My book review for www.audiojukebox.comToday is March 15th, or as most of us know, the Ides of March. The three most common facts known about Julius Caesar is that he was one of the greatest rulers of the Roman Empire, he was assassinated on the Ides of March, and he created an amazing salad dressing that he named after himself. Okay, so I made up that last bit about the salad dressing to see if anyone really reads these reviews. But if you are at all curious and want to learn more about the life of Caesar, or even want to hear some thrilling historical fiction, then listen to Conn Iggulden’s Emperor series. There are four books to this amazing series that cover Caesar’s entire life starting as a young boy growing up in Ancient Rome through his rise to power as a military conqueror and dictator and finishing with his decline and assassination. Each book in this series is pretty lengthy – The Field of Swords weighs in at over 17 and a half hours, which might seem a bit of overkill in describing the life of any individual, even a type A overachiever like Julius Caesar. But Conn Iggulden’s books cover so much more than the mere life of one man; they provide a vivid storytelling experience that describes the people, the times and the amazing power of the Roman Empire. The Field of Swords begins in Spain where Caesar has led his legions on a very successful campaign that has captured the Iberian peninsula for Rome. Although his political enemies, feeling threatened by his status as a conqueror and hero, want him to stay away from the city, Julius decides to return to Rome and run for election as Consol. As with elections today, winning the support and votes of the people costs a small fortune, and the election leaves Caesar victorious, but heavily in debt. What is the best way to get out of debt? Conquer a neighboring territory, of course, and Caesar heads off to run a campaign in Gaul. The story alternates between Caesar’s military campaign in Gaul and Britain and the political intrigue and treachery back in Rome. Both parts are exciting and filled with many major historical players of the time – Pompey, Mark Antony, Crassius, and Brutus, as well as a large cast of colorful and well depicted fictional characters. I loved learning about the military strategy of the highly trained and disciplined Roman legions as well as the complex negotiations in the political arena, making this book not only highly entertaining, but definitely worth the listen for the history lesson.The audiobook is read by Paul Blake. This is my first experience with him as a narrator and I have to say that my feelings about this performance are mixed. His voices for various characters were satisfactory, but not distinct enough that I could tell one character from the other by simply hearing a piece of dialog. This did not really cause any confusion as far as the plot is concerned, but it made this performance feel not as polished. I also found his narrations of descriptive text passages to be overly emotional and over acted, which for me, detracted from the book. However, either he improved over time or I became accustomed to his style because after 5 or 6 hours into the book, I was hooked and found myself loving the story. So, whether you want an exciting novel of ancient Rome, or want to learn more about the great man, Julius Caesar, then Friends, Romans, and Countrymen – lend your ears to this audiobook and enjoy a captivating story.
A month or so ago, a sweet shop closed in our village. There were all sorts of rumours as to why the shop closed, it was reported rather blandly in the local newspaper, and I even spoke to someone who claimed he knew the owner, and I was given apparently the story from the horse’s mouth. What is the real reason for the shop going under – will we ever know?There are four gospels in the Bible, each supposedly telling the same story of the same person’s life. All four differ considerably to one another, in all sorts of ways – sometimes, even “facts” appear to contradict themselves.What is history? Does it have to be a 100% verifiable, factually accurate account of events to be worthwhile? Or do we just accept that no one will ever know with that level of veracity what the facts were – and therefore “history”, as such, cannot be guaranteed to be anything more than an interpretation of what factually happened.And if we’re reasonably comfortable with this take on things – then we can fully enjoy the rip roaring tales that are Conn Iggulden’s take on the life and times of Julius Caesar.He himself admits openly that he bends a lot of generally accepted historical facts for the sake of the narrative. And what a narrative it is, on so many levels. In this book, the third in his “Emperor” series, we follow Julius Caesar from his position as Governor in Spain, through the Gallic Wars, the invasion of Britannia (or the British Isles), the defeat of Vercingetorix, and eventually crossing of the Rubicon signalling the beginning of the Roman Civil War.There is no doubt that we get a pretty good outline of the historical facts. We get an insight into the character of one of history's most influential figures. We get excellent descriptions of all sorts of different elements of life in Roman times - how the hardening of steel was evolved - mainly due to the demands of the battlefield - how jewellery was made, how food was harvested, how the justice system was run and so on. How much of this is "historically true", and how much of it is the fruit of the author's imagination, doesn't really matter - it's all fascinating stuff, the sort of detail you don't expect from a bit of a battlefield romp.And the battlefield romp sequences certainly deliver - along with the way life in general has so little worth in these times.This really is good writing - and it scores on any number of fronts. It's a rip roaring, "boys own" read - and it makes an important period in relatively inaccessible history... well, very accessible. By this third book in the series, the characters are very recognizable, and the fatal flaws in the relationship between the two protagonists, Gaius Julius Caesar and Marcus Junius Brutus is set up nicely for the final chapter. You get half a feeling that in the last book in the series, something nasty might just happen between them - unless, of course, history can be changed....
