Mikhail Gladkikh, The Age of Heroes (Quasaris Press 2023)
What caused the Bronze Age collapse in the 12th Century BCE Mediterranean? This novel imagines that it was all the fault of the Olympian gods, meddling in the Trojan War with the use of advanced technology.
Wanax (king) of Pylos Nestor has called a summit. The Trojans have broken their treaty with Pylos to form an alliance with the Hittites, and Hittite princess Ehli-nikkal (Helen), who had been promised to Nestor’s son Echelaos, is betrothed to prince Alaksandru of Wilusa (Troy). Wanax Agamemnon of Mycenae promises to rally all the Ahhiyawa (Achaeans) and Crete. Akhilleus is rallying the northmen of Iolkos. Machaon leads the chariotry from Miletus.
Meanwhile, Assyria’s great king Ninurta-apal-ekkur is forming alliances to counter the threat from Egypt and uses the window provided by the Achaeans’ war to conquer Carchemish.
Grave robbers break into the accursed tomb of Akhenaten at Pi-Ramesse, loosing a deadly force, until the goddess Wadjet steps in to help. There is an interesting take on the ‘curse’ of pharoahs’ tombs.
Meanwhile, the Soarers (Olympian gods) are entering the human affray with ‘flying metal birds shooting deadly blue rays’. Some new technological ‘alien entities’ threaten even the gods, and they are fighting back using bio-engineering and science. And the Sea People are on the move, ready for conquest.
Gladkikh does an admirable job of creating characters inhabiting this misty ancient time. Some of the names are known to history, mythology or archaeology, and I like the way he uses the original, ancient names. The story differs a bit from Homer, especially when the sci-fi elements come in, but it features many of the same dramatis personae. He also does an admirable job of painting us a picture of the Bronze Age world, although the dialogue sometimes slips into 21st century jargon.
Like Homer’s tale, the connection between the gods and the earthlings is a bit tenuous, especially the advanced technology bit, and it gets more confusing toward the end. The high-tech bits could have been more clearly explained. I wasn’t sure whether they represented some technology we now recognise, or inventions. I didn’t understand the ‘alien entities’.
The pre-Trojan Mycenaean world is wonderful. Mixing Sci-Fi and the Trojan War is highly original.
Susie Helme 
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