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Alexander At The World's End
Describes the final days of the struggle between the Allies and Japan during World War II and depicts the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan
434 pages, Hardcover
First published August 5, 1999
About the author
Tom Holt
100 books1,192 followersTom Holt (Thomas Charles Louis Holt) is a British novelist.
He was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel Holt, and was educated at Westminster School, Wadham College, Oxford, and The College of Law, London.
Holt's works include mythopoeic novels which parody or take as their theme various aspects of mythology, history or literature and develop them in new and often humorous ways. He has also produced a number of "straight" historical novels writing as Thomas Holt and fantasy novels writing as K.J. Parker.
He was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel Holt, and was educated at Westminster School, Wadham College, Oxford, and The College of Law, London.
Holt's works include mythopoeic novels which parody or take as their theme various aspects of mythology, history or literature and develop them in new and often humorous ways. He has also produced a number of "straight" historical novels writing as Thomas Holt and fantasy novels writing as K.J. Parker.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 23, 2012
Don’t miss the last hundred pages, that trash Alexander, his person, his campaigns, in a sustained circus-performance piece of absurdism – from which you can’t tear your eyes away – that may be quite accurate. He knows his history – I feel a dill to say so – and it’s not that he distorts, he just gives a grotesquer interpretation of the facts. I thought this flight, this exhibition, because it is a bit exhibitionist – Alexander’s campaigns – was brilliant.
I have nothing against Alexander. But nothing’s sacred in here and nobody – not Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, not ancient Greece and not our species. Is it satirical historical? I can only liken it to Troilus & Cressida, what Shakespeare did to Homer; and we don’t know what to call that – tragi-comedy? It’s savage, as you know who’ve been there, as gruelling as it is funny. This one isn’t funny when a Greek colony and the local Scythians wipe each other out on the Black Sea. Another project that began in the name of politics.
Until we went on campaign with Alexander I thought the main target was politics – a little ahead of philosophy, or else Athens and its intellectual institutions, that we inherit (as he makes plain too – we can’t squirm out of target range). Every stripe of politics is cut to shreds; politics itself, I think, is a Bad, but man is a political animal, quote Aristotle (whose shade doesn’t want to read this book).
You can read this book either to have a laugh every fifth page – it’s that funny, and the writing’s witty – or to see what else a historical novel can do.
I have nothing against Alexander. But nothing’s sacred in here and nobody – not Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, not ancient Greece and not our species. Is it satirical historical? I can only liken it to Troilus & Cressida, what Shakespeare did to Homer; and we don’t know what to call that – tragi-comedy? It’s savage, as you know who’ve been there, as gruelling as it is funny. This one isn’t funny when a Greek colony and the local Scythians wipe each other out on the Black Sea. Another project that began in the name of politics.
Until we went on campaign with Alexander I thought the main target was politics – a little ahead of philosophy, or else Athens and its intellectual institutions, that we inherit (as he makes plain too – we can’t squirm out of target range). Every stripe of politics is cut to shreds; politics itself, I think, is a Bad, but man is a political animal, quote Aristotle (whose shade doesn’t want to read this book).
You can read this book either to have a laugh every fifth page – it’s that funny, and the writing’s witty – or to see what else a historical novel can do.
December 13, 2019
A follow on historical novel by this author, from his The Walled Orchard about Ancient Greece, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe not quite as much as The Walled Orchard but that’s probably because I’m getting saturated with Ancient Greece after over a 1000+ pages from these two books that I’ve read back to back.
The author again employs a first person narrative, an autobiographical story written by Euxenus, an Athenian, over the period when Alexander the Great was conquering the known world (known to the Greeks, in any case). Euxenus is now old, in a newly founded Greek city at the edge of Alexander’s sprawling empire and writing his life story for posterity to a friend we never meet. In fact, Euxenus is the grandson of the first person narrator of The Walled Orchard (Eupolis), and there are references to some of the events in that book so it makes sense to read The Walled Orchard first if you’re going to commit to reading these novels on Ancient Greece.
In this book Euxenus describes having to make his own way in life, despite coming from a large wealthy Athenian farming family. He trains as a philosopher! In reality that means learning to live by his wits; part con-man, part fortune teller, and just a bit of a wise man. He becomes a tutor to the young Alexander for a while. Despite the book’s title suggesting a prominent place for Alexander himself, this is the only significant point in the book where we get close to this world conquering figure (plus something more at some point towards the book’s conclusion). Euxenus doesn’t have a high opinion of the young prince;
“You’d have to crush a dozen Alexanders in an olive-press before you could extract enough humanity to make up an ordinary person. As a human being, he was tiny.”
