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A review by xavierdragnesi
The Falcon of Sparta by Conn Iggulden
3.0
I read this as a bit of a palate cleanser between fantasy novels, and while it did scratch the historical itch (and also made me realise that I know less about the March of the Ten Thousand than I thought I did), I did feel as though this was not Conn Iggulden at the top of his game.
While the historical events are still thoughtfully and relatively faithfully converted into a fictional narrative, and the battle scenes remain vivid and captivating, the character-work is a little less engaging than in his other historical series. The two main characters are well fleshed out and the transitional development of Xenophon as a leader was natural and convincing, but many of the other secondary characters were a bit flat, and I felt that this was where a historical fiction author could have flexed their creative muscles. This was then not helped by romantic subplot that didn't really resolve, and a somewhat abrupt ending, so the final result was not altogether satisfying.
3* therefore for a good but otherwise not standout read.
While the historical events are still thoughtfully and relatively faithfully converted into a fictional narrative, and the battle scenes remain vivid and captivating, the character-work is a little less engaging than in his other historical series. The two main characters are well fleshed out and the transitional development of Xenophon as a leader was natural and convincing, but many of the other secondary characters were a bit flat, and I felt that this was where a historical fiction author could have flexed their creative muscles. This was then not helped by romantic subplot that didn't really resolve, and a somewhat abrupt ending, so the final result was not altogether satisfying.
3* therefore for a good but otherwise not standout read.