Emperor: The Death of Kings: Amazon.ca: Conn Iggulden: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

After what was in effect a preamble—Emperor: The Gates of Rome (2003)—Julius Caesar takes center stage in this second fast-moving, action-oriented installment in Iggulden's projected four-book retelling of the Roman emperor's saga. Julius, a rising young officer assigned to the Roman-controlled northern coast of Africa, distinguishes himself in a bloody raid on the fortress of Mytilene only to have his transport ship captured by pirates. He and the crew are thrown into the hold to rot while awaiting a ransom that will likely ruin his young family back in Rome. After the ransom arrives, Julius gathers his loyal men and marches along the coast, impressing the locals (pirate collaborators all) into military service. He makes good on his bloody promise to wipe out the pirates, then takes his forces to Greece, where, at long odds, he defeats old king Mithridates, who is leading an insurrection that threatens Roman rule in all of Greece. Julius returns to Rome victorious and rich—only to find that the corruption and thuglike violence at the heart of the Republic has come near to destroying those he holds dear, including his wife and small daughter. Those looking for depth of character may be disappointed that Julius Caesar is pictured as little more than a man gripped by driving ambition. Iggulden does a better job in weaving an intricate and compelling tapestry of Roman underling and slave life, with several well-developed minor characters whose craftiness, loyalty and heroics far overshadow those of their social betters.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The saga of Julius Caesar continues in this second volume of the author's projected four-volume fictional chronicle of the rise of the Roman emperor. The story picks up on the eve of battle. Caesar is poised to lead a military assault; it's been six months since he last saw combat, and he is getting a little antsy. The siege goes well, but, soon after, Caesar is kidnapped (he will later be ransomed and left to fend for himself on the continent of Africa). Meanwhile, far away in Rome, his friend Brutus is building his political empire. Soon the two men will be reunited, as a renegade threatens Rome--a renegade named Spartacus. This is delightfully entertaining historical fiction, a combination of scholarship and inventiveness that brings the historical figures vividly to life while educating us, gracefully and subtly, about Rome at the height of its powers. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Does history matter? YES, April 1 2004

By

"whodoithinkiam" (Fullerton, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emperor: The Death of Kings (Hardcover)

About the nicest thing I can say about this book's predecessor (The Gates of Rome) is that it left me interested enough to read the sequel. Unfortunately, Iggulden once again twists history to suit his own plots and doesn't have any compelling characters to show for it.

The biggest annoyance I have with this series is the blatant disregard for historical fact, especially considering that the publisher has promoted the series as "the perfect blend of history and fiction". The somewhat distorted history of the last book is further mangled in the followup. I wouldn't be surprised if Caesar kills Brutus if the discrepancies continue to increase. I do not accept the argument that the historical record can be altered to produce a better plot. It comes off as half-hearted. Iggulden should take some advice from Guy Gavriel Kay and change the names of characters and locations and write a fantasy novel instead. At least he can mask any deliberate inaccuracies. If you want exciting books that keep true to the history, read Steven Saylor.

Another weakness demonstrated by Iggulden is his character development. In good historical fiction, characters are as complex as history records them. Sulla is not all evil, Marius is not all good, and mobs never speak with one voice. The first book suffered from a sloppy writing style that featured a lot of grinning. The author just loves that expression. Thankfully the narrative runs a little smoother in this book (and there is considerably less grinning).

I might tread on to the next novel, mostly because the history is changing so much that it actually adds an element of surprise. This is better suited for fantasy novels, but I can afford to continue, albeit at a paperback price.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Stick with Colleen McCullough, April 15 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Emperor: The Death of Kings (Hardcover)

If historical fiction is your bag, be warned that Iggulden's works are more fiction than history and pale in comparison to Colleen McCullough's magnificent series on Caesar, Sulla, Marius, Cicero. etc. If you have a basic understanding of Roman history in the century before Christ, you'll have trouble enjoying this book (and its predecessor).
Iggulden's Caesar grows up on a rural estate, leading a Tom Sawyer-like childhood with his best friend, Brutus. Fact is that Caesar grew up in the Subura section of Rome, a teeming, dangerous inner city area. Nor was he a childhood friend of his eventual betrayer Brutus.
The good news on Death of Kings is that it is faster paced and a more enjoyable read than volume 1 of the Emperor series. Caesar versus the pirates, versus King Mithradates, versus Spartacus--these chapters hold your interest (although Caesar probably was not involved in the Spartacus campaign).
McCullough's Masters of Rome series is , perhaps, the best historical fiction ever written and certainly (along with I,Claudius) the best on ancient Rome. Iggulden doesn't belong in the same category. A decent read, nothing more.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars More fantasy than history, April 25 2004

By

S. Crouch (Tuggeranong, A.C.T. Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Emperor: The Death of Kings (Hardcover)

If you are interested in a good historical novel that accurately tells the life of Julius Caesar then don't buy this book. Colleen McCullough's series of books on late republican Rome are far better. I won't begin to describe all the historical inaccuracies but Caesar's role in the Mithridatic war and his relationship with Cato are just a few. Another interesting invention is the introduction of Octavian as a small boy about 74BC. He wasn't even born until 63BC! Iggulden also seems to have little understanding of the Roman army of the time. While the army structure described is reasonably accurate for the 2nd century BC, the hastati, triarii, etc had been abolished under Marius and the army of the time was the standard legion-cohort-century structure.

Apart from all this, none of the characters read as particularly interesting except perhaps for Spartacus. The Spartacus revolt is perhaps the most interesting part of the book and is even reasonably historically accurate.

The sad thing is that many people will read this book thinking that it reflects true Roman history when the real history is actually far more interesting.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 53 reviews 3.5 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun reading
Reading for fun shouldn't feel like work. Iggulden delivers. Of the four books in this series, I liked book two and three the best. Read more

Published on Nov 27 2009 by Pete Kitay

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Conn Iggulden has created a historical-fiction masterpiece. Death of Kings outpaced the gates of rome too be a thrilling and gripping 2nd instalment of the Emperor series. Read more

Published on Feb 28 2006 by D. Mccollum