Pankration: The Ultimate Game

by Dyan Blacklock

Having been kidnapped from a ship leaving plague-ridden Athens in 430 B.C., twelve-year-old Nic attempts to escape his captors and keep his promise to meet his friend at the Olympic games

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Young Adult, School

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Sarah]

I had to read this for school, and I must say that it's very different than other historical fiction books I've had to read. It's very descriptive in areas where books tend to be vague, like when a man gets stabbed through the hand or the boy gets food poisoning. All in all, I did enjoy it.

[Sofia]

I loved this book so much. I read it as a novel about a year ago and the class still talks about it. It was so action packed and fun that we never wanted to stop reading it!!

[Rebecca Reynolds]

I read this book so that I knew what my daughter was reading at school. I really enjoyed the storyline and the descriptions of everything going on. Great read!

[Senuka]

Amazing Book. Portrays the life of young Nicasylus evolving into a new man.

[Melisende]

Definitely one for the young adult market, which is why I assume it has been on the reading curriculum of many high schools. It wasn't on my reading list, so thought I would give it a go.

[Lachlan]

Eat the rich I say!

[Babyporkchop]

His poor little greek hands must have been in such pain after this ordeal

[Anne Hesketh]

I read this with my 12 year old who will be doing it at school. It’s a bit Percy Jackson for mine but we persevered - the 12 year old struggled with the Greek names and places so I had to make a vocab list and a map as several sea journeys around Greece take place. He isn’t the strongest reader and the foreign words were a bit of an obstacle. Nic ( Nicasylus) must leave Athens to avoid the plague and his step father sends him to his brother to be safe for a while. The uncle only appears at the end as the ship is raided by pirates and Nic ends up in slavery. He has a plan to get to Olympia to see Gellius, the ship’s captain, compete in the Pankration (wrestling but the ancient Greeks were ok with competitors dying so it’s pretty gruesome) The story has an unsettling sadness that perhaps younger readers won’t absorb - Nic is homeless, orphaned and alone and must navigate his own way and with men who would do him harm. There are those who show him kindness as well. Apart from his “ beautiful” sister who had been widowed and sits around moping and waiting for another husband, there is an absence of women in the story (sigh) but ultimately there is a message that can be summed up in a line of poetry Nic remembers from school “gold shines like a burning fire in the night above all proud wealth” and this is what Nic’s journey is about. The story does provide a good insight into what those early Olympics may have been like. I guess for young readers, the lingering question is “Are we ever truly alone and can we ever make it in life on our own?”

[Sangwoo]

Read this book back in 4th grade and loved it. Wish I could find it again to re-read

[Thai]

This is my all time favourite childhood novel. This book contributes to one of the reasons why I love reading till this day. The style of writing is easy to read and the setting and description is well written.

The characters are very engaging. You definitely feel for the protagonist and his journey of hardship. The other characters are just as engaging with a good history.

The plot is seemless. It fits very well and the ending is what made me think how awesome! I was a little kid mind you so I thought it was pretty cool.

To this day, I thank this book for making me turn into a nerrrd. If your son or daughter hates reading then this is a novel to give to them as a present because they'll love it.

[Rennai]

This novel is quick and easy to read and should appeal to those that like ancient Greek history. Percy Jackson readers might like to try it although it is not humorous and does not go into Greek mythology in a big way. There are parts of the description which may drag a little but it soon moves onto the action of the main protagonist (a boy around the age of 12), being kidnapped by brutal pirates and his journey to the Olympics to try to find his savior. There is plenty of violence but it fits with the era. It gives the young reader an idea of life in ancient Greece and the original Olympic games.

[Luke West]

I read this book because I had to for school. The book wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact it actually turned out quite good. In my opinion the book was good. Some reasons the book was good are that it is quite fact full. It is fact full in the way many things such as the events at the Olympic Games are real and pretty much all the names are quite authentic. Another reason the book is good is that there is always a twist around the corner and you can never really tell what it is.

[Crystal]

Read this book because my son was reading it in his literature class at school. Not a book that I would choose, but it was okay - a quick a read.

Content:
A clean read although there was a little violence. The violence was to be expected since the only 2 rules of this ancient Greek Olympic game were 1) no biting or eye gouging and 2) victory was secured through knockout, submission or death.

[Kerryn Lawson]

Curiosity led me to pick this book up. It was used for a reading challenge at my child's school last year and having an avid interest in Ancient History I thought I'd give it a go. It was an easy, enjoyable read with a good pace to keep you turning the pages. For younger readers there is a fair bit of descriptive violence so may not be suitable for all.

[Rachel]

Reviewed for CBPR

[Harla]

This one okay. An interesting take on Roman history. Found it on a list of recommended reading...

[Thomas Young]

A good and cleverly writen book.

[Sam Hall]

a great short and interesting read, it's educating while being a fun engaging read!

[James Weir]

a thrilling book that intruiged me how different life is now

[Will Clerk]

it was a good book and was exciting. but not my favorite

[Owen Law]

i think it was very well written, always kept you wanting to read more. The chacracteristics shown in the book were outstanding. Dyan Blacklock did a good job.

[Alec Kelly]

i read this book as a class novel but i still enjoied. its about the olimpic games!

[Lawson Mcguinness]

falcon amazing

[Michael Young]

This was an interesting read for me as I saw what other peoples felt in the Spartan's era. As some groups, expecially the slaves had a very hard time due to the Spartans.

[John]

Good book and i recommend you reading because it is about a sport millions of years ago.

[Melanie Williams]

A good opener for studying Greece and the Olympics.

[Akshar]

I forgot mb g