The Long War is a series of historical novels written by US-born Canadian Christian Cameron. The stories are the first-person recollections of an old warrior, Arimnestos of Plataea, regaling the guests at his daughter's wedding feast with his life and experiences during the Greco-Persian Wars.
The novels in the series are:
- Killer of Men (2010)
- Marathon (2011)
- Poseidon's Spear (2013)
- The Great King (2014)
- Salamis (2015)
- Rage of Ares (2016)
The Long War series contains examples of:
- And the Adventure Continues: Arminestos concludes Rage of Ares by hinting at other crazy adventures he had in the aftermath of the Greco-Persian wars.
Cameron himself says in the afterword that he'd be more than happy to write about them. - Arc Words: "I never promised you a happy story." And it isn't although, fortunately it isn't
excessively depressing either. - At Least I Admit It Arimnestos with some of his less savoury exploits. "Let's not mince words" is the phrase commonly used.
- Ax-Crazy: Idomeneus, the "mad Cretan bastard" in Arimnestos' own words, loves fighting and killing to the extent that makes even other battle-hardened characters uncomfortable, and his first, last, and usually only suggestion for solving problems involves killing everyone involved and letting the gods sort them out. Despite this, he remains one of Arimnestos' closest friends.
- Badass Bookworm: the hero is one, having learned to read at an early age and studied under the philosopher Heraclitus.
- Blood Knight: Arimnetos of Plataea struggles with this in his youth and his reputation as a violent and piratical Killer of Men lingers on.
- Idomeneus, Arimnestos hypaspistnote and later friend and ally, is also one and, unlike Arimnestos, never grows out of it. The only time he gets fed up with fighting and killing is in the aftermath of Marathon.
- Boring, but Practical:
- The Plataeans revere Leitos a Greek hero from the Trojan war, who once stopped a rampaging Hector by having his fellow Greeks form a shield wall and let Hector attack it until he wore himself out.
- When Arimnestos is first taught swordsmanship, he's told that if he's facing armored opponents it's better to strike at the same spot repeatedly if one can, rather than at any opening that presents itself, as this makes it easier to get past the armor. Basically, go for a Critical Hit over a Death of a Thousand Cuts.
- Crazy Enough to Work: Some of Arimnestos's naval tactics qualify for this. However, he claims to know just what his crews are capable of pulling off.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Of course, the hero practices slavery and has few qualms about killing his enemies just like everyone else. However, Arimnestos has perhaps the most "modern" mentalities in the stories, especially when slavery is concerned. Explained as being because of his own experiences as a slave.
- Epigraph: excerpts from Ancient Greek texts preceed parts of some of the books.
- Goal in Life: Arimnestos's goals naturally change as he ages. Early on they usually involve glory and/or Briseis. In Poseidon's Spear he seeks revenge for his enslavement and then enrichment. Later in life his focus is on protecting his family and saving Greece.
- Historical Domain Character: Numerous famous figures from Persia, Athens, Sparta, and other parts of the Greek world appear, as one would expect given the setting. Arimnestos himself is one, albeit everything we know about him could fit on an A5 page.
- One of the wedding guests listening to Arimnestos' account - a "young gentleman from Halicarnassus" - is explicitly Herodotus himself.
- Hypocrisy Nod: Aging Arimnestos as a narrator acknowledges that although he hates slavery, he keeps many slaves. Justifies it by claiming that he frees them after a certain time.
- The Leader: Arimnestos, all his life. He may not always be the one in charge but people tend to look to him in matters of war.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Since Arimnestos was enslaved twice in his life the members of high society in Syracuse want nothing to do with him. Tends to vary from culture to culture, where some don't care about his former enslavement and others consider it highly shameful.
- Pro Bono Barter: In some places, like Crete and parts of Gaul, trading is considered low and demeaning. Therefore one is expected to offer gifts and the receiver is then honour-bound to offer a reciprocal gift. The protagonist sneers at this but plays along. Also in-universe compared to the customs in The Iliad.
- Sacred Hospitality: Sometimes invoked, and the hero certainly takes this very seriously. Both Greeks and Persians will go to great lengths to honour this custom.
- War Is Glorious: In a balancing act worthy of Cirque du Soleil Cameron somehow manages to convey that Greek-Persian Wars were both horrible, and Greece's finest hour at the same time.
- War Is Hell: The devastation and loss of life in the Greek-Persian Wars are described in vivid detail, and named, established characters are liable to get offed unceremoniously at a moment's notice. And yet...
- Will Not Tell a Lie: the Persian nobles are famously taught to ride a horse, shoot a bow, and tell the truth, and they dilligently practice all three, even when lying would've been the prudent thing to do.
- Worthy Opponent: Sees the Persians as this, when he is not actively working with his Persian friends. In fact Arimnestos generally views all cultures and most people as having good and bad points. The one exception he makes (due to his mistreatment as their slave) is for Carthaginians, finding them loathsome.
