This book: Absolutely bloody brilliant, at times quite literally. The Blood of Gods is the fifth (and final) entry in Conn Iggulden's acclaimed Emperor series and chronicles the immediate aftermath of The Ides of March, 44 BC. Octavian, the future Augustus and first emperor of Rome, has vowed vengeance against the Liberatores and will stop at nothing to have their heads on spikes. Meanwhile, Marcus Brutus and his bitches have fled Rome although they hoped to be welcomed as saviours; this being so because of the snake Mark Antony, a loyal friend of Caesar and current consul of Rome. This one was I have to admit better than the previous installments. The plot was tighter, the characters fewer yet fully realised though not always, and the dialogue a lot smoother. All this made into a well-written page turner with plenty of action, intrigue and the general badassery of Romans.Regarding the historical accuracy of this novel I have few comments mainly because of a rudimentary knowledge of Roman history, yet I dare say it doesn't veer off very far from the actual course of events. Sure there is fictinolisation, events arranged in incorrect sequences, but overall it doesn't impact much of the story and all in all makes for a really compelling read.9.5/10 This book, like all of Conns books I've read (the entire Conqueror and Emperor series) was excellent and compelling. The characters were entertaining and I you can tell there was a lot of time put in to making the book just as good as the rest of the series was. That being said there were a few little annoyances in the continuity of the story from previous books. For example; Octavian and Brutus had not only met each other previously as mentioned in this book but in one of the volumes before this they had sparred with blades as well. In fact in earlier books it was clear, if not explicitly mentioned, that Brutus was like a father to Octavian and Octavian adored him. Yet in this book Conn has kept the details of their relationship rather shallow. I would of course love to read more of Conn's writing on the Romans and follow Octavian through his life and Marc Antony through his up until they clash in the future. Then who knows. But that's probably the mark of all great books and their authors. You always want to read more.All in all if not for those minor story disconnects with earlier novels I would have given this book a 5.
What do You think about Gudarnas Blod (2014)?
Pretty good read about Octavian. Not as lurid as some accounts, but it kept my interest.
—june
I'm sure this will be great, but on a S. King kick so will come back to it.
—Mirimuise890
Rome immediately after the death of Julius Caesar. Iggulden at his best!
—Sharan
Love it. I've never read a Conn Iggulden book I didn't love.
—Candace
Loved this. Now must get more of his books to read.
—blessymuthu