The prince is a brave man, bold, curious and keen to learn, but the above is probably a good summary of all people whose main ambition is to ruthlessly conquer others.
Euxenus moves on and gets involved in founding a Greek colony on the Black Sea shores, a common Greek activity, and we spend much of our time finding out the details, including the difficult relations with local natives. There is some violence between the new neighbours which is portrayed in a typical manner by this author as poorly planned, confusing and usually pointless. Eventually Euxenus’ distant links to Alexander result in him being uprooted from a settled life to this distant outpost of Alexander’s empire in central Asia.
As with The Walled Orchard the author is not writing an adventure themed plot, even if the narrator ends up seeing much more of the world than he expected. No glorious battles or heroes, but a well researched fictional story of how he sees everyday life in Ancient Greece, and its surrounds. There are earth shattering conquests going on in the rest of the world but we only hear of them secondhand. You will learn a lot about Greek farming, trade and bee keeping! Also some thoughts on the ideal society/community, a feature revisited by a number of Greek philosophers, including Euxenus in his part time philosopher role.
Sounds a bit boring? Well, I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone, and not for adventure and escapist orientated friends. But if you’re in the mood for well researched historical fiction, especially in that famous period, and you enjoy the more serious KJ Parker/Tom Holt writing style then it’s a pleasurable and relaxing read, casual, chatty prose, mixed with some dry, wry, humour in places. I confess to being just a little bit in love with his writing style, which commonly gets side tracked from what plot there is into side alleys where you learn well researched stuff about ancient lifestyles, and the back stories of his fictional (and some not so fictional) characters.
One minor caveat. Once again the lead character has a rather sad personal relationship with his wife, as in The Walled Orchard. Similarly, outbreaks of passion and declarations of love seem absent from the KJ Parker fantasy books (a Tom Holt pen name) I’ve read so far. It would be good to just discover one character who is more of a slave to passion than he normally writes!
The author again employs a first person narrative, an autobiographical story written by Euxenus, an Athenian, over the period when Alexander the Great was conquering the known world (known to the Greeks, in any case). Euxenus is now old, in a newly founded Greek city at the edge of Alexander’s sprawling empire and writing his life story for posterity to a friend we never meet. In fact, Euxenus is the grandson of the first person narrator of The Walled Orchard (Eupolis), and there are references to some of the events in that book so it makes sense to read The Walled Orchard first if you’re going to commit to reading these novels on Ancient Greece.
In this book Euxenus describes having to make his own way in life, despite coming from a large wealthy Athenian farming family. He trains as a philosopher! In reality that means learning to live by his wits; part con-man, part fortune teller, and just a bit of a wise man. He becomes a tutor to the young Alexander for a while. Despite the book’s title suggesting a prominent place for Alexander himself, this is the only significant point in the book where we get close to this world conquering figure (plus something more at some point towards the book’s conclusion). Euxenus doesn’t have a high opinion of the young prince;
“You’d have to crush a dozen Alexanders in an olive-press before you could extract enough humanity to make up an ordinary person. As a human being, he was tiny.”
The prince is a brave man, bold, curious and keen to learn, but the above is probably a good summary of all people whose main ambition is to ruthlessly conquer others.
Euxenus moves on and gets involved in founding a Greek colony on the Black Sea shores, a common Greek activity, and we spend much of our time finding out the details, including the difficult relations with local natives. There is some violence between the new neighbours which is portrayed in a typical manner by this author as poorly planned, confusing and usually pointless. Eventually Euxenus’ distant links to Alexander result in him being uprooted from a settled life to this distant outpost of Alexander’s empire in central Asia.
As with The Walled Orchard the author is not writing an adventure themed plot, even if the narrator ends up seeing much more of the world than he expected. No glorious battles or heroes, but a well researched fictional story of how he sees everyday life in Ancient Greece, and its surrounds. There are earth shattering conquests going on in the rest of the world but we only hear of them secondhand. You will learn a lot about Greek farming, trade and bee keeping! Also some thoughts on the ideal society/community, a feature revisited by a number of Greek philosophers, including Euxenus in his part time philosopher role.
