What finer way for Alexander the Great to honor his old tutor Aristotle than to send him an actual Indian elephant.
After capturing a magnificent specimen from an Indian ruler, Alexander tasks Leon of Atrax, a cavalry commander, to deliver the animal to Aristotle in Athens.
Leon leads a motley crew of companions (and the elephant) from India to Greece, and in the process encounter all sorts of … encounter all sorts of dangers and adventures while completing the long and arduous journey.
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One of De Camps best historical novels with plenty of adventure, action, humor, and great historical detail. The characters are mostly likeable and feel true to life.
A fascinating historical fiction that is the memoir of Leon Aristou, who was charged by Alexander the Great to escort an elephant from India to Greece, for delivery to Aristotle. This takes place circa 300 b.c., so many modern conveniences are lacking, and the overland route is uncomfortable and dangerous. Even the final trip across the Mediterranean was almost a disaster. How Lean overcame the obstacles to deliver the elephant is a tale reminiscent of the Odyssey. The frequent use of foreign names, places, measures, and vocabulary gives an authenticity to the narrative, though often is confusing. The Postscript from page 269 has a treasure trove of information that will be useful as you read the book, giving a list of real persons mentioned, approximate equivalents of money, calendar, weights and measures, and geographical names and their modern equivalents. You could follow his route from India to Greece on Google Maps for added interest. I wish I’d known about the Postscript when I started the story; it would have saved a lot of time Googling things.
If you like interesting historical adventure, crossing deserts, mountains, seas and rivers, with a cast of dozens of hardy soldiers, foreigners, slaves, wives and mistresses, and facing danger and obstacles at every turn, this is the book for you. This isn’t like de Camp’s usual fantasy stories, like his Conan series or Enchanter series, so don’t expect magic or supernatural events.
Adventures and a sugar coated history and travelogue.
By Charles van Buren on July 22, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
L. Sprague de Camp was a noted author of fantasy and science fiction. However, over the course of his approximately 60 year writing career and 100 or so books, he also wrote nonfiction, alternate history and historical novels. According to the introduction by Harry Turtledove, the 1958, AN ELEPHANT FOR ARISTOTLE, was de Camp’s first foray into historical novels. As should be expected, the writing and research are outstanding. The book is a combination accurate travelogue, adventure novel and examination of life in the age of Alexander the Great. De Camp also gives us hints into Alexander’s character and the flaws, including some signs of a growing megalomania, which led to his downfall. Throughout the novel we see the beginnings of the splintering of Alexander’s fragile empire as he continues his conquests rather than governing the far flung empire.
In this novel, Alexander decides to send an elephant to his old tutor, Aristotle. Sending a live elephant from India to Greece proves to be a most difficult undertaking, but Alexander chooses the right man for the job. But will he really be able to deliver the elephant, alive and well, to Aristotle in faraway Athens? How would you send an elephant from India to Greece over poor or nonexistent roads, faced with bandits, hostile nationalities, unreliable allies, burning deserts and frozen mountains?
Long, but a great read.
As a former student of classical Greek and Roman history I was soon immersed in this tale of Alexandrian times. DeCamp is a marvelous story teller and this is a fascinating tale he spins.
True or not, this story of a Macedonian warrior bringing an eleplant from India to Greece is a great read. I especially liked the realistic picture of life in those times and the difficulty of traveling.
Other then the original idea at the base of this story, the rest is tedious, uninteresting details of this fictitious trip.
I loved this book. It was fun way to learn about the ancient world. The writing is good too.
Quite a departure from my usual read, but enjoyed it a lot!
The pace was plodding and tedious. I was very disappointed because I liked the concept of the story. The use of various accents was a mistake.
Difficult to read and keep my interest.
I liked it, but it took awhile to sort out the characters.
One of the most original books ever.
It was interesting to me only because it covered part of history I was not too familiar with and areas that Alexander went to.
Very original and fun read!
I found it difficult to keep track of the characters. Hard to read their names.
Unique the way the author took us through ancient times and created characters he thought might have existed. Brought into he mix philosophies and warriors prejudices amongst his characters and made the whole mix work. Inventive
This novel is quite fresh. De Camp is a terrific fiction writer. The historical detail is very good. A great discovery!
Boring could not, would not waste my time, did not finish it.
This my first historical novel by L. Sprague de Camp. I was thrilled and have already finished Bronze God of Rhodes. I can hardly wait to read the other three. I love the realistically imperfect protagonist!