History Literature / TheTroySaga

The Troy Saga is a series of historical fantasy novels written by Creator/DavidGemmell, detailing a reimagining of the [[Literature/TrojanCycle Trojan War]]. Set in the late Bronze Age and [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters featuring a cast size befitting of its epic scope]], the series primarily follows the three characters. Helikaon [[note]] also known as Aeneas [[/note]], a troubled prince of Dardania. Andromache the proud royal priestess of the isle of Thera fated to wed to Hektor, the prince of Troy. And Odysseus, the ugly but famed story-telling King of Ithika. in the years leading up to and during the epic conflict that comes to be called the end of the "Age of Heroes".

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

-->—King Priam



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[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]


The Troy Saga is a series of historical fantasy novels written by Creator/DavidGemmell, detailing a reimagining of the [[Literature/TrojanCycle Trojan War]]. Set in the late Bronze Age and [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters featuring a cast size befitting of its epic scope]], the series primarily follows the three characters of Helikaon [[note]] also known as Aeneas [[/note]], Andromache, and Odysseus in the years leading up to and during the epic conflict that comes to be called the end of the "Age of Heroes".

* TogetherInDeath: Both Laodike and Argurious die the same of the besiegement of Priam's Palace by Agathon and the Mkyene. Priam's revealed to have built a tomb to house their remains in the second book, honoring their love for one another.
* TimeSkip: About 2/3rds of the way through ''Shield of Thunder'', the series does a time jump of about three years going from the day the alliance between Mykene and Troy breaks down to the war between them now well underway.
* RapePillageAndBurn: A common recurrence throughout the series, in particular a favorite tactic of Mykene pirates.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Helikaon is prone to these that earns him a terrifying reputation. The most notable being from the first book where in revenge for the Mykene-led raid of his country that saw his step-brother killed and step-mother raped, Helikaon leads a punitive expedition to the pirate haven of Pithros. He killed all the men on the island and sold their remaining wives and children into slavery so there would be no solid eye-witness evidence of his involvement so as to prevent a war from breaking out between his kingdom and Dardania. He crucifixes the leader of the island but gives him a MercyKill before departing.

* TogerherInDeath: Both Laodike and Argurious die the same of the besiegement of Priam's Palace by Agathon and the Mkyene. Priam's revealed to have built a tomb to house their remains in the second book, honoring their love for one another.

** The Trojan Army is this as well. In the aforementioned siege of the Trojan War palace, there's only around a 100 or so of the Trojan Army fending off the 1,200 Thrakian/Mykene attackers.

* PraetorianGuard: The Trojan Eagles, Priam's bodyguards.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Helikaon is prone to these that earns him a terrifying reputation. The most notable being from the first book where in revenge for the Mykene-led raid of his country that saw his step-brother killed and step-mother raped, Helikaon leads a punitive expedition to the pirate haven of Pithros. As the island is within Mykene territory, he killed all the men on the island and sold their remaining wives and children into slavery so there would be no solid eye-witness evidence of his involvement so as to prevent a war from breaking out between his kingdom and Dardania. He crucifixes the leader of the island but gives him a MercyKill before departing.

* StarCrossedLovers: Helikaon and Andromache for most of the series. Helikaon falls in lover with her as soon as he lays eyes on her and by the end of the book, Andromache is in love with him as well but their respective roles and duties that come with them keep them apart. Andromache is setup in an arranged marriage to Hektor as part of an alliance between Troy and her home of Thebe. Hektor is also a close friend of Helikaon, who he does not wish to hurt or betray. In addition, the murder of his step-brother forces him to take on official leadership of Dardania rather than just acting as regent and can no longer afford to marry for love as hoped.

* VestigalEmpire: Downplayed with the Hittite Empire. Many characters comment they are on the decline but they are still far and away more powerful than the various kingdoms that the majority of characters that makeup the series come from. Even boastful and arrogant kings like Priam and Agamemnon have to acknowledge this in their dealings with the Hittite Emperors.

* FieryRedhead: Andromache.
* Foreshadowing:

* InUniverseNickname: Helikaon starts off the series and is frequently referred to as "The Golden One" and following his various burning alive of Mykene pirates he gains the title "The Burner".

** The Trojan Army as well.

** One of the most notable ones is from the first book

* CallToAgriculture: When not off serving in his father's army, Hektor can often be found at his relatively simple farm located outside Troy. How he first meets Andromache, both setup in an arranged marriage, is him tending to his very muddy pigs.

** One of the most notable ones is when

* InferredSurvival: In time of the epilogue, Andomache still insists Odysseus' is alive even though by that time no one's heard from for 10 years and even at the start of the series he was quite old (by Bronze Age standards).

* VoluntaryVassal: Troy here is a tribute kingdom of the Hittite Empire, Hektor has even served in the Hittite Army in it's wars against Egypt. The reason the conquest of Troy by the Mykene is so short is that they are forced to abandon it by the arrival of 30,000 strong army led by the Hittite Emperor, who does not take kindly to one his most loyal vassal states being destroyed by foreign plunderers.

* AdaptationalHeroism: In keeping with many other modern depictions of the Trojan War, Hektor here is arguably the most heroic and noble minded character in the entire series. While he wasn't exactly evil in Literature/TheIliad, some of his more dubious acts from the original material are omitted here.

* ArrangedMarriage: Just about all the major characters of noble birth are either already in one or are in the engagement stage.

