Salamis
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Preorder Price Special. Price will change to $9.99 upon publication.
"All will be impressed by Turtledove's immersive ancient world."—Publishers Weekly
A new novel by one of the most acclaimed writers of alternate history in the world; a New York Times bestselling author who has been crowned as 'the Master of Alternate History' by Publisher Weekly and has won virtually every major award associated with the genre.
Salamis is the fifth (standalone) novel in Harry Turtledove's critically acclaimed Hellenic Traders universe, detailing the adventures of two cousins, Menedemos and Sostratos, who work as seaborne traders following the death of Alexander the Great.
This time the stage is one of the greatest sea battles ever fought in ancient times; the Battle of Salamis of 306 BC.
The small, free, and independent polis of Rhodes is trying to stay neutral between the local great powers, each ruled by one of Alexander the Great's marshals: Asia Minor, controlled by one-eyed Antigonos, and Egypt, under the rule of Ptolemaios.
As tensions between the great powers escalate, Menedemos and Sostratos are trying to resolve their own problems, oblivious to the fact that one of the greatest navel fleets in ancient history is about to set sail.
Ptolemaios, needing shipping to carry weapons for the army he intends to land, coerces Menedemos into bringing their ship, the Aphrodite, along as part of his expeditionary force. And so, very much against their will, Menedemos and Sostratos become small parts of one of the ancient world's most significant naval battles.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Turtledove plays things straight in the fifth alternate history in his Hellenic Traders series (after 2004's Owls to Athens), taking readers on a slow-building tour of the Mediterranean amid battles over Alexander the Great's empire. The free city of Rhodes has refused to ally with nearby Antigonos, ruler of Anatolia, against the distant Ptolemaios, ruler of Egypt, who it sees as less of a threat. When Rhodian cousins Menedemos and Sostratos sail from their home island to the new city of Alexandria on family business, they are co-opted into the struggle between Ptolemaios and his former colleague Antigonos. Their cargo ship, the Aphrodite, is conscripted to join an Egyptian fleet being sent to rescue Ptolemaios's brother, the ruler of Cyprus. Cutting short their visit to the Pyramids, the cousins set out alongside mighty war galleys and the fate of their home port hangs in the balance. There's no speculative hook here; instead, Turtledove carefully crafts a detailed and realistic vision of the Greek world in 306 BCE and delivers a humane message of commonality that shines over language barriers and social differences. Readers expecting a twist on the history may be disappointed, but all will be impressed by Turtledove's immersive ancient world.
