Spartan

By: Valerio Massimo Manfredi

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

Herodotus tells us that not all of the three hundred Spartan warriors died at the hands of Xerxes, King of the Persians, in the battle of the Thermopylae: two were saved bringing a life-saving message back to the city . . .

Valerio Massimo Manfredi's Spartan is the saga of a Spartan family, torn apart by a cruel law that forces them to abandon one of their two sons - born lame - to the elements. The elder son, Brithos, is raised in the caste of the warriors, while the other, Talos, is spared a cruel death and is raised by a Helot shepherd, among the peasants.

They live out their story in a world dominated by the clash between the Persian empire and the city-states of Greece - a ferocious, relentless conflict - until the voice of their blood and of human solidarity unites them in a thrilling, singular enterprise.

©2002 Valerio Massimo Manfredi; (P)2002 Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Sorry Derek

A good book, but had I the chance to go back, I would have read it personally, rather than listening to it. I like Derek Jacobi's voice normally, but in this he just irritated me a little. I won't be too criticising as it's all a matter of opinion, but his voice for the 'speech' parts was not quite right in my opinion. Sorry Derek.