{"product_id":"the-hoplites-of-delon-shawn-kristopher-9798247260172","title":"The Hoplites of Delon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhere does a myth begin? The epic yarns of heroes, imbued with powers beyond mortal men, tales of fantastic beasts, or stories of monsters to fill our nightmares.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe people of Delon love logic. No gods, no legends, no fairy tales. For them, reasoning and discourse can explain everything...until it cannot. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTheir soldiers, known as hoplites, armed with bronze pike and shield, march to punish their nemesis, the Lakon, who have broken the truce made by the confederacy. In these times, war is a common tool to resolve disputes and a seasonal event. The fighting is measured and controlled. Defending one's Polis, their home city, is how a man earns his citizenship. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis conflict is different. The Lakons have new allies, who forge steel and bring foreign tactics and technology to Delon's battlefield. These interlopers worship a thousand gods. The Hatti have brought evil with them. They are being persued by beings that embody fear, and theses mysterious people seek an escape from the horror they have unearthed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYoung Arpeus and his hoplite companions find themselves caught up in a conflict far larger than they were prepared to meet, and must find new allies. Forced into unexplored lands that lay to the west, Arpeus meets forest dwellers as strange and inexplicable as their new enemies - and somehow, amidst it all, finds love. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSet in a Bronze Age world, the very origin of gods and myths are explored. Centaurs, Minotaur, Cyclops and Harpies abound in an Ancient Mediterranean realm, where Hellenistic, Near Eastern and Celtic cultures clash. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWill the Delons abandon their stoic beliefs and embrace the supernatural to save their homes and preserve their way of life?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Shawn Kristopher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798247260172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/20\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.08lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.82d","brand":"Shawn Kristopher","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48443182776575,"sku":"9798247260172","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_950dcd34-96b8-4f32-b9f4-0dd3f83d9d6c.jpg?v=1777202400","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-hoplites-of-delon-shawn-kristopher-9798247260172","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}