Reading about this book, the incongruence of real Greece and mythical Greece, it sounded cheesy, corny. But only Gemmell could pull it off this well. His works stand alone as never following the genre, always changing, never playing it safe. Most fantasy book series feature lead characters that never die, just go on for book after book after book. Gemmell doesn't hold to this tradition - his characters are real and what happens to them is dictated by the story. As a result, his characters always surprise you - evil, vile characters redeeming themselves, once powerful, great men becoming traitors for gold, etc. You really never know what's going to happen. All of a sudden, half way thru a book you can have a new chapter "20 years later...." and you think "what the heck?!" but he does it masterfully - he's telling an epic story - not a "day in the life on this one character."

This is a sequel of course, so you can't read it alone. But the story ends here, as it should. Gemmell even ties in some elements of his other books cleverly, no spoilers. A shame we'll have no more from him, I only found his books about 5 years ago but have literally read every one of them. They stand apart and above all others. The only 2 I have left to read are his last 2 Troy books.

If you are new to Gemmell, start with "Legend" and I envy you - the first time reader of it.

This book covers a lot of ground. A sequel to the Lion of Macedon it takes place a few years after the birth of Alexander(the great). The first part of the book takes place in an alternate realm filled with all the mythical creatures in Greek Legends. Alexander has been kidnapped by an evil version of his father in this magical Greece. But Alexander may be the prophet the creatures of legend need to return magic to the world. Parmenion is sent to rescue the boy. The second part of the book takes place much later in Alexanders life and his battle with the demon inside him. Though they involve Philip and Alexander, these are really about Parmenion. He is the main character throughout the stories and he is a good one. Very brave and noble, but a man of flaws. Like just about every other Gemmell book, this one contains references to the Source(which is Gemmell's all mighty power source and possibly god) and it contains the larger than life battles filled with mighty heroes. The big difference is his use of so many fantasy creatures. Gemmell has not traditionally used centaurs, minotaurs, cyclops and such, but in this book he does well with them. This is another achievement for one heck of a writer. I am waiting for his last Troy book to read and I will surely be sad knowing that there will be no more after.

Dark Prince
This is a very well written sequel to The The Lion of Macedon. I loved the fact that it pick up pretty much where the first book left off. David built the characters up even more and made me feel like I was a part of the story. David does it again!!! Great book !!!!

What an incredible book. Once you start reading it, you won't be able to set it down. I even got yelled at by my boss for reading the book on company time. I've read it 4 times and each time is like the first time. There is alot of information to process so get ready be blown away. It's awsome. Also, if you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterpiece--The Fates, go and read it. It's a great novel of Greek Mythology.

This is a companion review to Lion of Macedon.
Dark Prince takes us back to the David Gemmell reconstructed world of ancient Greece. There are a whole heap of goings-on that occurred in Lion of Macedon that led to certain events in Dark Prince, but to tell you them would ruin Lion of Macedon for you, so I won't.
Anyway, this is rather a strange book. It retains some of the feel of Lion of Macedon but is completely different in many aspects. A significant portion of the novel is spent in an alternate reality Greece where mythical creatures such as centaurs and minotaurs still roam the Earth. There is also an evil Phillippos of Makedon to contend with.
Alexander is an extraordinary child in many aspects. He has an extreme constitution and a very high intelligence for one supposedly four years old (in the first third of the book). Actually, despite the possession of the Chaos Spirit, I did still struggle to deal with the adult-like conversations and concerns of the toddler Alexander.
The book improved for me greatly when the setting resumed in the Greece we knew from Lion of Macedon.
Still, in all, this novel had what one expects from a David Gemmell. Heaps of battles, the odd love scene, sword fights a-plenty, revenge, betrayals...
If you pick up this novel expecting an historically accurate re-telling of the Alexander myth, then this is not the novel for you. But, if you are looking for a rousing tale of friendship and loyalty set in a similar world to the ancient Greece we know and love, and a familiar David Gemmell world, then you will not be disappointed.
In my opinion, this sequel does not live up to the heights of Lion of Macedon though. However, it had a satisfying ending that tied together loose strings very nicely.