The Death of Kings (Emperor, Book 2) | Conn Iggulden

The Death of Kings (Emperor, Book 2) | Conn Iggulden | The adventure continues

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The Death of Kings...

	The Death of Kings (Emperor, Book 2) Conn Iggulden Dell, 2005 - 560 pages average customer review:based on 39 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The acclaimed author of Emperor: The Gates of Rome returns to the extraordinary life of Julius Caesar in a new novel that takes us further down the path to glory . . . as Caesar comes into his own as a man, warrior, senator, husband, and leader.

In a sparsely settles region of North Africa, a band of disheveled soldiers turn their eyes toward one man among them: their leader, Julius Caesar. The soldiers are Roman legionaries. And their quarry is a band of pirates who dared to kidnap Julius Caesar for ransom. Now, as Caesar exacts his revenge and builds a legend far from Rome, his friend Marcus Brutus is fighting battles of another sort, rising to power in the wake of the assassination of a dictator. Once Brutus and Caesar were as close as brothers, devoted to the same ideals and attracted to the same forbidden women. Now they will be united again by a shock wave from the north, where a gladiator named Spartacus is building an army of seventy thousand slaves?to fight a cataclysmic battle against Rome itself.

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Well written

Well written in an easy, flowing style. High historical accuracy without fluffing things up by adding in unneeded extra drama. Good solid read.

The adventure continues

This is the second of a series of four historical fictions. This episode begins with Caesar as an outcast from Rome and beginning his military career as a junior officer on board a ship patrolling the waters of the North African coast. It also follows the early career of his closest friend, Brutus, who finds himself battling in Greece. Some amazing adventures ensue for both of them as they gain fighting experience. Although they both become excellent and well-respected soldiers and officers, Brutus seems to have the edge with the sword and Caesar with the brain.

When they eventually meet again, they have gained enough experience and seniority to lead an army to rescue Rome from the threat of ex-gladiator, Spartacus, who is leading his own army attacking from the north.

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Fantastic Book

The entire series 'Emperor',including 'The Death of Kings',are very exciting and well-written.It's true that Iggulden made many changes from the original story but I believe the most important thing is to understand the character of Julius Caesar and of Marcus Brutus,and how life was at the time.The author takes us close to the characters and the story is so vivid that you can't stop reading..For me,the most interesting thing in the series is the relationship of the two friends and how they changed during the years.

If you enjoyed the first, this one is even better.

The Death of Kings is the second in Conn Iggulden's Emperor series telling a (highly) fictionalized version of the life of Julius Caesar.

This one begins a few months after The Gates of Rome. Julius is part of a naval party preparing to storm a captured fortress and rescue a governor. Marcus (now Brutus) is a proud centurion on a quest to meet the mother who abandoned him.

As with the first, historical fact takes a back seat to exciting, fast-paced story-telling as Caesar battles pirates, a renegade Greek king and ultimately takes on Spartacus and his slave army to round out the volume. Back biting, gamesmanship and politics take much more precedence in this volume as we follow the rise and fall of Sulla as the Dictator of Rome and its' bloody aftermath.

One thing I've noticed more in this book than the last is that the secondary characters wind up being more fleshed out and equally as interesting as Julius himself. Alexandria builds a nice life for herself in Rome and brings Octavian into the story as a young child living a touch life on the streets of Rome. Tibruk accomplishes a mighty task and becomes one of the most admirable characters in the story and senators Pompey, Crassus and Cato are all given their moments to shine. Julius isn't forgotten though. We see him homesick when he's captured by pirates to be held for ransom. We see his tremendous self assurance throughout the novel as well as some fear and doubt as a result of a problematic head wound.

Mr. Iggulden's writing is as full-blooded and exciting this time out as it was before. Scenes of the storming of Mytilene, battles with pirates and the raids on Mithradates enormous army leap off the page. It's not just battles that are gripping though. Caesar's trial reclaim his fallen uncle's house (and good name) and struggles in the Senate regarding just what to do about Spartacus are just was exciting as the battles that bookend them.

Also in here he shows very well written and atmospheric scenes of life in Rome, both good and bad. Vivid depictions of creeping through the filthy back alleys of Rome to meet an assassin and bits of opulence in a brothel and Octavian's troubles with murderous bullies bring the city to life. Even heroic characters are shown to be brutal by today's standards. Pompey's revenge chilled me as much as what he was getting revenge for.

I did notice that Mr. Iggulden seems to set Julius slightly apart from the other characters. While Pompey is shown to take pleasure in his violent and bloody revenge, Caesar comes off as more sensitive. I'm not really sure if this was fair to the character, though it is understandable that he is trying to humanize a guy that could easily become a superhero.

I've been thinking a lot about whether the (sometimes huge) departures from history really harm this series. Many people seem to slam these books for their changes. But really, do these same sorts of changes make Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, Frank Miller's 300 or Peter Shaffer's Amadeus any less works of art?

As with the first book, The Death of Kings is a rousing and well-written adventure story that happens to be about Julius Caesar. It isn't historically accurate, but at the very least may spark a layman's interest in ancient history. I plan to continue reading this series and whatever other novels Mr. Iggulden has waiting in the wings.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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