Sounds a bit boring? Well, I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone, and not for adventure and escapist orientated friends. But if you’re in the mood for well researched historical fiction, especially in that famous period, and you enjoy the more serious KJ Parker/Tom Holt writing style then it’s a pleasurable and relaxing read, casual, chatty prose, mixed with some dry, wry, humour in places. I confess to being just a little bit in love with his writing style, which commonly gets side tracked from what plot there is into side alleys where you learn well researched stuff about ancient lifestyles, and the back stories of his fictional (and some not so fictional) characters.
One minor caveat. Once again the lead character has a rather sad personal relationship with his wife, as in The Walled Orchard. Similarly, outbreaks of passion and declarations of love seem absent from the KJ Parker fantasy books (a Tom Holt pen name) I’ve read so far. It would be good to just discover one character who is more of a slave to passion than he normally writes!
June 11, 2010
Sadly, the last Tom Holt historical novel so far - as I got to read them of course, not in chronological or publication order since this one is 3rd as chronology goes and 2nd as publication and counting The Walled Orchard as one novel as in the omnibus -
While the Nero novel was the subtlest in some ways, this one is probably the most reflective of the author's overall theme and approach to his "serious" fiction; the narrator Euxenus, "Cynic" or "yapping dog" philosopher as the original meaning of the word cynic goes, grandson of Eupolis and student of Diogenes is forced to "make a living" when his father unexpectedly dies since the family land can be divided into only so many parts and still insure a "good life" and he draws the wrong peeble when the 6 remaining brothers decided to exclude several of them from the land division as above....
As it happens Euxensus uses his apprenticeship with Diogenes well and convinces rich Athenian and foreign merchants that he possesses the fabled "demon" of Socrates in a jar and he becomes a highly-sought after "fortune teller"; as the demon is thought to manifest as a snake, Euxenus gets invited by Olympias and Philip of Macedon to tutor Alexander and his companions alongside Aristotle and several others and there he bluffs his way into teaching military strategy and making a lasting impression on the young Prince with his straight, no-nonsense, "hate Homer but have to present the epics' wrongness subtly since the Macedonians worship them" talk...
Later he becomes a founder of a colony on the Euxine and much more, always with the reputation as a mighty wizard with a demon in a jar after him...
So if Walled Orchard was more of a personal saga, Meadowland and Olympiad complementary narrators stories reinterpreting in an inimitable way historical events, Nero a picaresque but subtle and later quite dark novel, Alexander is the most "straight-up" philosophical one and distills the essence of the author's themes.
I would say that this two (Nero and Alexander) are masterpieces of historical fiction (though that is a bit of a misnomer - more like meditation on the human condition when belonging to the historical context) and the two must reads alongside the more convention Walled Orchard which sets them up
While the Nero novel was the subtlest in some ways, this one is probably the most reflective of the author's overall theme and approach to his "serious" fiction; the narrator Euxenus, "Cynic" or "yapping dog" philosopher as the original meaning of the word cynic goes, grandson of Eupolis and student of Diogenes is forced to "make a living" when his father unexpectedly dies since the family land can be divided into only so many parts and still insure a "good life" and he draws the wrong peeble when the 6 remaining brothers decided to exclude several of them from the land division as above....
As it happens Euxensus uses his apprenticeship with Diogenes well and convinces rich Athenian and foreign merchants that he possesses the fabled "demon" of Socrates in a jar and he becomes a highly-sought after "fortune teller"; as the demon is thought to manifest as a snake, Euxenus gets invited by Olympias and Philip of Macedon to tutor Alexander and his companions alongside Aristotle and several others and there he bluffs his way into teaching military strategy and making a lasting impression on the young Prince with his straight, no-nonsense, "hate Homer but have to present the epics' wrongness subtly since the Macedonians worship them" talk...
Later he becomes a founder of a colony on the Euxine and much more, always with the reputation as a mighty wizard with a demon in a jar after him...
So if Walled Orchard was more of a personal saga, Meadowland and Olympiad complementary narrators stories reinterpreting in an inimitable way historical events, Nero a picaresque but subtle and later quite dark novel, Alexander is the most "straight-up" philosophical one and distills the essence of the author's themes.
I would say that this two (Nero and Alexander) are masterpieces of historical fiction (though that is a bit of a misnomer - more like meditation on the human condition when belonging to the historical context) and the two must reads alongside the more convention Walled Orchard which sets them up
June 20, 2017
I'm a huge fan of Holt's comic fantasy novels and this was my first time reading one of his historical novels. A very interesting read.
