Spartans At The Gates A Novel

The Peloponnesian War has begun. An army of merciless Spartan invaders have arrived at the gates of Plataea, bent on obliterating the independent city-state and its inhabitants. Plataea's oldest allies, the Athenians, are spread too thin in their own campaigns to send help. Cut off and alone, the Plataeans have dug in behind their high walls for the coming attack, while the tyrannical Spartans prepare to lay siege. On a rugged mountain road, a young Plataean warrior named Nikias rides to Athens on an urgent quest. He carries with him a bag of ill-gotten gold, hoping to raise an army of mercenaries to help defend his citadel from the Spartan assault. But in the sprawling stronghold of Athens, Nikias encounters perils that prove to be more dangerous than those he has faced on the battlefield. Noble Smith's Spartans at the Gates transports us to the dawn of one of history's most famous wars--a fight that would tear apart the great powers of ancient Greece.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Steven Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life.”—Pat Conroy At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army. Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history—one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale. . . .

BE TRANSPORTED TO THE EPIC WORLD OF THE ATHENIANS WITH CONN IGGULDEN'S LATEST LEGENDARY TALE 'Astonishing, convincing and compelling, with ferocious battles that bring the Ancient World of Greece alive' 5***** Reader Review ______ A STATESMAN IS BORN, NOT MADE . . . Marathon. A Persian king stands at last on Greek soil. His Immortals have come to raze the cities of the west. The Athenians are hopelessly outnumbered. The gods are silent. All they have is the shield line. Xanthippus takes a breath. If they cannot stand, all Greece will fall. Thermopylae. Ten years later, Athens has betrayed its favourite son. When the Persians return, when they cross the Hellespont to take revenge on the Greeks, will Xanthippus come home to save his people? Athens cannot stand alone a second time. In desperation, the city calls on men of Sparta to block the pass at Thermopylae. To give them time. To give them hope. Featuring two of the most famous battles of the Ancient World, The Gates of Athens is a bravura piece of storytelling about a people driven to preserve their freedom at any cost. ______ Readers are raving about The Gates of Athens: 'What a brilliantly addictive read' 5***** Reader Review 'This author never fails to deliver!' 5***** Reader Review 'Another brilliant historical novel from the master of the craft' 5***** Reader Review 'It's like being on the battlefield' 5***** Reader Review PRAISE FOR CONN IGGULDEN 'The pace is nail-biting and the set-dressing magnificent' Times 'Pacy . . . and packed with action' Sunday Times 'One of our finest historical novelists' Daily Express 'Iggulden is in a class of his own when it comes to epic, historical fiction' Daily Mirror

The first entry in an epic series, set during the fifth-century BC war between Athens and Sparta, finds Plataea resident Nikias dreaming of glory in the Olympic games, only to find himself leading a ragtag band of defenders in the wake of a surprise attack.

2,300 years ago an unbeaten army of the West invaded the homeland of a fierce Eastern tribal foe. This is one soldier’s story . . . The bestselling novelist of ancient warfare returns with a riveting historical novel that re-creates Alexander the Great’s invasion of the Afghan kingdoms in 330 b.c. In a story that might have been ripped from today’s combat dispatches, Steven Pressfield brings to life the confrontation between an invading Western army and fierce Eastern warriors determined at all costs to defend their homeland. Narrated by an infantryman in Alexander’s army, The Afghan Campaign explores the challenges, both military and moral, that Alexander and his soldiers face as they embark on a new type of war and are forced to adapt to the methods of a ruthless foe that employs terror and insurgent tactics. An edge-of-your-seat adventure, The Afghan Campaign once again demonstrates Pressfield’s profound understanding of the hopes and desperation of men in battle and of the historical realities that continue to influence our world.

THE GRIPPING ADVENTURE BASED ON AN EPIC TRUE STORY FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR, PERFECT FOR FANS OF BERNARD CORNWELL 'HIS FINEST NOVEL TO DATE . . . THE BATTLE SCENES ARE THRILLING' SUNDAY EXPRESS __________ In the Ancient World, one army was feared above all others. 401 BC. The Persian king Artaxerxes rules an empire stretching from the Aegean to northern India. As many as fifty million people are his subjects. His rule is absolute. But the sons of Sparta are eager to play the game of thrones . . . Battles can be won - or lost - with a single blow. Princes fall. And when the dust of civil war settles, the Spartans are left stranded in the heart of an enemy's empire, without support, without food and without water. Far from home, surrounded by foes, it falls to the young soldier Xenophon to lead the survivors against Artaxerxes' legendary Persian warriors . . . __________ 'The pace is nail-biting' THE TIMES Praise for Conn Iggulden: 'Here is a master at work. There is no one better at this' GILES KRISTIAN 'Brings war in the ancient world to vivid, gritty and bloody life. I'm blown away' ANTHONY RICHES 'Iggulden tells an absolutely cracking story...the pace is nail-biting and the set dressing magnificent' THE TIMES 'An epic piece of historical fiction, full of political intrigue and vivid action' ROBERT FABBRI 'Iggulden is in a class of his own when it comes to epic, historical fiction' DAILY MIRROR Author's novel, Empire was a Sunday Times bestseller May 2023

It is the year 480 BC and the greatest army ever gathered in the ancient world is on the march to conquer all of Greece. An irresistible force, they destroy whatever dares to stand in their path. One man steps forward to stop them, followed by 300 companions. His chances are next to nil, yet he goes without hesitation. This man is a king. His name is Leonidas. And his companions are Spartans. They go to stop the Persian advance and meet their destiny at the narrows known as the Hot Gates. This is the account of the battle of Thermopylae. A small contingent of 300 Spartan warriors will hold off the thrust of the Persian invasion for three days of intense battle. We witness these events through the eyes of the twelve-year old Spartan boy, Agis, who has followed his father into battle and is eventually invited by Leonidas to take his rightful place in the battle at the Hot Gates.

Full of passion, courage and magic, Spartan is an enthralling novel of the ancient world.