... He has written one of the most compelling novels I've read in quite a while in The Gates of Rome.
From the start Iggulden's tale of a young Roman coming of age and stepping up to his responsibilities is very addictive. The majority of the story focuses on the training of the young Roman's ... Read review
The first volume of a sequence of novels about Julius Caesar, The Gates of Rome is at its ... more
best in its scenes of gruelling training in swordplay and dirty fighting. Iggulden's Caesar is more or less fated from the start by his circumstances to be a gift...
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The first volume of a sequence of novels about Julius Caesar,The Gates of Romeis at its ... more
best in its scenes of gruelling training in swordplay and dirty fighting. Iggulden's Caesar is more or less fated from the start by his circumstances to be a gifted...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The astonishing life of Julius Caesar is recreated in a magnificent new novel that ... more
brilliantly interweaves history and adventure. An epic tale of ambition and rivalry bravery and betrayal from an outstanding new voice in historical fiction -- already...
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This novel interweaves history and adventure to recreate the life of Julius Caesar. In the ... more
city of Rome, a titanic power struggle is about to shake the Republic to its core. Citizen will fight citizen in a bloody conflict and Julius Caesar will be in the thick of the action.
Emperor - Field of Swords takes Colin Iggulden's sequence of novels about the rise of ... more
Julius Caesar to a point where Caesar is forced to bid for mastery of the Roman world. Iggulden is intelligent and precise about the internal dynamics of the triumvirate of Caesar, the elderly rich Crassus and the proud Pompey. This alliance was never more than pragmatic and there was always going to be a settling of accounts--thus far so good, but Iggulden's idealizing of Caesar leads him at times into ignoring the sheer complexity of the affairs of the late Republic. This is a version of Rome which downplays the alliance of street and snob, and treats Caesar as if he were always an apostle of order--it is a historical novel which plays worrying games with historical fact. Iggulden is fascinating on Caesar as governor and general--in the areas, that is, where we have the words of the man himself, rather than the spin put on his actions by his enemies. There is a real sense here of the practicalities of ancient warfare, of hard footslogging in difficult terrain and planning supplies for the long haul of sieges and forced marches - Iggulden may oversimplify politics, but he is intelligent about battle. --Roz Kaveney
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The first volume of a sequence of novels about Julius Caesar, The Gates of Rome is at its ... more
best in its scenes of gruelling training in swordplay and dirty fighting. Iggulden's Caesar is more or less fated from the start by his circumstances to be a gifted and cynical player in the great game of Roman senatorial politics--his father is an old-fashioned servant of the public good who dies in a slave revolt. Young Caesar finds himself having to hit the ground running--family alliances throw him onto the losing side in a battle for power between generals Marius and Sulla. One reservation about Iggulden's story is that he simplifies the pushing and shoving of Rome's two most powerful men to a degree that makes Caesar's choices and loyalties too simple--this is a version of Rome in which politics is only about power and never about ideas. Caesar's friendship with his blood-brother Marcus is too redolent with historical irony--Marcus will be his assassin--and Iggulden is a little novelette-ish in his portrayal of young Caesar's affairs of the heart. This is a competent, routine account of material that deserves better than this handling of it. --Roz Kaveney
Postage & Packaging:£2.75 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The first volume of a sequence of novels about Julius Caesar, The Gates of Rome is at its ... more
best in its scenes of gruelling training in swordplay and dirty fighting. Iggulden's Caesar is more or less fated from the start by his circumstances to be a gifted and cynical player in the great game of Roman senatorial politics--his father is an old-fashioned servant of the public good who dies in a slave revolt. Young Caesar finds himself having to hit the ground running--family alliances throw him onto the losing side in a battle for power between generals Marius and Sulla. One reservation about Iggulden's story is that he simplifies the pushing and shoving of Rome's two most powerful men to a degree that makes Caesar's choices and loyalties too simple--this is a version of Rome in which politics is only about power and never about ideas. Caesar's friendship with his blood-brother Marcus is too redolent with historical irony--Marcus will be his assassin--and Iggulden is a little novelette-ish in his portrayal of young Caesar's affairs of the heart. This is a competent, routine account of material that deserves better than this handling of it. --Roz Kaveney
