Book Review: Funeral Games

Funeral Games, Mary Renault's final novel, and the conclusion of her Alexander trilogy follows the aftermath of the death of the Macedonian King, and how quickly everything can fall apart without any plans for succession.

The story is bloodthirsty and often heartbreaking, following both those who lust for the power left in Alexander's wake and those thrust into positions of power with little but their wits to protect them. In previous novels Renault largely focused on male protagonists, but here she has his widows, mother, sister and cousin all feature prominently and although history clearly shows how his empire worked out after his death, I couldn't help but root for many of these characters.

A fascinating look at how quickly events can turn on just about anyone, Funeral Games was well worth the read, and will have me looking for other Renault books in the future.