Chronicles of Kanjisheik

Book 1: Child of a Dream
Book 2: The Sands of Ammon
Book 3: The Ends of the Earth

The Alexander trilogy are probvably the most famous books written by famous Italian author Valerio Massimo Manfredi. Manfredi succeeds in bringing Alexander [and all the people of his time] back to life, with his brand of imaginative story telling. Alexander the Great is one of those legendary figures with awe inspiring deeds that we ordinary people can only marvel about- after all, conquering almost the entire known world is not an easy task.

Since he believes that he is the son of Zeus himself, he makes the conquest of the entire world his ambition. With the encouragement of his mother Olympias and the tutelage of Aristotle, his philosopher teacher, Alexander learns the lore and knowledge required to assist him in his future journey. Because he answers to the call that awaits him, he proves his mother's assertions about his divine status correct when he ventures to the sands of Siwa to have an oracle reassure him of his divinity. As the son of Zeus, he can now overcome all the obstacles that lie before him, and his troops and friends follow him with a devotion and determination that is truly mindboggling.

Child of a Dream deals primarily with Alexander's childhood and education. Manfredi introduces Hephaestion and Leptine, two people who play important roles all through his life. Both his parents, King Philip of Macedon and Olympias, influence young Alexander's personality considerably. Philip's war exploits prompt Alexander to do more, while Olympias' manipulative nature affects Alexander in more ways than one. Aristotle and his nephew Callisthenes are promiment characters, and their influnce on Alexander's transition from boy to king is evident. Manfredi narrates the story effectively, and the book progresses at a steady clip.

The Sands of Ammon deals with the early years of Alexander's succession to the throne in which he asserts his own rule and personality to prove his mother's belief in his divinity correct. After successfully securing his kingship through battles in Thebes and all of Greece and Turkey, he goes and consults the oracle who assures him that he is truly son of Zeus Ammon. Armoured with the faith in his calling and his divinity, King Alexander, after becoming Pharaoh of Egypt, moves on to conquer Persia. The battle startegy is explained beautifully, and its here that Manfredi's academic background helps him [he is a renowned archaeologist]. Lots of really good action scenes, though Manfredi tends to write as a detached narrator.

In The Ends of the Earth, Alexander succeeds in leading his troops to Afghanistan, and all of Iran and finally into India. Because he was successful in solving the riddle of the Gordian Knot, he is confident of truly being the rightful King of Asia. The way in which he solves the riddle- by cutting it with his sword- is certainly interesting. And the way he continues to weave in side stories to Alexander's conquests add another layer of beauty to the story as a whole.

Throughout the series, Manfredi projects Alexander as an extraordinary individual with a singleminded devotion to his "purpose"- to conquer the entire world. His personality and drive inspires his friends, his comrades, his soldiers to share the glory of never ending conquests, and they follow him literally to the ends of the earth. As Alexander intertwines the old with the new, the Greek with the Persian, the troops and the King change slowly from one cultural heritage to another. Manfredi treats what some consider to be the tragic end of Alexander with due respect, and make the reader have sympathy for the cause of Alexander. As Alexander becomes more and more Persian, his Greek allies and Macedonian brothers become less and less trusting and faithful to him. Having had to change from the democratic practices of Athens to the more Kingly and authoritative ways of the Persians has created rift and friction.

Alexander marries into the Persian families and brings a GrekoPersian culture into existence. He longs to introduce the Hellenistic culture to the Persians and Indians and creates cities after himself as he travels onward throughout the region. But his men have grown old and in a most interesting mutinous scenario, Alexander delivers a stirring speech to his troops, reminding them of their past, his father, and his long time spent with them, causing them to regret their desire to leave him.

Finally, the prophecy of Siwa is nearly complete when his great and dearest friend dies before him as did Patroclus before Achilles. As Achilles built a great funeral pyre for his companion upon his death, Alexander builds a pyre for Hephaestion. It is interesting to note how often Alexander deliberately copies Achilles behavior.

Fortunately, Manfredi does not try to penetrate the heart and soul and mind of Alexander. Instead he explores Alexander's character form a third person's point of view and lets the reader judge for himself. Alexander was a brilliant student, a great military strategist, a king who tried to be as just and honourable as the classical Greek heroes whom he admired. But he also has to eliminate those who oppose him, whether from within his own troops or the worthy adversary. On the whole, the trilogy is a rivetting read. Manfredi succeeds in dissecting through the legends of Alexander's exploits, but at the end of it all, we are left with the feeling that yes, Alexander could do anything. After all, didn't Alexander climb every mountain, ford every stream? Surely, one of the finest works on Alexander's life and deeds. A must read for anyone interesteed in ancient Greece. Worth a 9 on 10!