Postage & Packaging:£2.75 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: An excellent compelling story that has you gripped from the very beginning. Disadvantages: A bit of a sudden ending, but paving the way for the series
...them to be trained in the way of Roman warriors. While the Roman Empire continues to grow the two boys are trained by an ex Gladiator until Gaius's father is killed during a slave revolt. Gaius is left as the man of the house and heads to Rome to learn politics from his uncle Marius, one of the greatest politicians and Generals in Rome. While the city edges towards Civil War, Gaius learns his trade, but what will become of the young Roman now he ... ...the first part of a series of books being written by former English Tutor Conn Iggulden. Although the series does not focus on actual events as such he has used true events as a basis. From there he has expanded each story enough to make an incredibly interesting and enthralling novel. It's important to remember that it is only loosely based on true events while you are reading it. If you are looking for true accounts of Caesar's life then I'd say ... more
Young Gaius Caesar and his best friend Marcus cause absolute mayhem around his father's estate. For years now they have gotten into all sorts of trouble but now their minds must be focused and it is time for them to be trained in the way of Roman warriors. While the Roman Empire continues to grow the two boys are trained by an ex Gladiator until Gaius's father is killed during a slave revolt. Gaius is left as the man of the house and heads to Rome to learn politics from his uncle Marius, one of the greatest politicians and Generals in Rome. While the city edges towards Civil War, Gaius learns his trade, but what will become of the young Roman now he is a man, Julius Caesar.
This is the first part of a series of books being written by former English Tutor Conn Iggulden. Although the series does not focus on actual events as such he has used true events as a basis. From there he has expanded each story enough to make an incredibly interesting and enthralling novel. It's important to remember that it is only loosely based on true events while you are reading it. If you are looking for true accounts of Caesar's life then I'd say hit the history books but this makes fantastic Historical Fiction.
Until I discovered the joys of fantasy writing recently I'd never really taken much of a risk away from War and espionage stories. My discovery, first of David Gemmell and now Conn Iggulden has seen my range of books increase dramatically. Although I was used to sticking to set topics Iggulden has really sparked my interest in the Historical fiction genre. He has written one of the most compelling novels I've read in quite a while in The Gates of Rome.
From the start Iggulden's tale of a young Roman coming of age and stepping up to his responsibilities is very addictive. The majority of the story focuses on the training of the young Roman's and Iggulden gives an amazingly detailed account of how he perceives life would have been like back then. Whether these accounts are anyway close to the mark doesn't really matter, Iggulden's take on events in Roman times makes for addictive reading. The couple of chapters that focus on their visit to the Gladiators arena in particularly are amazingly detailed and really make a detailed mental picture.
He writes with quite a regimented chapter set up as each chapter is roughly 15-20 pages long. This keeps the story quite punchy and I found it made Iggulden's debut novel incredibly compelling as I strived to know what would happen next. I've always thought that the less detail used the more addictive the story then becomes but Iggulden has managed to use incredibly graphic descriptions of death and fights and at the same time managed to keep the story flowing along nicely.
There will be criticism for the way the book ends. It is obvious from the ending that Iggulden is making a series of books that connect together but this means that it wont be a series of books that can be read separately. I feel this means that no matter which book is the current one to get into the series you would have to return to the first book to really understand the history of the plot and who certain characters are.
It's in the characters that I really felt Iggulden hooks the reader. The main characters Gaius and Marcus are on a voyage of discovery during the book and as the story expands and their relationship matures it becomes clear the two will do anything for each other. His development of the two is key to the story and everyone else is only a minor character in comparison. I found there to be some fascinating characters within the story with the likes of Gaius's uncle Marius, one of the top generals in Rome is quite a complex and interesting character.
