The Journey's of Socrates

The Journey's of Socrates by Daniel Millman is a tragic yet fulfilling story in which a quest for revenge is replaced by a quest for peace, very fitting since this is the first book in the Peaceful Warrior series.

I found this book very interesting because it is a work of fiction yet it is based on true events and the author even states that he does not want to reveal which aspects of the story are true and which he interpolated. This is very different from other historical fiction I have read in which the authors go out of their way to differentiate what is true and where they interpolated.

The story is compelling as it is the tale of a young soldier who loses all who are close to him, his mother and brother on the day of his birth, his grandfather and finally his wife. He is then consumed with revenge and spends years training and searching for those that have caused him such grief. He eventually finds a teacher that not only teaches him how to be a warrior but also helps him find peace with his past. That peace is challenged when he is forced to confront those from his past that caused him such grief.

The story was enjoyable and I found myself continually comparing it to The Count of Monte Cristo with very similar religious overtones. The writing was very easy to understand however some of the topics were disturbing (rape, and some descriptive violence). What I enjoyed most about this novel though was the historical setting. I really enjoyed the historical facts that served as the back drop for this story. The information about the Jewish Pogroms, the life style of the Cossacks and the history between the two of them. As the story continued I could also get a sense of the impending Russian Revolution and I really would have enjoyed some more information about that.

I did enjoy this story and much of the information it provided however I did get tired of some of the cheap tricks the author used to try to maintain the readers interest. A really good author will present information in a way that the reader does not consciously know that he is being drawn further into the story. Dan Millman however resorted to comments like "Little did he know things were about to change." Comments like this pull the reader out of the story and into the world of the narrator. The narrator might as well be saying, "I hope your paying attention." or "keep reading, you will want to know what happens next." I found these comments very distracting from the actual story and it shows the author's distrust in his writing abilities.

Over all a good story that provides inspiration to all to overcome what ever tragedies might occur in their lives. I might even read the next book The Way of the Peaceful Warrior.