Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
It focuses on a mighty Mongol conqueror and Genghis Khan tries to unify an entire continent under his rule… A Mongol warrior, surrounded by his sons, brothers and tribesmen came from over the horizon winning each and every battle. His legend together with his ambition grew and ranks of his horsemen swelled. In any case, Iggulden has created some memorable and individual characters which are strong enough to make me want to see what the future holds for them, but i'd like the narrative to feel more comprehensive and less like i'm stepping in and out of snapshots. Conn Iggulden or C.F. Iggulden, one of the better historical writers, finally has his own fantasy world......... The Sword Saint” is the third novel in the “Empire of Salt” series and was released in the year 2019. Empires have fallen, cities have been broken, and there is darkness coming. Success has only drawn a cold gaze. One false king looks for dominion. His soldiers are going to bring despair and desolation to Darien. With treachery on every side, the ancient capital looks ready to fall.
A gripping read from the master historical storyteller. This swords-and-sandals epic brings the clash of empires between Greece and Persia to life' Daily Express Unbelievably good; this marked the first time I finished reading Iggulden’s work, and it’s VERY promising that this will become one of my favorite series. Sparta did not defeat Athens by baiting them out into one battle as Conn tells it. Athens lost a huge part of her army in a failed attempted invasion of Sicily - a venture in which they didn’t really need to embark, at a point when the war was going in their favour.
Darien is fantasy novel very much in the spirit of sword-and-intrigue series like Game of Thrones. The setting is richly conceived without being oppressively detailed, the characters are engaging and nuanced, and the plot unfolds in a way that's both unexpected and yet inevitable. Iggulden's prose has both the consistency and stylistic variations needed to support the multiple viewpoint characters, giving them their own voices while keeping them grounded in the same book. In general the action and pace were fine particularly as the book went on; I was happily caught up in the story. This was not a book I would have put down and I enjoyed reading it. My reservation is that the plot lines seem quite well telegraphed. It was apparent to me quite early on the general direction of the story. As I got further into the book I did work out a number of the general storylines. I'd go for 3.5/5 on this one though others will enjoy it even more than me. Darien is a city in the new fantasy series by Conn Iggulden. He is more known for his historical fiction books. This is his first journey into fantasy and is aimed at Teen and YA readers, but also works very well for adult audiences as well.
Nothing that spoiled the read for me but random thoughts that popped up as I read. There is very little history about Darien and although there are twelve noble families we don’t meet them all here. Personally, I think Iggulden has the right idea by not introducing everyone at this point. We only meet with those nobles that play a role in the story and this helps to keep the story succinct and prevents the need for history lessons (although I would have liked a little bit more information on, for example the Sallets). The other part of the overall scene is the city of Darien where much of the book is set. I guess Darien is a fairly stereotypical city state with rulers who are seen as abusing power and authority. Those who are in authority are doing all they can to retain that authority. Had his childhood been easy, he would probably have settled down with a couple of wives and a few goats. Historic record shows otherwise, but that record hardly brings Ghengis Khan's tale to life in the way that Iggulden has managed in this book. There was no bond stronger than that between those who have risked their lives in each other’s company.” I don’t know why the ending to this book series was rushed and so many interesting events cut out… but I hope whatever the new project/time period Conn is embarking on makes it worth it!
The first 95% of this book was no exception. It’s a gripping tale of the struggles which Pericles faced, how he became a leader in Athens and his city’s rivalry with Sparta - the most militarily superior state of its time. The story of Temujin and his rise to uniting the tribes against the Tartars is a powerful one. Temujin goes through a lot of hell from the age of twelve onward, from being abandoned on the steppe during winter, to being imprisoned in a pit and being urinated on, to having his wife kidnapped and raped by Tartars. Once he started uniting the tribes, even I felt like riding with the young khan. While he's not always likeable, he's definitely a charismatic character. To have only one city as the central point of the story is not uncommon in fantasy. We learn that Darien is a city ruled by a young king who is essentially only the pawn of the twelve powerful families. The city seems to have belonged to a huge empire in the past which gave the book series its title (Empire of Salt), but we sadly don't learn anything more than that. Equally unsatisfying for me was the fact that we don't get to know the twelve families in more detail since they seem to be of much importance for Darien and later on in the story. This was even more frustrating since the German book does feature the subtitle "rule of the twelve" which let me to believe we would learn a lot about politics and power dynamics in Darien. This was a very enjoyable read and I sincerely hope that this series will continue as I’m definitely a fan! Aunque parezca extraño, se conoce bastante de los primeros años de la vida de Temujin, quizá con datos un poco tendenciosos, ya que la crónica de su vida que él mismo mandó escribir y que se perdió en formato escrito, se conservó en la tradición oral china.
Great Deal 
New Comment