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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
tense
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
will come back later - just have too many "must reads" at the moment.
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
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:
N/A
adventurous
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
“It was a good finish, he thought. He would go in the flower of his strength and be spared the weakness of the very old. That was its own blessing in a way. Leonidas thanked Apollo for the honour of dying as he had lived, without compromise or weakness forced on him.”
Wow, what a beautiful piece of historical fiction. Iggulden does a fantastic job of combining the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis, with that of the politics in Athens at the time.
There are several characters we follow through this story but mainly it centers Xanthippus, father of the famous Pericles, and Xerxes, King of Persia.
While there are plenty of battle scenes in this novel, it is not as action-packed as one would expect. It is slow-paced, allowing time to get to know these characters. I don’t have enough knowledge on the subject to account for accuracy, but it was very well-done.
Wow, what a beautiful piece of historical fiction. Iggulden does a fantastic job of combining the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis, with that of the politics in Athens at the time.
There are several characters we follow through this story but mainly it centers Xanthippus, father of the famous Pericles, and Xerxes, King of Persia.
While there are plenty of battle scenes in this novel, it is not as action-packed as one would expect. It is slow-paced, allowing time to get to know these characters. I don’t have enough knowledge on the subject to account for accuracy, but it was very well-done.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Conn Iggulden was one of the first authors that persuaded me to read Historical fiction. The "Emperor" series setting a very high bar for any new work.
The Gates of Athen's descriptions immediately gripped me, the battle of Marathon AND Thermopylae, this should be awesome! I made two mistakes reading this book
1. I was comparing this to Christian Cameron's action packed book on Marathon. This, was nothing like that.
2. Thinking this was a standalone book. I didn't go into this with the mentality it's a series.
I think both of the above kinda spoiled the book for me. His books tend to be more about the politics, which he successfully did with the Athenian process of "exiles" and electing leaders, and ultimately what I walked away remembering vividly. The action scenes, the chapters from Xerxes POV just weren't that memorable, and I don't know if I'd pick up the second book.
The Gates of Athen's descriptions immediately gripped me, the battle of Marathon AND Thermopylae, this should be awesome! I made two mistakes reading this book
1. I was comparing this to Christian Cameron's action packed book on Marathon. This, was nothing like that.
2. Thinking this was a standalone book. I didn't go into this with the mentality it's a series.
I think both of the above kinda spoiled the book for me. His books tend to be more about the politics, which he successfully did with the Athenian process of "exiles" and electing leaders, and ultimately what I walked away remembering vividly. The action scenes, the chapters from Xerxes POV just weren't that memorable, and I don't know if I'd pick up the second book.
Conn Iggulden introduced me to the historical drama genre with series on Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan, names even every day person nowadays would recognize. This time he tackles the story of primarily Xanthippus and Themistocles.
Their names are not as legendary. Their battles are of some note. Battle of Thermopylae and Artemisium. They were memorialized with the 300 movies by Zach Snyder. When made I loved the moves dripping with heroes, blood and honor.
This book is more about honor of heroes. Not as much attention given to the battles ... rather it's more an ode to Athens and democracy. Fascinating stories by a fascinating author. I do look forward to reading the sequel.
Their names are not as legendary. Their battles are of some note. Battle of Thermopylae and Artemisium. They were memorialized with the 300 movies by Zach Snyder. When made I loved the moves dripping with heroes, blood and honor.
This book is more about honor of heroes. Not as much attention given to the battles ... rather it's more an ode to Athens and democracy. Fascinating stories by a fascinating author. I do look forward to reading the sequel.
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced