Review by oduduima -- The Fox by M. N. J. Butler
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oduduima
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Review by oduduima -- The Fox by M. N. J. Butler
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Fox" by M. N. J. Butler.]
The Fox by M.N.J. Butler tells the harrowing and tragic story of a Spartan man, Leotychides. Leotychides, called Leo for short, was a bastard child born into a Spartan royal family. The story, which is told by Leo, takes us through his perilous life as a spartan man. He is sent off to a boarding school at the age of 7 where he is taught survival and courage. There he was trained in the ways of a spartan, with rigorous exercises to bring out the best in him.
Told in the first-person perspective, the book is an epic historical fiction that tells the story of lost love, regrets, and victories. It is a very emotional story that captures your attention until the very last page. The life of Leo was a very perilous one. Being the bastard son of one of the two kings of Sparta, Agis, Leo has been tagged as illegitimate all his life. Things would have been better after Agis declares Leo his successor upon his dying bed. However, Agisilaos, the brother to Agis raises the suspicion that Agis is not Leo’s real father, declaring Leo’s succession illegitimate.
The book is a very exciting adventure. I tremendously enjoyed the rich Greek culture displayed in the book. The author obviously put in a lot of research in writing this, considering the volume and the attention to detail surrounding events described in the book. The battles, which are a major component of the book, are well narrated without excessive gory details, which makes it an ideal read. Also, the plot is chronologically arranged to eliminate confusion as the author transitions through time.
One thing I really love about the book is how the author presents his narration in vivid detail. This helps the reader to easily generate visual imaginations of the scenes narrated in the book. Also, the book contains erotic scenes but tries not to dwell on them. The book also expounds values such as equality, unity, and loyalty which are very beneficial for community development.
However, one negative about the book is its lack of proper character development. In my opinion, the characters were forced upon the reader without proper background introduction. This leaves the reader confused at times when characters are mentioned. Also, the names mentioned in the book were quite lengthy and similar, which often left me confused. The information in the book was also very dense. A reader without prior knowledge of the Greek tradition might need some catching up to do. However, the author tried mitigating this by providing a glossary of terms, but shuttling between the story and the glossary really leaves the reader exhausted.
The book was not well edited. There were missing quotation marks that leave the reader confused between conversations in the story. However, I did not find any major typographical errors in the book. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It is a wonderful story, but it is pretty exhausting to navigate. I recommend this book to all lovers of historical fiction and Greek culture. This will definitely keep you entertained.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Fox by M.N.J. Butler tells the harrowing and tragic story of a Spartan man, Leotychides. Leotychides, called Leo for short, was a bastard child born into a Spartan royal family. The story, which is told by Leo, takes us through his perilous life as a spartan man. He is sent off to a boarding school at the age of 7 where he is taught survival and courage. There he was trained in the ways of a spartan, with rigorous exercises to bring out the best in him.
Told in the first-person perspective, the book is an epic historical fiction that tells the story of lost love, regrets, and victories. It is a very emotional story that captures your attention until the very last page. The life of Leo was a very perilous one. Being the bastard son of one of the two kings of Sparta, Agis, Leo has been tagged as illegitimate all his life. Things would have been better after Agis declares Leo his successor upon his dying bed. However, Agisilaos, the brother to Agis raises the suspicion that Agis is not Leo’s real father, declaring Leo’s succession illegitimate.
The book is a very exciting adventure. I tremendously enjoyed the rich Greek culture displayed in the book. The author obviously put in a lot of research in writing this, considering the volume and the attention to detail surrounding events described in the book. The battles, which are a major component of the book, are well narrated without excessive gory details, which makes it an ideal read. Also, the plot is chronologically arranged to eliminate confusion as the author transitions through time.
One thing I really love about the book is how the author presents his narration in vivid detail. This helps the reader to easily generate visual imaginations of the scenes narrated in the book. Also, the book contains erotic scenes but tries not to dwell on them. The book also expounds values such as equality, unity, and loyalty which are very beneficial for community development.
However, one negative about the book is its lack of proper character development. In my opinion, the characters were forced upon the reader without proper background introduction. This leaves the reader confused at times when characters are mentioned. Also, the names mentioned in the book were quite lengthy and similar, which often left me confused. The information in the book was also very dense. A reader without prior knowledge of the Greek tradition might need some catching up to do. However, the author tried mitigating this by providing a glossary of terms, but shuttling between the story and the glossary really leaves the reader exhausted.
The book was not well edited. There were missing quotation marks that leave the reader confused between conversations in the story. However, I did not find any major typographical errors in the book. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It is a wonderful story, but it is pretty exhausting to navigate. I recommend this book to all lovers of historical fiction and Greek culture. This will definitely keep you entertained.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Do I Need a Will or a Trust by Taylor Willingham
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Caffrey_19
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Glad to know that this book revolves around courage and bravery. Nice work.
Latest Review: Rescued by E. Alan Fleischauer
