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The SandReckoner Gillian Bradshaw Books

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The SandReckoner Gillian Bradshaw Books

As somebody who spends a bit of time reading about ancient technology and Hellenistic antiquity, I glommed this tome once the Amazon bot figured to put it in front of my face.

Archimedes himself in history is a relative unknown quantity, so the author taking liberties with who he is - his family, his temperament, personality - are all perfectly understandable, though I find her imagining of Archimedes as not impossible, but somewhat implausible.

The Archimedes in this book is an obviously Asperger-level savant, lost in a world of geometry and numbers, with all the mental tics and faculty-deficits elsewhere that usually accompany such gifts. That is not my crass estimation of such people either, but a promoted property of this Archimedes and used as a plot device - when convenient. Yet this guy somehow retains enough practical capacity to not just design but manage the building of complex catapults (like running a business), and enough social capacity to woo gorgeous yet tempestuous princesses. That is a hard trifecta to reconcile in a single person and remain believable. Bradshaw makes mighty efforts to do this with music as a bridge between Archimedes and his beloved, for example; but try as I may I just don't buy it.

Archimedes also has a loyal slave who is Roman, and his interactions with the Roman Army outside Syracuse's walls (the target of Archimedean catapults) are the primary driver of the story's events, and I think designed to be some kind of moral exposition.

Overall, an entertaining read that takes big liberties without ever contradicting the actual history. A hard combo done well here.


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The SandReckoner Gillian Bradshaw Books Reviews

Archimedes - a mathmetician living in Syracuse on the island of Sicily mightn't sound like the sort of ancient historical figure or setting that could stir up a memorable story but Gillian's beautiful writing, research and imagination (as she is blending fact and fiction) changes all that.

The events within the story are set within the 1st Punic Wars when Rome was a fledgling power(3rd C BC) and Carthage was a threat. Caught in between this is the Grecian influenced city of Syracuse - Archimedes home city. It gives an interesting and amusing view of how the Greek people perceived the Romans. "Amusing" in the sense that the Romans, who regarded most of their Empires people as "Barbarians", were actually held in similar low esteem by people of Greek culture.

Archimedes contribution is his ability to use his mathematical genius and combine it with his engineering know-how to produce war machines to defend his city. But its not so simple when your close friend and slave (Marcus) is a Roman with plenty to hide and whose people are camped outside your gates, you are enamored with the Kings gorgeous sister, some powerfull people close to the King detest you and others would like you to fail at a time you can least afford to.

The King seems a nice ruler, but Archimedes is not sure if the King is

someone to be feared or respected given his ambitions for the future and the Kings seem to clash.

The book is a nice study of the human psyche. How much we wish to follow our own ambitions vs those of others, how we adapt to the conflicting emotions caused by; loyalty vs betrayal, love vs rejection, desire for success vs fear of failure,etc.

The book is not non stop action or endless romance or adventure. Its primary focus is on the thoughts, motivations, and desires of Archimedes and those of the people around him at a time of crisis. Mathematics never was as interestingly used in a novel as in this one and you will actually be surprised how Gillian uses it to create interest in the telling of this tale and in Archimedes himself.

If you havent read this authoresses books before - The Sand Reckoner will give you a favourable appreciation i am sure of her.
Anyone who has read Gillian Bradshaw knows that she is a master of characterization. Here in "The Sand-Reckoner", she brings the complicated mind of the Archi-Mechanic, Archimedes, to life in a simple well-written literary manner that can be compared to Ron Howard's equally marvelous glimpse inside the mind of Nobel Prize Winning Game Theorist John Nash in the film, "A Beautiful Mind". Bradshaw allows the reader to understand Archimedes' distractions, his love of mathematics, his enjoyment of and utter concentration employed in solving a puzzle and his disgust at the practical and barbaric uses of his mind exercises. Better yet, her auxillary cast of characters illustrates through their exasperation and confusion the impact such a different mind has on those it touches. Bradshaw crafts a simple story revolving around Archimede's desire to return to the learned city of Alexandria and his feelings of nationalism towards his home city of Syracuse, now besieged by the Romans during the first Punic War. The interplay of characters and their motives is superb. Marcus, his Roman slave, torn between his love of his adopted 'family' and his ties to his country, contends with Archimedes' lack of practicality-- a lack his mother and sister have grown to understand but find frustrating. King Hierion, tyrant of Syracuse, wishes only to harness Archimedes' great skill in building seige machines and uses Archimedes' patriotism to chain him to the city. Delia, the king's sister and master musician is intrigued by the young genius and finds through him a way to live the life of which she has been dreaming. Great emotions tug at the reader's heart as the story unfolds; each of the characters embodies only the best of ideals. The reader comes away with a sense of touching the great mind of Archimedes himself but also basks in the light of the selflessness of the Marcus character, whose bravery I found myself thinking about days after finishing the novel.

Recommended to all those who love an uncomplicated historical novel with a straightfoward story and unforgettable characters.
As somebody who spends a bit of time reading about ancient technology and Hellenistic antiquity, I glommed this tome once the bot figured to put it in front of my face.

Archimedes himself in history is a relative unknown quantity, so the author taking liberties with who he is - his family, his temperament, personality - are all perfectly understandable, though I find her imagining of Archimedes as not impossible, but somewhat implausible.

The Archimedes in this book is an obviously Asperger-level savant, lost in a world of geometry and numbers, with all the mental tics and faculty-deficits elsewhere that usually accompany such gifts. That is not my crass estimation of such people either, but a promoted property of this Archimedes and used as a plot device - when convenient. Yet this guy somehow retains enough practical capacity to not just design but manage the building of complex catapults (like running a business), and enough social capacity to woo gorgeous yet tempestuous princesses. That is a hard trifecta to reconcile in a single person and remain believable. Bradshaw makes mighty efforts to do this with music as a bridge between Archimedes and his beloved, for example; but try as I may I just don't buy it.

Archimedes also has a loyal slave who is Roman, and his interactions with the Roman Army outside Syracuse's walls (the target of Archimedean catapults) are the primary driver of the story's events, and I think designed to be some kind of moral exposition.

Overall, an entertaining read that takes big liberties without ever contradicting the actual history. A hard combo done well here.