The Hot Gates by Reg Jones (TTMC 4)

[Calenture]

There's been a lot of talk about the inaccuracy of the 2007 Hollywood movie 300, a retelling of the story of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.

In his story The Hot Gates, Reg Jones offers yet another take on the tale, and you can read it in Coral King's The Thinking Man's Crumpet 4...

...which has been printed, and you would have heard of it a day or two ago if only either of us hadn't been too damn busy to collect it from the print shop and do a decent post on it.

Above is the illustration I did for the story - which, incidentally, was my only contribution to that magazine. Which is the way it should be, as TTMC is one more of Coral's demanding babies.

[colwynquaffer]

WOOHOO !
That's me !! :-)
That is such a great picture dude, thank you very much.

[Craig Herbertson]

Superb illustration. I have stood where Leonidas fell. It was a pilgrimage and possibly I will never return but he will always remain at the spot, in defiance of uncompromising arrogance and the mightiest army in the known world. An army that would have snuffed out democracy and destroyed our civilisation.

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
Simonides of Ceos

[colwynquaffer]

... er, don't read the short story then dude :-)

[Craig Herbertson]

I read it but didn't review it for the reasons above. I thought it was well researched but I'm on Leonidas' team and completely prejudiced so i thought it wouldn't be fair

[colwynquaffer]

I read the review of issue 4.
I love the whole "300 Spartans" thing too and I know a girl who actually comes from Thermopylae, well a village not far from there.
I didn't send her the story to read because the very idea of Leonidas being a bad guy would have been against everything she believed in.
Are you of Greek extraction?