I felt his use of the period and the fact that all of the major houses had Slaves was used in a very intricate way. With most of the slaves you can see the clear divide between them and the heads of their house but you can see through his descriptions that certain slaves got better treatment than others. Again whether this is factually correct or not it adds another dimension to an excellent story and an impressive debut from Iggulden.
There has been a lot of praise for the Emperor series and based on this first instalment it is easy to see why. It is an incredibly compelling read and I certainly found it incredibly hard to put down once I had started. I don't have any sort of reference point to really compare him in terms of historical fiction but he certainly brought the story to life. The front of the book proclaims "if you liked Gladiator you'll love Emperor" and I have to say I'm inclined to agree. It is quite a detailed story and although at times written in the simplest forms the story is incredibly addictive and compelling. It's a book I wouldn't hesitate recommending to anyone.
Advantages: exciting, good characters, believable world Disadvantages: lack of historical accuracy
This book is about the youth of Gaius Julius Caesar and Marcus Brutus. They grow up together, sharing a deep friendship, and getting into trouble as a pair. As they grow older, Gaius' father hires a famous ex-gladiator to train them, which he does with plenty of abuse. When the ex-gladiator wounds Gaius, it is Marcus who takes revenge.
Gaius' father is killed in a slave revolt, and Gaius assumes his adult name of Julius. He goes to his uncle for ... ...course, Julius is involved in. The ending then sets up the next book in the series.
As a novel, it's an excellent book. There's warfare, politics, romance, and intrigue. Iggulden has created a very believable world. If you have studied the period you will doubtless find inaccuracies, but for the average reader it gives a convincing impression of what life in Ancient Rome might be like. The two main characters are perhaps the best part of the book. ...
ali_morag 15.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
"The Gates of Rome" is the first book in the "Emperor" series. The series concentrates on one man. His name is Gaius Julius Caesar, the first Roman Emperor. Gaius is young at the beginning and his best and only friend is Marcus, whose parents had died and so Julius Caesar took him in. The book goes through their education and the army training and then their experiences of Rome.
Gaius and Marcus worked very hard in their lessons and Gaius, in his ... ...They were taught by the best gladiator, who was almost mad. He almost killed them once a day and at the end of their training he said that they would have finished if they managed to kill him in a dual.
At that time there are riots in Rome and Gaius, his father, the gladiator and everyone else on the estate had to defend it. His father dies in the fight and because his father was powerful in the senate then he had to take his place in turn. Therefore ...
ToNick 27.04.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
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Quick review of The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
In the first novel of Caesar's coming of age Iggulden straight away had adopted an authentic story. Packed with battle scenes, glory and romance Iggulden shows his skills in this dynamic 1st edition to the Emperor Series. The perfect start to a thrilling quadrant of drama and originality.Amazing ...
1984tomboy 05.05.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
Advantages: Brilliant Story Told By a Brilliant Writer Disadvantages: Julius Caesar's Tales do eventually run out
...do my work, just like the others this is a phenomenal piece of modern literature that focuses on the life of Julius Caesar. Conn Iggulden has truly pulled out all the stops in this exquisite and delightful book, with everything so vividly described and detailed that it almost sucks one into the scene.
If only I was able to write half as magnificently as Mr. Iggulden then I would consider myself a very lucky chap. I could read these books until I ... ...could get him to do the same for say Alexander The Great would make a killing too.
Each book focuses on the seperate stages of Gaius Julius Caesar's most famous life. But unlike a piece of non-fiction this book describes his life like a novel, This is a hisrorical novel. I wouldn't recommend this unless you have read the others though so that you can get the feeling of continuity. ...
Shifthipotep 04.05.2007 (11.05.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
Advantages: Defining Characters from history Disadvantages: Not many...
i read all the books in this series, one after the other, so it is hard for me to distinguish where one book ends and another starts - if you know what i mean. So i am going to comment on the whole series. And they were wonderful, absolutely fantastic. As i mentioned before, i read all the books one after the other and they were splendid, i just couldn't stop. These books grip you right from the beginning and you can't put them down all the way through, ...
DirtsideRider 20.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
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