July 8, 2022
Holt/Parker makes it so easy to love his work. Always a favourite. 5+⭐️
December 27, 2020
I loved Holt's more fantasy works (especially under his KJ Parker pen-name), so was eager to try his pure historical fiction.
What to Expect
This is a story about the world Alexander the Great lived in (or left in ruins, depend on how you look at it), rather than about Alexander himself. It reads alomst like a love letter to ancient Greece itself -- not to the grand art and philosphy, but to the daily life that supported it, in all its craziness and occasional ugliness. People being people, throughout the ages.
The story is told from (mostly) the point of view of Euxenus, a one-time tutor to Alexander. He's a cynic (literally and figuratively, as a student of Diogenes), writing memoirs as an old man about his life, and about Alexander's looming influence. A small part at the end is told from the view of Euxenus' brother, an officer in Alexander's army. Here, too, the focus is on army-life rather than wars.
What I liked
I loved the level of historical detail, the little things about how life really felt like in the 4th century BCE Greek world (which extended far beyond Greece). The narrative is in multiple layers, with Euxenus' life both a way to describe events and people, but also the human experience and a certain constancy of it. He's an interesting, mostly likeable character.
What to be aware of
This isn't your usual grand adventure type novel about Alexander's conquests. The man himself is not portrayed in a good light (and to be fair, his megalomania and detachment are probably close to the real person). The cynical old man tone might not appeal to many readers either.
Felix's Review
Felix had no surprises that such men of world-conquering high stature are rotten bastards who've lost touch with reality. In his world, Alexander's conquest are a mere century and a half earlier; he was intimately familiar with many of life's little idiosyncrasies, and it confirms how his own Egretia (Rome) rose to prominence over the collapse of his empire.
Summary
It's an interesting, though not always an easy read. Highly recommended if you'd like a different point of view about life in antiquity, about conquest and colonisation as well as philosophy and beekeeping.
--
Enjoying the reviews, but wondering who the heck is that Felix fellow? Glad you asked! He's the protagonist of the Toags, Daggers, and Magic series, an historical-fantasy blend of a paranormal detective on the background of ancient Rome.
Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
What to Expect
This is a story about the world Alexander the Great lived in (or left in ruins, depend on how you look at it), rather than about Alexander himself. It reads alomst like a love letter to ancient Greece itself -- not to the grand art and philosphy, but to the daily life that supported it, in all its craziness and occasional ugliness. People being people, throughout the ages.
The story is told from (mostly) the point of view of Euxenus, a one-time tutor to Alexander. He's a cynic (literally and figuratively, as a student of Diogenes), writing memoirs as an old man about his life, and about Alexander's looming influence. A small part at the end is told from the view of Euxenus' brother, an officer in Alexander's army. Here, too, the focus is on army-life rather than wars.
What I liked
I loved the level of historical detail, the little things about how life really felt like in the 4th century BCE Greek world (which extended far beyond Greece). The narrative is in multiple layers, with Euxenus' life both a way to describe events and people, but also the human experience and a certain constancy of it. He's an interesting, mostly likeable character.
What to be aware of
This isn't your usual grand adventure type novel about Alexander's conquests. The man himself is not portrayed in a good light (and to be fair, his megalomania and detachment are probably close to the real person). The cynical old man tone might not appeal to many readers either.
Felix's Review
Felix had no surprises that such men of world-conquering high stature are rotten bastards who've lost touch with reality. In his world, Alexander's conquest are a mere century and a half earlier; he was intimately familiar with many of life's little idiosyncrasies, and it confirms how his own Egretia (Rome) rose to prominence over the collapse of his empire.
Summary
It's an interesting, though not always an easy read. Highly recommended if you'd like a different point of view about life in antiquity, about conquest and colonisation as well as philosophy and beekeeping.
--
Enjoying the reviews, but wondering who the heck is that Felix fellow? Glad you asked! He's the protagonist of the Toags, Daggers, and Magic series, an historical-fantasy blend of a paranormal detective on the background of ancient Rome.
Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
February 7, 2019
I really wanted to like this book, because I so enjoyed Blonde Bombshell (my review). Holt's humor & ability to spin a yarn was on fabulous display in Bombshell.
Sadly here, the wit was trying to rescue the book, but it wasn't enough.
Alexander at the World's End is a "historical fiction" work built around the character of Alexander the Great (duh). It is told from the perspective of Euxenus, his erstwhile teacher cum philosopher cum settlement governor, starting from Alexander's youth under Euxenus' tutelage, to his death - which is presented as a simple story at the end.
