This is a pretty damn good book. Engaging. Good storyline. Compelling characters. And it all takes place in a setting that the gifted author is obviously very comfortable unveiling to a readership that may include mere mortals (like me) who are not well-versed in that particular historical era. The setting I am referring to involves the fall of the Hittite empire, the collapse of the Bronze Age, the rising apex of the Peoples of the Sea, the questioning of the roles of the gods - all of which contributed to the chaos of the time and which ultimately resulted in people taking charge, like never before, of their own lives.
Mr. Nixon’s first book in this series, The Diomedeia, sets up the plot line for this sequel. Do you have to read these books in order to make sense out of them? Probably a good idea, but I have to say that the author, Gregory Nixon, takes the time and effort to seamlessly provide a number of plot line segues from Book I to Book II so that the reader would not be left in a confused state. Do you need to be mentally articulate with the era in question? I’m certainly not. In fact I was a Bronze Age neophyte when I began reading Book I, The Diomedeia. Through Mr. Nixon’s adept tutelage via storytelling, I no longer consider myself a neophyte and have, surprisingly, become quite interested in learning more about that particular time period and especially about Greek mythology and lore. I mean who knew warships of the time had underwater battering rams as weapons, or that running a brothel was a way of paying tribute to the gods, or that Sardinia was once called Ichnussa? Well, I guess a lot of people knew those things, but I digress.
Bottom line . . . this is a pretty damn good book. Looking forward to the next one in this series. And speaking of series, I believe Netflix or Hulu or Paramount should pay attention to this author. The time is ripe for them to leapfrog over the tired trend of Marvel action movies and TV series and replace them with a hero that is clearly more substantive. Diomedes is a beast of a man, well spoken, well hung, brutal yet compassionate - a natural leader. Hell, he even delves into a post-modern explanation of the notion of ‘truth’. Truly a man ahead of his time. He’s a rock star worthy of bingeing from the couch.
A worthwhile read.
Gregory Michael Nixon has once again gone back in time with his latest novel.
In 2022, the Vernon author released The Diomedeia: Diomedes, the Peoples of the Sea, and the Fall of the Hittite Empire, a blend of factual history and fiction.
The retired UNBC professor has now penned what he describes as a a shorter, tighter sequel novel.
“Diomedes in Kyprios (modern Cyprus) is set during the Bronze Age collapse when myth meets history,” Nixon said. “It’s action-packed and intimate, but it’s also a meditation on cultural exhaustion.”
Nixon said the Bronze Age collapse was “brought about by crises similar to our own, including drought, famine, disease, the accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of the few, the collapse of international trade, wars both internal and external, and runaway migration.”
“The Bronze Age Collapse was a time of such chaos that empires fell, royalty was overthrown, palaces and temples were burnt, and the hierarchy of the gods was forgotten, yet people's self-reliance in the Age of Iron emerged like never before, and the ancient Great Goddess of the Cycles of Time, who had been suppressed, began to regain her former dominance.”
The novel is under 300 pages with Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, as a major character.
The novel is out in eBook, paperback, and hardcover on Amazon.
It is also available at many booksellers, including Mosaic Books in Kelowna, Bookingham Palace in Salmon Arm, and on Amazon.
An audiobook is coming and will be available through Kobo, Google Books, Apple Books, and others.
