Requiem for Athens Review

Title: Requiem for Athens

Author: David S. Alkek

Pages: 301

Rating: 3.5/5

So the first few pages (24 or more) were of Phidias and his past. They explained what he went through to become a teacher for Plato's Academy. Most of the books was on politics and war which I don't really mind but politics drives me mad. It was well written though and I enjoyed the book immensely!
Phidias grew up to be a soldier but quit after his first battle when his best friend died without him at his side. Feeling guilty he searched for something else to do and decided he would like to go to Plato's Academy where he studied. After a few years he became a teacher and friends with his colleague Aristotle. He fell in love with Thais who shared her house with him for many years and who loved him too. When Aristotle asks Phidias to accompany him to the court of Philip of Macedonia to tutor Alexander (Philip's son) he has to decide between his love for Thais and his love for knowledge. Thais (though she loves him) does her best to hide it from him so that he will fulfil his dreams. Throwing him out of her house he decides to accompany Aristotle.
When Philip is killed and Alexander takes the throne people are being killed for conspiracy to the throne. Phidias is tortured and sentenced to die but he is freed and is taken with Alexander to conquer Persia. (fun times he has right?) Once he has conquered Persia he becomes a paranoid drunk and dies but that doesn't end the adventures Phidias goes on. Ptolemy makes him stay in Egypt with him to help create a library in Alexandria. When he returns to Athens he is in his seventies where he meets his love Thais and marries her.
His (Phidias) death was heart-breaking and I cried through it. What can I say? I'm a romantic. The synopsis is pretty straight forward but I hope I did the book justice all the same. It was very interesting but I'm a slow reader when it comes to historical fiction. The author himself sent me this book so I will cross my fingers and hope he likes the review...Hope you enjoyed and agree with my review!

About The Author

David Alkek is the award winning author of three books, a contemporary mystery set in Dallas, a book of science and philosophy that investigates the purpose of the universe, and his newly released third book, A Requiem for Athens is historical fiction.
A dermatologist for over 40 years, David draws from his medical and scientific background to create his books. He is an avid reader and credits Arthur Conan Doyle, John Grisham, James Patterson, and Isaac Asimov for providing his inspiration.
In his free time David likes to write, play poker, garden, and attend writer’s workshops and book clubs. What David does not enjoy is being bored.