* DoomedByCanon: While it is a reimagining and some differences are to be expected, it's not surprising both Troy and many characters on sides of the conflict aren't long for the world due to their fates in the original source material.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: A common motif throughout the series. In revenge for the murder of his step-brother and rape of his step-mother, Helikaon leads a punitive expedition

* ProudWarriorRace: Deconstructed with the Mykene. They see themselves as this and their battle prowess certainly doesn't seem to be in doubt but their constant warring, raids, and state-sponsored piracy has made them pariahs to all but their vassal states.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Helikaon is prone to these that earns him a terrifying reputation. The most notable being from the first book where in revenge for the targeted raid of his country that saw his step-brother killed and step-mother raped, Helikaon leads a punitive expedition to the pirate haven of Pithros. As the island is within Mykene territory, he killed all the men on the island and sold their remaining wives and children into slavery so there would be no solid eye-witness evidence of his involvement so as to prevent a war from breaking out between his kingdom and Dardania. He crucifixes the leader of the island but gives him a MercyKill before departing.

* LoveAtFirstSight: Helikaon falls in love with Andromache the moment he first sees her when encounters at night a sea port he's pulled up in, not even knowing who she was. He even notes to himself how odd it is as he's not one to develop close friendships and tries to keep his emotions guarded. For her part, Andromache doesn't think much of him at first but eventually does develop feelings for him as well.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Helikaon's father, Anchises,

* DisproportionateRetribution: How many of the crew of the ''Xanathos'' feel in regards to Helikaon's decision on what to do with the captured Mykene pirate crew following a sea battle. Looking to avenge his friend, Zidantas, who was murdered by the captured Myekene's captain, Kolanos, who escaped the battle on another ship, Helikaon sets ablaze the captured Mykene vessel with the prisoners still held prisoner it on via GreekFire.

* TheDreaded: Helikaon had this reputation developing amongst the Mykene with his defiling of the corpse of Mykene pirate hero, Alektruon, after he was defeated in battle. Grows only more after setting ablaze a ship full of captured Mykene pirates in a later battle in front of an entire bay of onlookers.

* Patricide: Multiple examples throughout the series, most notably is many of Priam's sons have attempted to have him killed.

* {{Demythification}}

* FieryRedhead: Andromache, though she has a far more cooler/biting personality than temperamental.

* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: Odysseus and Penelope. Originally she hated him when they were first wed but grew to love him after he took ill and she nursed him back to health in the intervening weeks.

* AscendedExtra: Helikaon, or Aeneas, is this. While he was, obviously, the main character of Literature/TheAeneid, he was a minor character among many others in the original Literature/TheTrojanCycle.

* EliteArmy: The Trojan Army, in particular the famed Trojan Horse led by Hector. Despite Troy largely being a peace for most of Priam's reign, they're kept experienced/battle-hardened due to Priam constantly loaning them out to neighboring kingdoms and the Hittite Empire to serve in their wars.

* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident:

* ProudWarriorRace: Deconstructed with the Mykene. They certainly see themselves as this and their battle prowess certainly doesn't seem to be in doubt but their constant warring, raids, and state-sponsored piracy has made them pariahs to all but their vassal states.

* VoluntaryVassal: Troy here is a tribute kingdom of the Hittite Empire, Hektor has even served in the Hittite Army in it's wars against Egypt. The reason is the conquest of Troy by the Mykene is so short is they are forced to abandon it by the arrival of 30,000 strong army led by the Hittite Emperor, who does not take kindly to one his most loyal vassal states being destroyed by foreign invaders.

* GreekFire: Greek Fire makes it an appearance in the series, over a 1000 years before it's first recorded usage, as a signature weapon of Helikaon. It's somewhat justified as it's shown to be the invention of the character Khalkeus, "The Madman from Miletos", the architect of the ''Xanathos'' and a Bronze Age equivalent to a MadScientist.

* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: The fates of both the Mykene and Trojan civilizations by the epilogue of the series. The once prosperous kingdom of Troy is destroyed by the war and the Hittite Emperor, believing the land cursed following its destruction, even orders that the remains of the city will be torn apart brick by brick. The victorious Mykene are not spared this either as their conquest of Troy is extremely short lived due to the aforementioned Hittite Emperor ordering them to leave the city upon his arrival.

* BeenThereShapedHistory:

* DisproportionateRetribution: How many of the crew of the ''Xanathos'' feel in regards to Helikaon's decision on what to do with the captured Mykene pirate crew following a sea battle. Looking to avenge his friend, Zidantas, who was murdered by the Myekene's captain, Kolanos, who escaped the battle on another ship, Helikaon sets ablaze the captured Mykene vessel with the prisoners still held prisoner it on via GreekFire.

* AdaptationAmalgamation: The trilogy is a re-imagining of the entire Literature/TheTrojanCycle along with other sources it pulls from and so is a miss-mash of elements from Literature/TheIliad, Literature/TheOdyssey, Literature/TheAeneid, and [[spoiler: Literature/TheBookOfExodus ]]

* TheEmperor: A rare non-villainous example in Western media. The Hittite Emperor, Tudhaliyas IV, makes an appearance near the end of the last book of the series following Troy's destruction and, appropriately, puts the victorious Mykene in their place. Nothing he considered Hektor a dear friend, he castigates Agamemnon and his allied kings for bringing such destruction to a prosperous land and gives them an ultimatum to leave the former land of Troy within the day:

* ParentalSubstitute:

* VoluntaryVassal:

* DressingAsTheEnemy: This series reimagining [[spoiler: of the Trojan Horse ends up being this. Mykene soldiers breach the city walls disguised the famed and elite Trojan Horse (the cavalry arm of the Trojan military).