It follows the lifes of Alexander the Great and all his entourage during his war with the Persians and his conquest of The Achaemenid Empire.
The trilogy provides the examples of:
- Adaptational Sexuality: Actually averted for a change. Despite popular belief, no ancient sources state Alexander had homosexual relationships or that his relationship with Hephaestion was sexual.note The only person specifically mentioned as Alex's eromenos was Bagoas, a eunuch who had been Darius' courtesan and "was afterwards loved by Alexander" according to historian Quintus Curtius.note It is possible he was bisexual as he seems to have married Roxana out of love but other than Greek culture at the time there is nothing to say he was.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
- In real life, Memnon and Barsine lived many years in Philip's court, where they met the young Alexander. In the books, they meet for the first time in Persia during Alexander's conquest.
- Nearchus isn't part of Alexander's band of childhood friends here, whereas he was in real life.
- Aristander was part of Philip's court, while his version from the books joins Alexander in Asia.
- Artistic License – Art: The Aphrodite of Knidos statue doesn't cover her breasts with her arms as Alexander claims. She actually covers her pubis with her hand.
- Artistic License – History: Enough to have its own article.
- Artistic License – Religion: Kalanos the Indian, which in this version seems to be a Buddhist given all his talk about nirvana, laments that Alexander's tantra cannot be changed, as in fate. It's apparent that the author mistook tantra for karma, as tantra is a religious concept that didn't appear until more than a millennium later and has nothing to do with fate (it instead refers to medieval esoteric teachings that employ rituals to advance to enlightenment).
- Awful Wedded Life: Soon enough, Philip II and his wife Olympias. He is larger-than-life Blood Knight who is frequently unfaithful, she is stern, proud and unforgiving. Unsurprisingly, it is a recipe for disaster.
- Canon Foreigner: Leptin, Eumolpus and some others are original characters.
- Composite Character:
- The character of Amyntas conflates the historical Amyntas IV and Alexander of Lyncestis. This was acknowledged by Manfredi at the end of the book.
- Rheomithres is given the role of Rhoesaces in the Battle of the Granicus.
- Anaxarchus, Alexander's court philosopher and jokester, is Demoted to Extra, and some of his most famous lines are given instead to Calysthenes (ironically, given that they were enemies in real life) and Clytus, both in different contexts.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Leonidas of Epirus, Alexander's master, dies here crucified in Tyre. In real life, he stayed in Macedonia and was apparently still alive at the end of the conquest.
- The historical Barsine outlived Alexander himself, while this version of her dies in Gaugamela.
- Historical Badass Upgrade: Inverted. The real Eumenes of Caria was reputed to be a freak athlete and a great military man, while in the book he's the only member of Alexander's band who lacks military training and a lot of humor is made of it.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: Alexander in this story is much less ruthless and brutal than the real deal. Most of his less heroic acts get either Adapted Out or modified in order to take the fault from him, and he's ultimately pictured as a Tragic Hero encumbered by his inexperience and emotions.
- Historical Relationship Overhaul:
- In the books, Alexander and Memnon meet for the first time in the Persian empire. In real life, the two actually knew each other since Alexander's childhood, as Memnon passed several years in Philip's court due to having been exiled from Persia for supporting a revolution. The reason Memnon was later so skilled at countering Macedonian strategies (as well as the reason of Alexander's own knowledge of Persian military) was precisely the time they passed together, in which Memnon had even played somewhat of a mentor role to the seven years old Alexander. The same goes with Barsine, who lived with Memnon in Philip's court around the same time.
- In this story, presumibly for Rule of Drama, Himilce is the daughter of the chieftain Orissus. In real life, Himilce's father was another chieftain named Mucrus, and nothing indicates she and Orissus were closely related in any way other than both being Oretani aristocrats.
- Historical Villain Downgrade: In Real Life, Attalus not only rejected Demosthenes's attempts to corrupt him, he even informed Alexander of it (and was still executed for the trouble). This version of him withholds the info and dies while resisting his arrest, implying he had accepted the offer.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The Egyptian oracles. It's never revealed whether the voices Alexander heard there were hidden priests or the true Zeus-Ammon speaking through the statues. Given that there are several explicitly supernatural happenings in the trilogy, any of the two could be.
- Parent with New Paramour: Alexander is unhappy with the wedding of Philip II with Eurydice, a girl of his age. Things get only worse as Attalus, uncle to Eurydice publicly wished at their wedding to beget a legitimate heir. Which prompts Alexander to insult him and his father back and banish himself from Pella's for a while.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted. There are at least two Alexander (the Great and his uncle/brother-in-law), and Alexander is already the third of his name. There are more Phillips, Cleopatras, Barsines and Stateiras. The author actually downplayed some homonyms to avoid further confusion.
- Only Sane Man: Eumenes, all the time.
- Weddings for Everyone: In The Ends of the Earth Alexander, along with Queen Sisygambis arrange marriages for most of the Macedonian generals (including himself) with Persian princesses and noblewomen. According to the queen, there is nothing better than the nuptial thalamus to establish a lasting peace.
- Worst Aid: The trilogy follows the classic cliche of ripping off a stuck arrow and keeping fighting without any regard for the wound.
- Young Conqueror: Alexander, obviously. He becomes king at 20 and began his conquest of the known world, but eventually his endless campaign does start to take a toll on him, and (at least according to the author's interpretation of his death) dies emotionally and physically burned out at age 32 with his plans completely unfinished and a bloody Succession Crisis at the doorstep.
