Today at the library I stumbled upon an interesting title while looking for another book on the same shelf.

Since I had visited Hattusha, The Hittite Capital, I decided to check out the book. The Hittite was written by Ben Bova who is much better known for Science Fiction.

The book begins with a small group of Hatti warriors returning to Hattusha only to find it being looted as the Hittite Empire was falling apart.

Lukka, the leader of the group, finds that his wife and sons had been carried away in a slave caravan and sets off with his band of twelve men to save them.

The men travel across what is today Turkey and end up at Troy where his family had been taken. They are then drawn into the siege of Troy and Bova gives us an interesting look at the ensuing battle.

We see Lukka interact with Achilles, Odysseos, Hector, Paris and Helen of Troy. Bova has an interesting interpretation of the Trojan Horse and also an interesting fate for Helen. I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone who might be interested, so won’t give any more details.

This is a must read if you enjoy reading about history and mythology of this area of the world. Bova has some interesting insights in this retelling of the Trojan War.

I was expecting a Historical Fiction novel set in the ancient Hittite Empire, but I was not entirely disappointed. I did read the entire 300+ page book this afternoon while watching the World Cup. It was hard to put down the book and go do much needed yard work.

Steven