The Last King of Lydia

Product Information

The first excellent thing about this book is that even if, like me, you’re an ancient history dunderhead, Leach eases you through it effortlessly.

I thought this was a really wonderful modern retelling of Herodotus' account of Croesus, written in a simple but beautiful style that maintains a suitably classical feel while also importing some modern touches. It’s a debut novel that the author clearly worked very hard on, it covers a little-explored figure of history and legend, and I can positively see the pride and ambition oozing from the pages in the philosophical themes… but it fell flat for me. When he decides to go to war with Persia it’s because he sees a map of the world and feels sad that he doesn’t have more of it. I came here from your GeekDad review of A Winter War, and am so glad I did — I just finished The Last King of Lydia, and it’s thoughtful and compelling and an intersection of philosophy and history that I had no idea existed, but drank up.As the novel progresses, Croseus comes to understand true happiness lies in the smaller things in life. She exploited the myth of Theseus to recreate an imagined bronze age Greece and she made use of the historical Alexander in a wonderful series of novels. Leach puts these words in the mouth of a 5th Century BC ruler, yet I’m not sure I’ve read a more apposite phrase to sum up what’s wrong with modern society. I had never heard of the Lydian Empire but this book brings it's last king to life and tells a sweeping story of the rise and fall of empires, as well as the intimate story of slaves and kings. His subsequent fate soon became the theme of legend: he is cast or casts himself on a pyre, but is miraculously saved by Apollo and translated to the land of the *Hyperboreans or becomes the friend and counsellor of Cyrus.

Solon disagrees, stating that it can only be truly known that a man is happy by how he meet his death. Having "known" how the story line would progress beforehand, I found the early part of the plot to be quite bland and unexciting. I didn’t feel like I was getting the full, rich story, but snatched glimpses of Croesus’ life, the bare bones of the plot needed to keep it moving on but no real fleshing out of the world. Teetered between 4 and 5 but in the end concluded that the extra star was worth it for the originality.We gradually see what sort of a man can vanquish so many, choose so many destructive wars, and also leave behind a written legacy of religious tolerance that still stands out in a narrow-minded world. The philosophical tone is set early on when Solon, the famous wise man of Athens, comes to visit Croesus.

Like any good philosopher, Leach doesn’t give definitive answers to the big questions he asks, but his exploration and hints are the more interesting as a result. I was vaguely familiar with Herodotus's account of the wealthy King Croesus asking the sage Solon who was the happiest man, expecting the answer to be himself, but I hadn't realized the potential behind that tale. Ancient mythology seems to be enjoying a surge in popularity of late, with a plethora of books, movies and games based on these ancient legends and fabled heroes. He comes to realize that his power has limits because "It's a difficult thing, having one's happiness depend on those one cannot control" -- like his son's guaranteed well-being. He had never seen a king die, and as he cropped the prisoner's hair and trimmed his thick, black beard, he placed little nicks in his scalp and chin, apologizing for his clumsiness each time, even as he keenly watched the royal blood flow.I also feel that the language is quite light; I found myself going from page to page quite fast, when what I really wanted was to savor each page, to delight in the rich descriptions of an ancient world. What makes this a special book is less to do with the events, the battles, the conquests and so on, but the effect on the characters. Reading the story encourages a great deal of self-reflection and analysis which may leave the reader a little wiser by the end of the book.