Quintissential Car Reading

In their style of writing, certain books complement certain venues - two examples being Dawkins' books for coffee shop reading and Michael Palin's books for holidays. Having listened to many audiobooks in my travels to & from work, I have found few better than the Emperor series for keeping my attention and yet not requiring me to know every detail of the plot.

This particular one was the first one Robert Glenister narrated and it is amazing how, even early on, he has a talent for the voices and a skilful clear narrative. The plot may be a little slow at first, but that is typical of biographical novels, and the action that begins on the third part is well paced and compelling.

Since I have heard all but one of the rest of the series before this one, I would recommend this audio download on its own merits as a good foundation to build the rest of the series on (though the order of reading is not especially important). The Emperor series make for brilliant and engaging adventure novels which help long journeys go by like a breeze!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

25 people found this helpful

Great book

Defiantly worth a read.... or listen!!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

A masterpiece

Incredible. Thrilling. Unforgetable. An absolutely amazing storry from beginning to end. Also a perfect depiction of roman society.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Very good - maybe 5 stars

Being a bit dim I didn't get who this fascinating story was about until near the end - it made it even better when his true identity was revealed.

Great historical novel.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Caesars youth as imagined by Iggulden

I love historical novels and enjoy stories from the Romans or English kings/queens, most of all.

This books is the first in a series and I was looking forward to listen to it after reading good things about it. I was a bit dissapointed. It was ok, quite well written but.... I understand that any author writing historical novels is filling in the gaps with his fantasy and there is not so much known about the youth of Caesar so I understand that in this respect he could use his fantasy. But, why to totally change things that are known? The author explaines in his afterword that he thinks the real story was to confusing, but I do not agree. Novels are fiction, I understand, but I think he took a bit to much license with the truth. I will not be reading the second book any time soon...

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Well written but historically inaccurate!

The narrator is excellent and the story is well written. However, fictional characters should have been used as the author has taken real people and just made up the events around them. This is just about acceptable when writing about people of the past of whom we know little, but not when writing about ancient Rome - a period that is remarkably well documented!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Wonderful

fantastic story well delivered, if you have interest in Roman history you will love it.. and if you don't have an interest in Roman history it's still a great story.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Great story & great narrator

Fascinating story and well told. A bit gruesome in places, but nothing more than is required by the time in which it is set. Can’t wait to listen to book 2!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Excellent read

The childhood of Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony.
Or, it could have been.
A great listen.
Have ordered book 2
Enjoy.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Conn Iggulden rocks!

This was my first taste of a Conn Iggulden novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes it isn't exactly based on historic fact, as explained by the author himself at the end. He has taken some poetic licence with the timelines and has crafted a fictional account of what Julius' early years might have been like. As there is no actual written account of his childhood the author based his story around what it would have been like for a typical middle class Roman boy and I think he's done a fantastic job. I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Glenister's narrative and I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series. I'm middle-aged and female so probably don't fit the typical demographic of Conn Iggulden readers but as an avid reader of historic fiction and non-fiction I would recommend this writer to anyone who enjoys the same.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

79 people found this helpful