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Lädt ... Blood of Kingsvon Andrew James
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Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. There isn't a huge amount of historical fiction out there about Ancient Persia, but I was interested to stumble across this novel about the rise to power of Darius, father of Xerxes and founder of the Achaemenid royal house. Considering my present interest in that family, it had to be read; but it made for an uneven and occasionally frustrating novel. While the battle scenes and landscapes are vividly described, the characterisation is occasionally weak and the romantic elements seem to have been filtered in from an entirely different book. An ambitious but ultimately flawed attempt to do justice to an intriguing historical figure. For a more thorough review, please see my blog: http://theidlewoman.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/blood-of-kings-andrew-james.html Zeige 2 von 2 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
Praise for Blood of Kings: 'Extremely compelling..... an almost Game of Thrones feel at times. The novel is certainly a page-turner...I look forward to reading a continuation' Ancient Warfare Magazine 'This is a brilliantly written and scrupulously researched historical novel that uniquely captures the atmosphere surrounding the rise to power of Darius, the greatest king of Ancient Persia. His story is interwoven with parallel events in Egypt and Greece, making this novel of absorbing interest to anybody with an interest in the ancient world' Dr John Curtis, OBE, FBA, formerly Keeper of the Department of Middle East, the British Museum It is 530 BC and Cyrus the Great has carved out the largest Empire the world had ever seen, making Persia the undisputed superpower of the ancient world. But there is treachery afoot, and Cyrus's life is in danger. In a fast paced tale of love, war, betrayal and revenge, Blood of Kings sweeps the reader up on an epic journey from the mud brick cities of Ancient Persia to the burning heart of Pharaoh's Egypt. Packed full of dramatic and authentic battle scenes, it recreates the sweat, blood and fear of ancient warfare, as Persia smashes Egypt's army and brings the reign of the Pharaohs to a violent end. But it is also a book that will delight Herodotus fans, bringing the ancient Greek historian's characters to life like never before, as it follows the doomed 'lost army of Cambyses' into the Libyan Desert, marching towards a fate that would baffle archaeologists for millennia to come. 'You must read Blood of Kings. . . a masterpiece of historical fiction' Dr Bryan Wood, Author 'Vivid...original and fascinating' F. Bailey, Scriptwriter for BBC's 'Peak Practice' 'Andrew James has captured the very spirit of the Ancient Achaemenids . . . he literally takes the reader back in time to the Persians of old. I would highly recommend this historical novel . . .' Dr Kaveh Farrokh, Lecturer and Reader of History at the University of British Columbia Continuing Studies Division Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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The premise - following King Darius' rise to power and charting his part in the campaign which saw an army of tens of thousands of Persians vanish mid-desert - has not been tackled in historical fiction before (at least, not that I am aware of), and this only lends more kudos to James for crafting such a detailed, vivid and immersive account of this virgin territory.
The historical detail is well observed and subtly conveyed in the narrative in a way that informs but does not distract. The Persian kings, armies, people and their customs and everyday life are richly characterised, with tiny observations like the Persian Shahanshah (King of Kings) being given "a magnificent war bow, its belly chased with electrum, elaborately carved griffins at each end, eyes and beaks picked out in gold", causing me to arch an envious eyebrow more than once.
In terms of setting, the author's attention to detail has been honed by virtue of living in the desert for a number of years, walking the paths he writes about. The maps included in the book are a testament to his intimate knowledge of the land. As stated before, the descriptives are generally first class, but there were a few that I found overused - or that made themselves conspicuous by their frequency - such as Darius' observation of the date palms and the ripeness or otherwise of the fruits on them. Not a massive issue, but it was a little 'bump' in the read (and made me crave syrupy dates!).
I chuckled when I read a review of this novel on Amazon which complained about 'too much gore'. Those who are familiar with my books will know that I'm not squeamish and neither is Andrew James - if his torture scenes are anything to go by. Wonderfully done: I won't give anything away but I was wincing/peering through one eye as I read some of the horrific ends and near-ends a few of the characters come to. In terms of battle scenes, I have a healthy appetite for clashing swords, and I found James' fight scenes fell into one of two camps: some, like the clash at the Spring of Shade, were succinct, powerful and memorable; others, such as the ambush at the icy pass near the beginning, were rendered somewhat punchless due to a degree of overdescription (in my opinion anyway). Without giving too much away, one character is tossed from his horse as enemies shoot arrows at him from up on the pass sides, but the descriptive of him being thrown is 2 pages long, and I found that this sucked the pace and peril out of what could have been a thrilling moment.
The tale takes us from Persia to Egypt and back again, and there are a fair few bends along the way. I say bends rather than twists, as I feel they could have been more devious. For example, a lingering doubt resides in Darius' mind throughout most of the book regarding the seeming reappearance of a character he thought was dead. Now the author resolves this in a reasonably satisfying way, but I reckon he could have gone a few steps further to make it more of a jaw-dropper. Easy for me to say, but I just had that nagging feeling that the potential wasn't fully realised with that otherwise impressive plot strand.
Blood of Kings is a lengthy saga, and I did wonder if the author had missed a trick in not breaking it into two or maybe even three volumes. Certainly, the scope of the tale would have allowed for it and if I recall correctly I only paid a few pounds for this book (in late 2015) - great value but probably not quite the reward the author deserves.
Overall, Blood of Kings enthralled, engrossed and delivered my desert adventure fix with aplomb. Recommended. ( )