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This great book is the 1st part of a 2-set series featuring the Greeks of Athens and their allies in the Golden Age. My own reading of that time period ( Aeschylus, for instance, makes an appearance in The Lion) makes this book even more interesting, but simultaneously can render it a little dull. The characters have to be more compelling, and in this case not all of them were. There are some excellent moments, but I wish that they were followed through on just a little longer. While I understand where he chose to end the book, I think going just a little longer would have offered a more satisfying denouement. As always, I enjoyed learning a little more about life in Ancient Greece, particularly about theatre and The Festival of Dionysus. As before, the battle scenes are exciting and are seen from both sides of the field. The horror of what soldiers faced in the days of hand to hand combat is drawn in enough detail to appreciate it without being too gory, thankfully. No doubt, the fourth book of the series will follow Pericles in his later life and I will look forward to that. 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.
Lion: The Golden Age, Book 1 (Audio Download): Conn Iggulden
The battles are set far from home this time. While this is by no means a ‘light’ story, it’s also not as dark as the previous two. Not witnessing the heartbreak of seeing your home, your city, fall to invaders knowing it’s going to be impossible to keep them out, changes the tone. The Athenians are taking the fight to them, and it changes the mood. There’s an undercurrent of hope and determination, rather than the helplessness prevalent beforehand. I found it hard to engage with most of the characters. Pericles, the main character, was difficult to understand and contradictory. I did not understand his determination to marry the complete stranger they met on an island. He behaved like he'd never seen a female before. Nor did I understand why he and his wife became so nasty to each other once they were married. Yes, he suspected she was in love with someone else, but given all the talk about Athenian men learning to be calm and mature, you'd think he could do better.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: 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. 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 focuses mainly on the Athenian front of things instead of the Persian. But there indeed were several points where we get to experience the war from Artabazus or even Xerxes' perspective. I was alright with that up till the death of Xerxes. We're shown the event from the Persian perspective, but I just don't feel connected. I know too little about Persian politics to even make sense of what's happening and why it's happening, let alone be emotionally connected to the scene. A better choice may be to tell Xerxes' death from the Athenian perspective, e.g. Cimon hearing about the death of Xerxes from some hoplites and that the king seemed to have died by his own guards' hands. That way Xerxes' death could be a bit more of a mystery and that could be pretty intriguing and realistic given how bemusing things can be during wartime.
Empire - Penguin Books UK
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 master historical storyteller. This swords-and-sandals epic brings the ancient world to life' DAILY EXPRESSI 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. Storytelling is excellent, and where Christian Cameron excel in describing famous battles and picturing these landmarks, Conn Iggulden excels in describing human emotions interwoven with great dialogue, so that all characters come vividly to life within this amazing story.
Lion by Conn Iggulden (Hardback) - Coles Books Lion by Conn Iggulden (Hardback) - Coles Books
Fascinating insight into the day-by-day activities during that period in history. As it should be, the author’s attention to detail and research is seriously impressive. This is more the story of Pericles, his decisions and his thoughts as he makes the transition from a young man into an adult and all the responsibilities that come with it. His family, his personal life and made it a more character-based story. There are plenty of other characters but focusing on just one gave a brilliant insight into one of history's figures.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. 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. 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.
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