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Empire

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Empire

By: Conn Iggulden
Narrated by: Tim McInnerny
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

IN CONN IGGULDEN'S LATEST GOLDEN AGE EPIC, JOIN PERICLES, THE LION OF ATHENS, ON A JOURNEY TO SECURE THE FATE OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE

Pericles returns home more than a hero: he's the leader of Athens, the empire's beacon of light in the dark.

But even during times of peace, the threat of Sparta - Athens's legendary rival - looms large on the horizon. When a sudden catastrophe brings Sparta to its knees, Pericles sees a golden opportunity to forever shift the balance of power in his city's favour.

For sometimes, the only way to win lasting peace is to wage war.

Sparta may be weak, but their power is far from extinguished. Soon a ruthless young boy steps forward to lead the Spartans back to greatness.

As the drums of battle draw closer, can Pericles rise once more or will the world's greatest empire fall under his watch?

©2023 Conn Iggulden (P)2023 Penguin Audio Action & Adventure Ancient Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction War & Military Ancient Greece War Ancient History

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Critic reviews

'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

'Pacy and propulsive, cracking with energy, violence and stirring speeches, Iggulden chronicles power struggles, political machinations and the bloodthirsty ravages of up-close combat' Daily Mail

'[Tim McInnerny] brings to life the action sequences with consummate skill, ensuring that the pace quickens to draw you in, without losing any clarity. These are the most memorable moments in the book, and the sections listeners will remember after finishing the final chapter.' Entertainment Focus
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Much more purposeful and entertaining than Lion (which is not a bad book at all). It reminded me of the first in the series. I was a little bit disappointed with some historical aspects of the story. Condensing a period or a conflict in the name of clarity can be forgivable in fiction, but it shouldn't be altered to the point that it is unrecognisable. I really enjoyed this series, it's brought ancient Greece back to life for me, I wish he had written another book rather than rushing to finish the series on a tidy note.
Good end to a brilliant series, one which has opened the world of historical fiction to me.

A return to form and pace

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I read and enjoy non-fiction and fiction history books in equal measure. With Conn Iggulden you know that what you will get are engaging stories woven with real characters and historical events that do not always match the dates and facts. The author will always tell readers that he has changed certain things to assist in the telling of the overall story. Does it matter? No it does not. In each and every book/ series there will be times after I have read a book, when I will refer to the real history to find out more about the real people and events. That way I get a better appreciation of history because I have been stimulated to improve my knowledge. Enjoy the book for what it is, a really good yarn about Ancient Greece before the much more covered period of the rise of Macedon and Alexander a little over a century on from Empire.
Enjoyed the narration very much by a fine actor

Another winner from this impressive history fiction writer

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Excellent story. Enjoyed it and historical record was very interesting. A time I knew very little about.

Good story

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Entertaining, but far too many factual errors. Example: in the story the spartans conquered Athens on the day of Pericles death, not 25 years later as told by historians.

«Inspired by true events, rather than based on…»

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Another great tale about the Greeks and their power struggle with the world. Brilliantly written and flowing seamlessly from one part to another. A joy to read ( but a bit gritty in some parts ). Thank you Conn Iggulden.

Another gripping tale

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It’s hard to imagine that these great stories are based in truth.

Great narration, thank you.

Excellent

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Conn Iggulden at his very best, addictive listening this is masterful work I gave the performance 4 stars only because at times it sounded alot like Percy from the BBC's Blackadder series but please don't let that put you off the golden age books are amongst the best I've ever read/listened too thank you 🙏 Mr Iggulden

wonderful

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I have very much enjoyed the Empire series and this book was a very fitting ending. Difficult to put down and engaging until the end. I have felt in the past that some of Conn’s books don’t give sufficient character development (for my taste), but he nails it here and is back to his best, which for me is the Ghengis Khan series.

Conn back to his best!

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I found the characters, authentic and believable, the descriptions of the plague, battle, dialogues, family, relationships etc so convincing with beautifully nuanced sentences, which told me the author himself was a man of deep and worldly experience; and Tim McInnerny's narration and performance enhanced everything the author was conveying and was absolutely first class.
I thought I would never again listen to a story and its narration as good as Tim Piggot Smiths performance of Bernard Cornell's Warlord Trilogy - I was wrong. This is up there with the best.
But why oh why did you feel the need to ruin the ending with utter historical nonsense, when you had gone to so much trouble to make the historical time line and its events before that so sound?
At least you tried to explain the real ending in the historical notes, but anyone not familiar with that history would have closed the pages unknowingly confused. Ho Hum.🥴

Utterly Stupendous!! But ruined by the ending.

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the story and depth were what one would expect from this author, but i was disappointed in how many historical points got omitted in this. the war is very short, the conflicts in Macedonia weren't mentioned, the athenian raids on spartas coast are a footnote, and nothing at all on the persian influence and later joining the war. the author gives reasons for this, which i can understand, but i was really looking forward to seeing the persian story, particularly with what happens in falcon. still i did enjoy the story just the last hour let it down a bit.

Not to the usual standard unfortunately

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