The Gates of Hell - Softcover

Paul Doherty

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184119896X ISBN 13: 9781841198965

Publisher: Robinson Publishing, 2004

Synopsis

It is 334 BC and Alexander and his troops have crossed into Asia. Marching south he has conquered all in his path, but he and his enemies all know that the great prize is the city of Halicarnassus, strategically important and with fortifications to make any attacker despair. Alexander's court is set up close to the city and his physician and old friend Telamon is there. Even as Alexander prepares for one of the most dramatic confrontations in the ancient world, a series of brutal killings begins, proving that the Persians have infiltrated the court. With his lord facing the fight of his life, Telamon must go through 'The Gates of Hell' to find the traitors.

About this title

About the Author

Paul Doherty is the internationally renowned author of many historical novels. He studied history at Liverpool and Oxford universities, and gained a Doctorate at Oxford. He is now the headmaster of a London school and lives near Epping Forest.

From Publishers Weekly

In 334 B.C., Alexander the Great's march toward world conquest halts before the formidable battlements of Halicarnassus in the third installment of British author Doherty's riveting historical series featuring the sleuthing of Telamon the physician. Scholars race to decipher the enigmatic Pythian Manuscript, which holds the secrets of a fatal weakness in the city's defenses, as well as the location of a fabulous treasure, while spies haunt the Macedonians' camp and counter-spies lurk within the walled fortress. The body of the scribe Pamenes is found on the pavement below his locked room, the so-called ghost-chamber (whose floorboards creak like a ship's rigging when walked upon), and Telamon must decide if his death is accident or murder. Soon other more obvious murders occur, including another body found strangled in the ghost-chamber (even the mysterious death of the villa's cat!). Amid the battles and siege of the city, crucifixion of captured spies and dispatching of soldiers whose wounds cannot be cured, the physician keeps to his investigations. "I cannot explain the deaths of thousands. I can only concentrate on the task in hand. It keeps me sane." Telamon, who wasn't quite a dominant element in the previous novels (The House of Death and The Godless Man), comes to full literary life in these pages, as the prolific Doherty moves masterfully from a terrifically atmospheric prologue through the fiery fall of Halicarnassus. As usual with this assured writer, the solution to the crimes is extremely satisfying.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Robinson Publishing
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 184119896X
• ISBN 13: 9781841198965
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352