Anábasis [Anabasis]

I’ll admit, I approached *Anábasis* expecting a dusty classical text—something to endure, not enjoy. Instead, I found myself pausing mid-chore to rewind Peña Coto’s delivery of Xenophon’s dry, devastating humor. There’s a moment in Book III where the Greeks, surrounded by hostile tribes, debate whether to eat their pack animals. The narrator’s deadpan ‘*Así que comieron los mulos*’ (‘So they ate the mules’) had me laughing out loud, not because it’s funny, but because the absurdity of their predicament lands like a gut-punch. That’s the magic of this audiobook: it makes ancient desperation feel immediate. Peña Coto’s performance is largely excellent, though his cadence occasionally stumbles over Xenophon’s dense tactical descriptions (the battle at Cunaxa, for instance, requires close attention). The production, however, is flawless—no distracting edits or volume shifts, just the steady rhythm of a march. My only real critique? The lack of a dramatis personae upfront. With names like *Clearchus* and *Tissaphernes* flying fast, I found myself googling ‘who the hell is Menon?’ more than once. Still, that’s a minor gripe for an audiobook that turns a military retreat into an epic of human resilience. If you’ve ever wondered how discipline and sheer stubbornness can outlast an empire, this is your answer.