On the positive side, it was enjoyable to experience a well-imagined life of an Ancient Greek citizen, both in his poor (wealth) moments, and his not-so-poor ones.
Holt tries to make Euxenus the humorous one, and sadly, it must simply be hard to make an Ancient Greek philosopher into a clever main character of a book. The humor mostly fell flat for me, and Holt takes a long while to make the attempt.
My other main complaint is that the last 20% of the book is the late introduction of another character also important to Euxenus. It's not so much that adding a character late is a problem; it's that Holt proceeds to tell this characters life story / biography within the Alexander biography. And while it is used as the vehicle to deliver a story of Alexander's military conquest, I was done with this book before he even started this thread, and it was a small misery to finish it (which I mostly always do unless the book is simply terrible).
So, I don't know whether to try another Holt book. I've got a 5-star experience, and a 3-star one. Any readers of this review have any suggestions?
Sadly here, the wit was trying to rescue the book, but it wasn't enough.
Alexander at the World's End is a "historical fiction" work built around the character of Alexander the Great (duh). It is told from the perspective of Euxenus, his erstwhile teacher cum philosopher cum settlement governor, starting from Alexander's youth under Euxenus' tutelage, to his death - which is presented as a simple story at the end.
On the positive side, it was enjoyable to experience a well-imagined life of an Ancient Greek citizen, both in his poor (wealth) moments, and his not-so-poor ones.
Holt tries to make Euxenus the humorous one, and sadly, it must simply be hard to make an Ancient Greek philosopher into a clever main character of a book. The humor mostly fell flat for me, and Holt takes a long while to make the attempt.
My other main complaint is that the last 20% of the book is the late introduction of another character also important to Euxenus. It's not so much that adding a character late is a problem; it's that Holt proceeds to tell this characters life story / biography within the Alexander biography. And while it is used as the vehicle to deliver a story of Alexander's military conquest, I was done with this book before he even started this thread, and it was a small misery to finish it (which I mostly always do unless the book is simply terrible).
So, I don't know whether to try another Holt book. I've got a 5-star experience, and a 3-star one. Any readers of this review have any suggestions?
December 12, 2025
This was my first encounter with the prolific Tom Holt. It is a remarkable feat of imagination that took me a while to appreciate, but I came to enjoy its combination of historical connections and creative wanderings. Holt chooses to write about his characters in a contemporary mode. Their language and thoughts mirror modern English. This has the effect of making these characters fully human, not stiff characters from a distant time. Their motivations are completely believable because, of course, they are people just like ourselves, but living in the forth century BC.
December 26, 2019
I've had to change my rating, on reflection, from 'it was ok' to 'I didn't like it', because... I didn't like it.
Cynicism is the one entirely overdone philosophy. If the narrator wasn't a Yapping Dog, I would have liked it better. I would also have been more forgiving if this was a novel written in the 18th century, since it has the same sort of meandering ill-proportioned plot as something like 'The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle'.
Cynicism is the one entirely overdone philosophy. If the narrator wasn't a Yapping Dog, I would have liked it better. I would also have been more forgiving if this was a novel written in the 18th century, since it has the same sort of meandering ill-proportioned plot as something like 'The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle'.
September 10, 2023
I like reading about Alexander the Great, and I like reading Tom Holt / KJ Parker. This book is two great tastes that taste great together. Holt handles the constraints of historical fiction rather well -- he's quite clever after all -- and the voice is effused with the expected sly, worldly, resigned wit.
I enjoy that Holt's Alexander is humor-deficient. A nice and not unreasonable touch.
Good stuff.
I enjoy that Holt's Alexander is humor-deficient. A nice and not unreasonable touch.
Good stuff.
July 17, 2024
Such a clever, funny, intriguing and shocking book. The story covers decades of time and vast expanses of territory. The mundane and ordinary is always present alongside the extraordinary doings of Alexander. A pleasure to read.
October 26, 2012
A thoroughly charming book. I'm looking forward to reading the Walled Garden, which apparently is first. Well written, well thought-out... yup, charming. :)
January 4, 2020
A really powerful book. At times this was not particularly pleasant to read, but it definitely is a memorable book.
April 13, 2017
Moderately funny and moderately interesting. Holt writes wholly different books under another name and in completely different styles and voices. I much prefer him as KJ Parker.
Written by 'tutor' to Alexander The Great
Written by 'tutor' to Alexander The Great
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews