time but then remember that he has done far more research than me on the subject.The obvious and intentional parallels to modern day warfare in Afghanistan this book seems to accurately portray the very reasons we will never fully subdue Afghans. There strategies and customs fit their region and culture so effectively that they have not had to change things much. I think this would be an excellent book for anyone who has interest in the current conflict there to read as well as people who just like well written historical fiction.I am going to stick with Pressfield through a few more books as he is a very good author with a unique subject matter and specialty.
—Kevin
rating: 3.5/5I have mixed feelings about this novel, it doesn't compare to Pressfield's Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae but has some great moments, descriptions, and characters despite a major flaw that annoyed me to no end. I'll start with what I loved, mainly Shinar. It is so rare that historical fiction with battles and warriors has such a realistic portrayal of women in history that are strong but still within their prescribed culture. Many times portrayals of women veer into fantasy warriors (which I love in fantasy but not historical fiction) or to the opposite, to that of women concerned only about marriage and babies (which bores me to death). Instead, we have Shinar whose life has been devastated by war and yet who remained strong and defiant in a culturally complicated world. I won't go into everything here since I don't want to spoil the plot but Shinar was by far my favorite character and probably the most complex as well (despite the story being told from Matthias' first person POV). It was also interesting to see another side to Alexander the Great's campaigns, from the point of view of a common soldier. I was disappointed at first when I realized that there is actually very, very little Alexander in this book. But then realized that maybe it was a good thing. I have an image of Alexander painted with Renault's beautiful words and am afraid other interpretations would not live up to it. Here I didn't have to worry. There is one generic scene with Alexander but not long enough to get anything but a vague idea of the kind of general he was. Despite its slow start, by midway of the novel Pressfield paints beautiful and horrific images of Alexander's soldiers' tribulations. The realities of moving such a huge army, and moving as swiftly as historical accounts indicate, are presented beautifully and in detail. I gained an admiration for his logistics officers. And the battle scenes were amazingly drawn as well.However, there was one huge negative that didn't allow me to get lost inside this ancient world he created and it was the language he used. I am not saying that the soldiers back then didn't use slang, I am sure they did, but Pressfield's use of modern slang and terminology grated. Additionally, he also used words like dames for women which I associate more with the 1920s (plus, that specific word just pisses me off in general). I'm sure this contributed to my rough start with the novel. By midway, either less slang was used or I had gotten used to it because the language didn't bother me, as much. Regardless, it left me annoyed and despite the amazing story and characters I just couldn't help being thankful that it was over.
—Alicja
