Review of The Fox
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Beatrice Ferouz
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Review of The Fox
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Fox" by M. N. J. Butler.]
Can a son born of another man rule one of the houses of Sparta? That was the question on Leotychides' mind when he heard the news of his father’s ailing health. Are those rumors true? Even if they are, will he be willing to fight for his place on the throne? Questions, questions, questions. But answers are things that do not come easily to a man. While he ponders these questions and the next step to take, he focuses on training to be one of the best soldiers and Olympians that Sparta has ever seen.
The Fox by M. N. J. Butler is a lengthy historical fiction novel that focuses on the life and struggles of Leotychides. Even though many people like to think that the Spartan empire never existed and that stories about them are just mythologies, I think otherwise. I believe that the Spartan people lived and breathed, and I am glad that the author showed me just how rich and chaotic their lives were (to be fair, everybody’s life is chaotic to me, but each is unique).
Now, it is important that I mention some of the things that I liked in this novel. The first is the length. I love it when authors make their books very long. While I cannot consider 700 pages to be very long, it was considered long and I liked that. Secondly, as a student of history and ‘myths’, I have read many articles, pieces, and literature about Sparta. While most of the things that the author showed (about this kingdom) were not novel to me, I was glad that they were accurate (and matched with the literature that I consumed many years ago).
What I liked most about this eccentric novel was the relationships that the main character develops throughout his life. There were times when I was scared for him, considering the bullying and violence that he and his peers faced from their seniors. But the way these supposed bullies turned around to have their backs in times of need was fascinating. I saw true friendship grow from a little seed into big trees. I saw honest feelings and brotherhood in their truest form. All of these are things that many people wish to have in life but never do.
Now, what I liked the least about this eccentric novel is how badly it was edited. And by bad editing, I do not mean just misspellings of words or just misplacement of full stops and commas. I mean that this book had those and even more. It had white spaces in places where white spaces ought not to be. Sentences were written on one line and continued on another when the writing space on that line had not been exhausted. This continued on and on throughout the book and irritated me to no end.
Finally, I rate this novel, titled The Fox, written by M. N. J. Butler, 2 out of 4 stars. The justification for refusing to give it 4 stars is how terribly edited it was. I believe that the author could have done better. And the justification for not giving it 0 stars is because of the other things that I liked in the book that I have already mentioned. This novel was not all bad, so I recommend it to readers interested in myths/history, and the way of life of the Spartan people and their royals.
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The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Can a son born of another man rule one of the houses of Sparta? That was the question on Leotychides' mind when he heard the news of his father’s ailing health. Are those rumors true? Even if they are, will he be willing to fight for his place on the throne? Questions, questions, questions. But answers are things that do not come easily to a man. While he ponders these questions and the next step to take, he focuses on training to be one of the best soldiers and Olympians that Sparta has ever seen.
The Fox by M. N. J. Butler is a lengthy historical fiction novel that focuses on the life and struggles of Leotychides. Even though many people like to think that the Spartan empire never existed and that stories about them are just mythologies, I think otherwise. I believe that the Spartan people lived and breathed, and I am glad that the author showed me just how rich and chaotic their lives were (to be fair, everybody’s life is chaotic to me, but each is unique).
Now, it is important that I mention some of the things that I liked in this novel. The first is the length. I love it when authors make their books very long. While I cannot consider 700 pages to be very long, it was considered long and I liked that. Secondly, as a student of history and ‘myths’, I have read many articles, pieces, and literature about Sparta. While most of the things that the author showed (about this kingdom) were not novel to me, I was glad that they were accurate (and matched with the literature that I consumed many years ago).
What I liked most about this eccentric novel was the relationships that the main character develops throughout his life. There were times when I was scared for him, considering the bullying and violence that he and his peers faced from their seniors. But the way these supposed bullies turned around to have their backs in times of need was fascinating. I saw true friendship grow from a little seed into big trees. I saw honest feelings and brotherhood in their truest form. All of these are things that many people wish to have in life but never do.
Now, what I liked the least about this eccentric novel is how badly it was edited. And by bad editing, I do not mean just misspellings of words or just misplacement of full stops and commas. I mean that this book had those and even more. It had white spaces in places where white spaces ought not to be. Sentences were written on one line and continued on another when the writing space on that line had not been exhausted. This continued on and on throughout the book and irritated me to no end.
Finally, I rate this novel, titled The Fox, written by M. N. J. Butler, 2 out of 4 stars. The justification for refusing to give it 4 stars is how terribly edited it was. I believe that the author could have done better. And the justification for not giving it 0 stars is because of the other things that I liked in the book that I have already mentioned. This novel was not all bad, so I recommend it to readers interested in myths/history, and the way of life of the Spartan people and their royals.
******
The Fox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Cynthia and Dan by Dorothy May Mercer
