Posts Tagged ‘Aleksandr Voinov’
Spoils of War
by Aleksandr Voinov & Raev Gray
Published by eXcessica in an anthology called “Divine Matches.”
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When Achilleus, the greatest warrior who ever lived, falls before Troy (or Ilion, as it was known), Ares, God of War, stands ready to take his spirit with him to his palace. There, Ares demands that Achilleus yield to him. But can the embrace of a god and the offer of immortality make Achilleus forget his one true love, Patroklos?
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Spoils of War by Aleksandr Voinov & Raev Gray
Book Review by Jasmine
4/5 Story 5/5 Whips in the Backseat for Writing
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Spoils of War is an excellent erotic romp. A worthy Naughty read and the writing duo Aleksandr Voinov & Raev Gray are undeniably talented writers! I love their style, the precision and execution of Achilleus’ tale speaks of their talent with words and the amount of care they put into the mythology and research. Part of the mythology is what stood in my way as a reader.
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The opening lines of the book:
When Achilleus, the greatest warrior who ever lived, falls before Troy (or Ilion, as it was known), Ares, God of War, stands ready to take his spirit with him to his palace. There, Ares demands that Achilleus yield to him. But can the embrace of a god and the offer of immortality make Achilleus forget his one true love, Patroklos?
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Thank you for your research and accuracy to the time and history, but if I had not seen the movie Troy I think I would have been very lost. It is from that film that I recall that Achilles as I am more familiar with the name being spelled, is the son of a water goddess and makes a prophecy about the two paths in life that he can choose from, a long life, or glory. Maybe calling Illion – Troy and Achilleus – Achilles the story would have played down the style that those added touches using more accurate names lends the story.
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The story is a fulfilling read and has a clear style that if you enjoy take the time to go out and look for more titles by these authors. Spoils of War stands out from the pack. It is a read that you will not forget.
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See more of Aleksandr Voinov’s work at his Official Author Web site
Visit Raev Gray at Excessica.com
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Writing about Achilleus and Ares was a thing waiting to happen for a long time. When I approached my brilliant co-writer Raev Gray with the idea, the Iliad and Troy had been sitting in my brain for something like 25 years. I grew up on the stuff – a collection of the mythology was one of the best gifts I ever got as a kid. Sex, passions, violence. I inhaled it all.
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Achilleus was one of my favourites – the greatest warrior who ever lived. His rage at the death of his ‘friend’ Patroklos, his bottomless, sacrilegious revenge had to have roots in love, I never doubted that. When I studied Ancient History (yup, got a degree in that), I learnt about the various interpretations of that relationship. “Did they or didn’t they” wasn’t a question that would have interested the Ancient Greeks.
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I have to admit I was pretty excited when they put “Troy” onto the big screen in 2004. I’ve seen the – admittedly pretty trashy – film a dozen times. I even own it. But it never satisfied me. A million versions of the Iliad, and a million versions that never got the whole point – the point I saw in it.
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The big question that Achilleus faces is this: live long and raise a family, become a well-respected elder and king, or live short and win lots and lots of glory. As we all know from Homer’s story, he chooses the short life, and glory. Then his friend/lover/comrade Patroklos dies.
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And the question is – have you made the right decision, Achilleus? I never doubted that he’d sacrifice his own life for greatness – but would he sacrifice Patroklos? If he could give it all back in return for Patroklos’ life, would he?
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And that’s the core of all romance fiction, isn’t it? How much are we willing to sacrifice? What are we really made of?
- Aleksandr Voinov
http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com/
http://www.aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com/
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