Emperor: The Gods of War (Emperor) | Conn Iggulden | Excellent. This book makes you feel like...

Emperor: The Gods of War (Emperor) | Conn Iggulden | Veni, vidi, vici

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Emperor: The Gods ...

	Emperor: The Gods of War (Emperor) Conn Iggulden Bantam, 2007 - 528 pages average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The year is 53 B.C. Fresh from victory in Gaul, Julius Caesar leads battle-hardened legions across the Rubicon river?threatening Rome herself. Even the master strategist Pompey is caught unprepared by the strike, and forced to abandon his city. The armies of Rome will face each other at last in civil war, led by the two greatest generals ever to walk the seven hills. Thus begins Conn Iggulden?s towering saga of Julius Caesar as he approaches his final destiny?a destiny that will be decided not by legions but by his friend Brutus and an Egyptian queen named Cleopatra, who will bear his only son....

For Caesar, the campaign against Pompey will test his military genius and his appetite for glory to their limits, as the greatest fighting machine the world has ever seen divides against itself in a bloody conflict that will set brother against brother until victory or death. But for Caesar, another kingdom beckons?a world of ancient mysteries and languid sensuality, where a beautiful, bewitching woman waits to snare his heart.

The Gods of War follows Julius Caesar through politics and passion, ruthless ambition and private grief, and into the corruption of power itself. Those he has loved will play a part in his triumphs?as will the jealousy and hatred of his enemies.

From the spectacles of the arena to the whispered lies of conspirators, Conn Iggulden brings to life a world of monumental drama. And at its heart is one extraordinary friendship?marked by fierce loyalty and bitter betrayal, with dark events shrouded in noble ideals.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Excellent. This book makes you feel like Caesar's buddy.

I'm a history buff and thought I knew the ins and outs of Caesar. Yeah, I did, but this book...well, it just makes you feel like you were standing in Rome and having first name basis buddy-ship with Caesar.

A very remarkable dude he is. Think aobut it. How many other dudes are so controlled and all rounded? Great in war, lucky with chics, and an excellent politician. No wonder he's so successful.

And what better way than to end life in a memorable way? Getting assassinated by folks who get jealous of you, including your best friends..."Et tu Brute" = "Even you Brutus". Man, that is just Immortal...god-like.

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Veni, vidi, vici

Well, here we are. The fourth and final volume of Conn Iggulden's action-movie version of the life of Julius Caesar. From crossing the Rubicon to Et tu, Brute? in five hundred pages or less. This novel gets by on sheer breathless momentum. And what a ride it is.

As usual with this series, Mr. Iggulden is excellent at describing battle, both large and small scale. I've noticed after reading each of these books that the parts that are most memorable are the 'set pieces'. This novel is chock full of them. You'll be exhilarated reading about the battle of Pharsalus or Caesar's standoff in Alexandria.

The characterization is better here than it has been in the past books. By the end both Caesar and Brutus had done things I found despicable, but I will say they were fairly well drawn. Unfortunately most of the secondary characters that I have grown to love through the series are either dead at this point or given short shrift. I sorely missed Renius, Cabera, Tabbic and Alexandria. Calpurnia is barely introduced before she is swept offstage. However I can't really fault Mr. Iggulden. There was so much to cover in this final book that these side stories probably would have made the book feel cluttered.

I was surprised to reach page three hundred or so and still not have heard anything about Cleopatra. I was worried that the author was somehow going to gloss over her. Luckily Mr. Iggulden proved me wrong. Cleopatra make an impression from her first appearance and really holds your attention whenever she is mentioned through the rest of the story.

Of course unless you've been living in a cave your whole life, you know how the book will end. Nonetheless, the author wrote it in such a way that I was both breathless from the tension and somewhat saddened by the inevitability of what was to come next.

I do think the story ended right where it should, but I wish that in the obligatory Author's Note at the end Mr. Iggulden would have given some sort of American Graffiti-esque biographical notes on what became of Brutus, Octavian, Cleopatra and most especially Caesarion.

Overall, this was a very impressive set of books. I would recommend them without reservation. They have all the action of a Hollywood blockbuster, but are close enough to the facts to give a layman a basic understanding of a very important man in history.

I will most definitely be picking up Genghis: Birth of an Empire and whatever else Conn Iggulden writes in the future.

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Last Act

Like the previous books in the series the author tells an action packed story with gritty, colorful prose, and a certain cavalier attitude for history. The story is fun to read, but this volume should have ended with Caesar defeating Pompey at Pharsalia - it's the natural climax to the book. Instead it continues with the pursuit of Pompey to Egypt, the meeting and then love affair with Cleopatra, and finally Caesar's return to Rome and assassination. All of this seems rushed and tacked on. If Iggulden had taken another book to wrap things up, it might have been for the best.

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The brilliant conclusion

Every schoolboy and girl knows what is going to happen at the end of a quadrilogy about Caesar's life. Nevertheless, the story continues with relationships building and fast-moving action from battle to battle, as the inevitable conclusion approaches.
Julius and his supporters confront Pompey and pursue him to Egypt. From that point onward, it is impossible to put this book down until you have read the final words. The twists and turns, and the intrigue that the powerful Cleopatra brings to the scene, just make this story totally captivating.

The only disappointing part for me is that the first unbelievable line of all four books is the way that Brutus is persuaded to join the assassination plot against his lifelong friend by their mutual lifelong enemy. You would expect that, with all that had gone before, Brutus would just have skewered the man who made such a treacherous suggestion, wiped the dirty blood off his sword, and left the traitor where he deserved to be. Although that would fly in the face of all that we were taught at school, it would have satisfied me, because I never did believe very much of what my history teacher told me.

I would conclude that a historical fiction has to be extremely well told to keep the reader interested through the passage of four books. I was much more than merely interested, I was swept along by the pace and the style and had to keep reading at all times, just to find out what happened next. Pick up The Gates of Rome and read the first chapter, and you won't rest until you've read the final chapter of The Gods of War.

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Thumbs up

The book arrived in good condition. It took only a week and a half to ship from the USA to Europe which was quicker than I expected.
Overall I'm happy with my purchase

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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