Review of The Hittite by Ben Bova

Ben Bova stays true to his science fiction roots in this action-packed novel set in the Bronze Age world of the Hittite empire and Troy’s last days. Lukka, a soldier in the emperor’s army, returns home from a lengthy campaign to discover the Hittite capital in flames, his family stolen away by slavers. He follows the trail to Troy only to find that city under siege and the complications growing as he tries to save his family in the midst of yet another city’s demise. Bova reworks the myths surrounding Troy to incorporate Lukka in these legends. He has created a new vision of Achilles, Helen, and other familiar Greek heroes. Lukka and the disciplined band of soldiers who accompany him through vivid, gory battle scenes, pillaging and lusts of various kinds keep the pace going in a wide-sweeping story that provides an alternate history of the fall of Troy.