Dancing with the Lion: Becoming by Dr. Jeanne Reames

Dancing with the Lion: Becoming by Dr. Jeanne Reames (ISBN: 978-1-62649-896-9) is a historical fiction book about the youth of Alexander the Great.

It is not fair - yet inevitable - to compare this novel to Mary Renault’s Fire from Heaven since they both handle Alexander’s coming of age where close to no resources from antiquity are available. It is interesting – and, as a matter of fact reassuring - to find that the main characters of Alexander, Hephaistion, and Philip match in both versions.

But there are many differences as well. For a start, fifty years have passed since Fire from Heaven and archaeology, especially in northern Greece and Macedonia have revealed a substantial amount of information. On that base, Jeanne Reames could set the story in a context that is much closer to the truth. There is, for instance, the more detailed description of the palaces of Pella and Aegae, the sanctuary of Dion, and the location of Mieza.

On the other hand, however, the characters in Dancing with the Lion go by their Greek/Macedonian names, and although this may tie them straightforwardly to antiquity, I find it annoying – as if reading history in a foreign language wondering about who is who. The use of Greek words, translated or not, is not really a plus either.

All in all, the book is a good read, but I could have done without the last chapter about the initiation ceremony. I agree that it is a great effort to put something like this together, but I fail to see what it is adding - if anything - to the story or to the images of Alexander or Hephaistion. This ends the book in a rather abrupt way.

I understand there is a sequel in the making, Dancing with the Lion: Rise, which I suppose is a continuation, but there is nothing to indicate this is the case. Besides, I do not understand the title. Is Alexander the lion or Hephaistion and, if so, why? Or is there a hidden meaning that will be revealed only at the end of the second book?

It is sad to come to these conclusions for the dialogues are well constructed, and as I said, the story is well-placed in its Macedonian context.