"Armies of the Trojan War?" Topic

I'm curious if anyone has bought this book from Caliver Books? The cover illustration seems to be a bit too 'Classical' for the Late Bronze Age and I would like to know any thoughts before I spend money on a book that would be better spent on figures.

Any comments?

If you mean this one :
Armies of the Trojan War
Gabriele Esposito
ISBN: 978-1-85818-686-3
234mmx156mm,
80 pages, well illustrated
£17.50 GBP GBP
I would go for it.

I can see where some of the bits of the cover illustration's gear are coming from, but the muscle-detail and nipples on the cuirass do look more classical than Bronze Age, and the not-quite pteryges fringing just looks weird. Personally, I'd try to look before buying, or at least wait for a review or two.

Belgian Ray,

That's the one.

GurKhan,

That's what I was looking for – a review. Living in Poland, it'll be impossible for me to 'look before I buy' – nothing new really but dropping 25 GBP on a book that'll sit on the shelf because it doesn't help me in painting some of the bronze age armies is something I don't need. I've got books by Connelly and the various Osprey but still… if this book has any idea on the Trojan allies (like it says in most descriptions), it might be worth the money.

SWAMPKING : if you allready have the books you are mentionning then this will probably be the last one you'll buy on the subject. You really don't need anything else.
I don't hein you'll be painting nipples.

Belgian Ray,

Nah, I won't be painting nipples on any of the Acheans. Now, if I branch out into a 'what if' are and buy some Amazons from Irregular, then nipples all the way! ;)

I received the book just a few minutes ago in the post. My first impression is that a lot of the material for the book is based a bit on a more 'classical' look. While the illustrations are interesting, at first glance, I'm not so certain about all the beards on the Trojans but that's a minor quibble, I guess. In general, Mr. Esposito, seems that have gone for a more 'Asiatic' look for the Trojans and a more 'hillbilly' look for the various Trojan allies.

While this is not implausible, it is quite unexpected. As an example, Paris has the look of a 'classical' Persian archer, just without the beard and the 'Trojan charioteer' looks like illustrations I've seen of various maryannu – again, not implausible but not very original.

The 'Trojan warrior' seems to look more Assyrian or Babylonian than 'Trojan', while the Paeonian looks suspiciously like a Late Roman Empire German warrior. Again, it's not implausible – I guess – but I'm thinking that pants/trousers, while not unknown in the Bronze Age may not have been worn that much.

I've yet to read the book, having just glanced at the prints of the various warriors but I'm a little disappointed by the book itself. It might give me some better ideas once I've read it but for now, I'll give it a 'cautious buy'. I got my copy for around $25 USD USD and, at present, I can't say it's worth the money. If I change my mind after having read the book, I'll mention it in this thread.

So, here is the 'official' review for this book. Hopefully, it'll help someone who is struggling with this period and the lack of sources.

The book is a fairly easy read, clocking in at 74 pages. While advertised as concentrating on the 'military' aspects of the conflict, I'm unsure as to where the content is supposed to be other than 3 and 1/2 pages of information that is already well-known. The prints themselves are interesting but again, not necessarily new.

The book was originally written in Italian and then translated into English and it shows. The book suffers from a lack of a proofreader or copy editor. Furthermore, it seems that the section on Troy's allies has been copied from Wikipedia almost verbatim. Finally, as stated in my brief review above, the plates, particularly of Achilles, Paris, the Trojan charioteer, the Thracian, the Trojan warrior, and the Paeonian warrior just don't seem to fit the time period. Again, it's just a subjective opinion but it would seem that the Trojans were more influenced by Hittites and Mycenaean culture/military culture than by other 'Asiatic' cultures.

The book is an overall disappointment, and while I might use some of the plates as a reference for the Acheans, I wouldn't not recommend this book for any gamer trying to paint figures for this period.