The momentary truce in the third book showed that none of the men really wanted to fight, but now we see a sense of purpose and urgency. Both sides are fighting extremely rigorously and neither wants to give up; they want to win. The Trojans' decision to sleep outside near the Greeks shows their thirst for battle. When Homer describes this scene he compares their fires to the shining stars in the night sky. It is a scene of peace and serenity. For a second we are able to forget the constant battles and bloodshed we have read about in the eight books and live in this perfect moment. This book also sets up the return of Achilles. It was very easy to forget that this is actually the story of Achilles' anger. At the beginning of the story he said that he would stay out of the war until his fellow warriors realized how important it was. At this point in the story it seems that his army has no chance of winning the war. They are huddled in their ships while the Trojans sleep just outside, having a night of partying and celebrating what seems like a victory. I'm pretty sure we'll see the return of Achilles in book nine and another big change in the book