What do You think about The Field Of Swords (2006)?
E num ritmo de tempo que não pára segue a vida de Júlio César que me continua a maravilhar não só pela pessoa em si, mas pelo General em que se tornou e que neste terçeiro volume marca pela diferença.Num atropelo de acontecimentos Júlio César continua as suas conquistas numa Roma cujo espírito e dignidade se perde algures por entre aqueles que apenas no poder desmedido encontram seu belo prazer, esquecendo que uma cidade, um povo é feito de pessoas.Rodeado de amigos, Júlio César atravessa aqui um periódo na sua vida, o olhar para o passado, a nostalgia de um tempo em paz, mas também um olhar pelo futuro cheio de grandiosidade, pois com honra e muito respeito pelo povo romano, Júlio acredita que pode devolver ao seu povo uma república sem injustiças e com uma paz que julga que todos merecem.Conquista a Gália e o respeito por muitos reis deste território, pois sempre com um número inferior de soldados, Júlio César consegue vencer todas as batalhas não só pelas tácticas aplicadas como pelo amor e respeito que os seus homens lhe têm...ele percebe aqui o que um dia o Tio lhe disse...soldados não vão para a guerra pelo seu povo mas pelo seu generalNeste livro começamos a sentir o descontentamento de Marco Bruto perante algumas decisões e acções de Júlio César que fragilizam uma amizade de infância que de certa forma encanta o leitor.Um livro fantástico, escrito como os anteriores de forma ficcionada, mas que confere e respeita o lugar que este imperador ocupou na História da Humanidade.Já estou a ler o último e sinceramente, há muito que não lia uma obra de ficção tão boa!!!!
—Sara
What a fantastic book! This is the third in a four book historical-fiction series about Julius Caesar. This book starts with Caesar wrapping up in Spain and returning to Rome to campaign for Consul. After winning his Consulship and forming the Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus, he heads off to conquer Gaul. This book details his war campaigns through Gaul and Britain and ends with him crossing the Rubicon on his back to Rome. Iggulden's ability to write about battle strategy is uncommonly good. I normally find battle strategy absolutely boring, but with Iggulden, the battles are full of suspense and easy to visualize. Iggulden also does a superb job humanizing his characters. I particularly enjoy the way he writes about the personal relationships involved in the story. Caesar's relationship with Brutus and Servilia were of particular interest to me. Servilia is Brutus' mother AND Caesar's favorite mistress. I did some research on this relationship after reading the book, and Iggulden seems to have stuck with the truth....even down to the purchasing of the famous black pearl for Servilia. Of course, becoming romantically involved with his BFF's mom led to some serious tension between Caesar and Brutus....and we all know how that relationship ends. As always, I like the historical note Iggulden adds to the end so that you can see where the he makes fiction from the facts. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
—Olivia
I've consistently whined about the historical innacuracy in this series, but this one, apart from the core fiction that Caesar and Brutus shared much of their lives and careers together, sticks much more closely to the facts of Caesar's rise to the Consulship and his subsequent Gallic wars. Iggulden downplays some of the horrors of his subjugation of Gaul (such as watching the women and children of Alesia starve to death between the twin walls) but I suppose a lot of detail has to be sacrificed in what was an action packed life, especially since some other readers have said they found this book too long. Perhaps this could have made two books, the first looking at his time in Spain and the consular campaign/triumvirate, and then one dedicated to the Gallic period alone. However, the broad historic fidelity of this book in contrast to the predecessors meant that I probably enjoyed this episode most, as I could enjoy Iggulden's story-telling skill without being narked by innaccuracies. The die is now cast and I can't wait to read the last episode...
—David Campton
