"The Fire of Ares" by Michael Ford

(ISBN 978-0-8027-9827-5)

The Fire of Ares is the first in the "Spartan Quest" Trilogy by Michael Ford.

Most boys enjoy a good war book, and with the recent interest in Greek history and mythology sparked by the Percy Jackson books, this book is sure to captivate most middle and high school boys! The Fire of Ares is the story of a young 13 year old boy named Lysander. He is a helot in ancient Sparta, born to a brutal life of slavery to the warrior citizens of the powerful city state of Sparta. In Sparta, all males were expected to be warriors. Deformed or weak babies were left to die and at age 7 all males were taken from their families and placed in military barracks where they endured rough training intended to transform them into the warriors needed by Sparta.

When heading off to battle, Spartan women are reported to have told their sons and husbands to return with their shields, or on them. Spartan shields were large and intended for the savage phalanx warfare at which Spartans excelled; it was impossible to run away from a battle without dropping the shield, hence the directive from the women of Sparta. It is into this society that Lysander is born, a slave whose life can be taken at the mere whim of any Spartan, regardless of what age. He dreams of one day leading a rebellion against the Spartans and freeing his people.

While helots are not allowed to own any property, Lysander has one possession which he keeps hidden; a red stone amulet. His mother has told him he must never allow anyone to know he has it, and so he hides its existence from all people, including his best friend Timeon. Well one day Lysander is unfortunate enough to face off with a group of Spartan boys his age, he interrupts them while they are about to beat up on a younger helot and they decide that he will be their victim instead. As it happens, although his amulet is stolen soon after, it is seen by an older Spartan who it turns out is an Ephor of Sparta, one of five men who served as an overseer to the Spartan kings...a very powerful position. The ephors were also the ones in Spartan society who annually declared ritual warfare against the helots, vowing to keep them enslaved.

This ephor summons Lysander the next day and it turns out that the amulet he has kept hidden all these years is known as the Fire of Ares and has been passed down by generations of Spartan warriors, father to son. Lysander's father, it turns out, was a Spartan warrior who died in battle and gave the amulet to his own brother to give to his unborn son...Lysander! What is more, the ephor is Lysander's grandfather! Well immediately Lysander is officially recognized as a Spartan citizen...and enrolled into the agoge, the barracks for Spartan boys. He is to be trained as a Spartan warrior.

The novel, then, is about the experiences of Lysander in the barracks, where he must overcome prejudice based on his being a half breed; where he must endure the sadistic barracks master; where he must find his missing amulet! In all of this he is assisted by his faithful friend Timeon, whom he chooses as his personal slave to serve him in the agoge (all Spartan warriors were served by a helot slave). Above all, this novel is about loyalty and fitting in, for Lysander is brought to the point where he must decide where his loyalties lie, and whether he will embrace his Spartan identity or reject it in favor of the people he's known all his life!