The Fire of Ares: Spartan Quest
Lysander, a young Helot slave who is trying to do twice the work demanded of him so his ailing mother can stay out of the fields, is attacked on his way home one night. He is saved by a distinguished old Spartan who is fascinated by the pendant that has been pulled from its hiding place under Lysander’s clothing. Even though the boy is later robbed of the pendant at knifepoint, his fortunes change when it turns out that the old Spartan is actually his grandfather, who enrolls him in an agoge, a school where Spartan boys are trained. Although this historical adventure has no fantasy elements, Lysander follows a path familiar to fans of Harry Potter and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game (1985) as he acclimates to his new school and sorts friends from enemies. Middle-grade boys who love action and vividly depicted battles will seize upon Ford’s children’s book debut, the first in a planned series called Spartan Quest, and they’ll encounter a large number of interesting facts about ancient Greece along the way. Grades 4-6. --Diana Tixier Herald