I actually have no recollection of how Achilles was depicted in it. The first two books primarily cover events that eventually lead up to the fully open war, proper, and focuses on a lot of side characters that David Gemmell came up with, as well as some characters on the Trojan side. Plus Odysseus of course.

Gemmell definitely retained the fated "tragedy" part of what one would expect from a classic of Greek tragedy though. And does so with panache.

Another common element in his writing, in general, is how characters will get themselves in a rut and either allow themselves to continue spiraling into inevitable failure and doom, or they pick themselves up and clean themselves up, finding some way to get out of the rut and move forward.