Lion: Book 1 of The Golden Age: 'Brings war in the ancient world to vivid, gritty and bloody life' ANTHONY RICHES

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That brings me to my other big problem with this book. I'm fairly sure it was written originally as two stories and glued together because they weren't long enough. This will be an enjoyable read for anyone with an interest in history, military strategy, and the ancient world!

Lion by Conn Iggulden | Waterstones The Lion by Conn Iggulden | Waterstones

The Golden Age of Athens refers to the period of history that will start in 480 until 404 BC, where Athens and its allies will rise up and be victorious against Persia, as well as becoming once more an enemy of Sparta. We follow Pericles through his early adulthood, as he seeks to carve himself out a reputation to match his fathers in Athens. He fights in the fleet under the command of Cimon, a man who is both a friend and a rival to him. Together they capture the island of Cyprus, a bitter contest in which Pericles is wounded. From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada:I was born in the normal way in 1971, and vaguely remember half-pennies and sixpences. I have written for as long as I can remember: poetry, short stories and novels. It’s what I always wanted to do and read English at London University with writing in mind. I taught English for seven years and was Head of English at St. Gregory’s RC High School in London by the end of that period. I have enormous respect for those who still labour at the chalk-face. In truth, I can’t find it in me to miss the grind of paperwork and initiatives. I do miss the camaraderie of the smokers’ room, as well as the lessons where their faces lit up as they understood what I was wittering on about. It is a fact that there are very few successful novels about the great age of democratic Athens. Someday someone will do Cimon justice. Pericles the Athenian by Rex Warner is very good in a rather intellectual way. The best existing novels are about the years of Athens’ defeat in the Peloponnesian War, Mary Renault’s The Last of the Wine and Stephanie Plowman’s Road to Sardis, Tom Holt’s The Walled Orchard. The author’s attempt is not entirely unsuccessful, but I suspect the target audience does not include a curmudgeon like me. Behind Pericles lies the greatest city of the ancient world. Before him, on land and at sea, stands the merciless Persian army. Both sides are spoiling for war. The prologue starts in the point of view of Pausanias, so you'd think he'd be important to the story, right? Wrong. He turns up for some minor passages throughout the first act and then promptly goes home to die quietly. Historically true, but doesn't mean you have to structure the narrative around him.

Lion: The Golden Age, Book 1 (Audio Download): Conn Iggulden

The third in a series set during the Graeco-Persian wars, The Lion depicts the triumph of Cimon, the man most responsible for the defeat of Persian king, Xerxes. The story covers the formation of the Delian League (the alliance of Greek states set up to combat the Persian threat), the hostility of Sparta to Athenian leadership, and the first fracture in the alliance caused by the rebellion of Thasos. I am conscious that the above paragraph reads like faint praise. The truth is that, despite its readability, I have problems with the plot and characterisation. First, the clear and obvious hero of the book is Cimon, who steals every scene in which he appears. Pericles pales into insignificance in his presence. The story flags when Cimon is not present. Second, Pericles himself comes over as shallow and impetuous, nothing like how I might envisage the historical figure. True, he is young and inexperienced, but Cimon although not much older is a successful leader of men. Then there are the cardboard cut-out villains, Attikos (fictional) and Ephialtes (historical). Finally there is the entirely implausible love affair and marriage of Pericles to the unsuitable Thetis, the captive concubine of a pirate from Scyros. I just cannot conceive that this could possibly have occurred in the Athens of the aristocratic Pericles.I was so pleased when I started reading Lion as I realised straight away I was going to enjoy it. It’s been a long time since I read anything set in Ancient Greece, so a lot was new to me, including the characters as well as the historical setting. This is the first book in Conn Iggulden’s Golden Age series set in the 5th century BCE. I thoroughly enjoyed it which surprised me as generally speaking I’m not keen on reading battle scenes and the book starts and ends with battles. But I had no problem with following the action of the battles between the Greeks and the Persians, and was able to visualise what was going on without any difficulty. The characters’ names took me a little while to get clear in my mind but I soon got used to them. The novel follows on directly from the author’s Protector which saw Greek victory in the Persian Wars and focussed on the Athenian leaders Aristides and Xanthippus, and the Spartan general Pausanias. That novel opened in the middle of the battle of Salamis and closed shortly after the Spartan victory at Plataea. Pericles is a strong main character. He has strengths and weaknesses, but is a good man determined to prove his worth. He has a strong legacy to live up to due to his father’s actions but fighting is in his blood. Even after an opportunity to settle down to married life, he can’t resist the call to stand by his friends against impossible odds.

Lion by Conn Iggulden | Waterstones

I liked it because it is nicely written in a style that only Conn Iggulden can employ. So, for some, especially if you are not passionate about history, Greek wars, battle description etc., you might find it a bit boring and long. To me, it sets the scene for what is coming, and it helps the main character (Pericles) grow for an in-depth re-creation of who this man was and what he did to remain a hero in Greek history. This great book is the 1st part of a 2-set series featuring the Greeks of Athens and their allies in the Golden Age. 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.To make his own name [Pericles] must prove himself in the liar's den of Athenian politics: pitting wits against friends, sceptics, enemies.

Empire - Penguin Books UK

RRP refers to the Recommended Retail Price as set out by the original publisher at time of release. A gripping read from the master historical storyteller. This swords-and-sandals epic brings the clash of empires between Greece and Persia to life' DAILY EXPRESS Discover the rise and fall of the world's greatest empire in the stunning first instalment of The Golden Age, an epic new series from the nation's finest historical novelist A distinctly odd book this. The Lion of Athens is Pericles, a man who helped shape the culture and direction of Athenian politics. But we are presented more with Athens as the central character, the development of a fleet to take battle to the Persians and the excitement of a city that was the centre of almost everything. Pericles is presented as a young man finding his feet and love of culture and the more interesting character is the General, Cimon. The age of myths and legends has given way to the world of men. In the front rank stands Pericles, Lion of Athens. Behind Pericles lies the greatest city of the ancient world. Before him, on land and at sea, stands the merciless Persian army. Both sides are spoiling for war. Though still a young man, Pericles knows one thing: to fight a war you must first win the peace.

Speaking of Attikos, why didn't anyone kill that old c*** already!? I absolutely adore how Iggulden create the villains in Lion. The worst kind of villains are wimps and fools who don't know their limitations. Never fail to get me frothing in the mouth. Nearly burst a vein or two at Attikos and Ephialtes. I'll be sure to read book 2 just to see them either get killed or redeem themselves (no hopes for Attikos, but Ephialtes might yet be saved, like Pericles - they're not entirely different, I think). I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely lighter on the battles compared to the first two, but it was really spent developing our main character going forward, Pericles, and setting up for some battles and adventures to come. Usually books that are mostly spent setting future books up I find a bit of a drag to read, but there was still some great action and politics at play and we got to see a bit more about life and politics in Athens outside of active war times.