Scan barcode
tombombadilo's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
georgesquires123's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jakelewis_23_'s review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the next one in the series as I think thats where we will get to a 5 star book! I think older Pericles will be even more interesting than young Pericles!
A great read for anybody who loved The Gates of Athens or Protector
A great read for anybody who loved The Gates of Athens or Protector
edp123's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sunday91's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
neilsef's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Historical fiction is not a genre I read a lot of, but when I do I invariably enjoy it, and this is no exception.
I appreciate how an author can take historical figures and events and weave a story that is enjoyable, fascinating and educational, which this does to great effect.
The story is set around twenty years after the events at Themopoly and mostly follows two Athenian figures and their involvement in historical events which I was unaware of.
There is a good mix of characters, with many of the names being ones I recognised from other books, documentaries or films I have read or seen.
On reading the historical notes at the end of the book I realised that this is not the first novel in this series, though the blurb on the Amazon site said it was, I also realised that the title of the book refers to one of the character, but it wasn't the one I thought it would be.
This is an interesting story set in a fascinating period that has me hooked, so I will be reading both the preceding and following books in the series.
I appreciate how an author can take historical figures and events and weave a story that is enjoyable, fascinating and educational, which this does to great effect.
The story is set around twenty years after the events at Themopoly and mostly follows two Athenian figures and their involvement in historical events which I was unaware of.
There is a good mix of characters, with many of the names being ones I recognised from other books, documentaries or films I have read or seen.
On reading the historical notes at the end of the book I realised that this is not the first novel in this series, though the blurb on the Amazon site said it was, I also realised that the title of the book refers to one of the character, but it wasn't the one I thought it would be.
This is an interesting story set in a fascinating period that has me hooked, so I will be reading both the preceding and following books in the series.
crazeedi73's review against another edition
It just didn't hold my attention, as this author has before. It might be me at this time, so I may go back at some point
dhensley002's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
stuckonamber's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Lion tells of the early life of Perikles, both in the navy and in Athens.
checkers09's review against another edition
3.25
The Lion is a historically based fictional story about Pericles the leader of Athens during the height of the Peloponnesian war and one of the most intriguing figures of antiquity.
This book is part one of a two-part series about Pericles' rise up the ranks of Athenian society. in this book Pericles is a young man during the Greco-Persian war, serving in the army under General Cimon whom he travels with across Greece. after the death of his father Xenophon during the Greek invasion of Cyprus, Pericles returns to Athens in which a host of characters are introduced and Pericles helps his friend in producing a play (the Persians). shortly after this Pericles returns to the army and accompanies Cimon to Salamis where Pericles fights in the decisive Greek victory over the Persians.
although this is mainly Pericles' story and told through his eyes a few other characters are explored to a lesser extent such as the Spartan general Pausanias and Persian Artabazus.
The story sticks very closely to the historical facts almost all characters are real-life figures and are reflected accurately based on the knowledge we have of them. The plot itself is also historically accurate with the events such as the meeting at Delos and the Invasion of Cyprus being real events that took place at this time. Despite being somewhat constricted by the decision to remain as historically accurate as possible the story is very engaging with characters feeling alive and unique even minor ones like Attikos. Iggulden has clearly mastered this genre and has a fantastic nack for keeping you hooked on the story.
i particularly liked the character of Pausanius as I consider him to be one of the most interesting figures from Sparta and found his chapters very enjoyable especially his first introduction in the prologue and his death scene in the temple of Athena.
Surprisingly i found the chapters in Athens to be the least compelling as most of the time was focused on Pericles helping his friend with his play and dealing with his marriage to Thetis instead of exploring the politics and daily life of Athens.
this book certainly had its good moments and is well-researched and written however I feel there were certain points, especially in part two where my interest began to wane, and felt Pericles as a character could have been explored a bit more.
This book is part one of a two-part series about Pericles' rise up the ranks of Athenian society. in this book Pericles is a young man during the Greco-Persian war, serving in the army under General Cimon whom he travels with across Greece. after the death of his father Xenophon during the Greek invasion of Cyprus, Pericles returns to Athens in which a host of characters are introduced and Pericles helps his friend in producing a play (the Persians). shortly after this Pericles returns to the army and accompanies Cimon to Salamis where Pericles fights in the decisive Greek victory over the Persians.
although this is mainly Pericles' story and told through his eyes a few other characters are explored to a lesser extent such as the Spartan general Pausanias and Persian Artabazus.
The story sticks very closely to the historical facts almost all characters are real-life figures and are reflected accurately based on the knowledge we have of them. The plot itself is also historically accurate with the events such as the meeting at Delos and the Invasion of Cyprus being real events that took place at this time. Despite being somewhat constricted by the decision to remain as historically accurate as possible the story is very engaging with characters feeling alive and unique even minor ones like Attikos. Iggulden has clearly mastered this genre and has a fantastic nack for keeping you hooked on the story.
i particularly liked the character of Pausanius as I consider him to be one of the most interesting figures from Sparta and found his chapters very enjoyable especially his first introduction in the prologue and his death scene in the temple of Athena.
Surprisingly i found the chapters in Athens to be the least compelling as most of the time was focused on Pericles helping his friend with his play and dealing with his marriage to Thetis instead of exploring the politics and daily life of Athens.
this book certainly had its good moments and is well-researched and written however I feel there were certain points, especially in part two where my interest began to wane, and felt Pericles as a character could have been explored a bit more.