A few, core, what-if questions form the foundation of Ford’s genre-blending The Dragon Waiting. The most important is what if Byzantium adopted a policy of religious toleration instead of Christianity? Oh, and what if there were vampires and wizards, too?
War and Peace Review
It luxuriates, meandering through lives and small events that stack up into occasional flashes of intense conflict. Instead of following a central plot thread all the way through in a direct fashion, as a modern novel would, Tolstoy leads the reader on a winding path that, while you’re walking it, can feel unfocused, but that somehow still conveys a sense of progress.
Laurus Review
If you are fascinated by faith, and constantly inquiring of history, like I am, then Laurus deserves a place near the top of your reading list.
The tale of Genji Review
I really don't know how to rate this book. On the one hand, it is well-written, well-translated, and culturally interesting. On the other hand, it is incredibly boring.
Niccolò Rising Review
The elements that I enjoyed about the Lymond Chronicles are all present: a brilliant protagonist, beautiful writing, fascinating historical context, and evocative descriptions. Despite all of that, I found it difficult to engage with the story.
The Lion Review
The Lion captures one of the most significant time periods in the history of the western world, the pact that helped forge the Hellenic peoples into a single culture.
The Gates of Athens Review
Maybe it’s because Herodotus is so aptly referred to as “history’s screenwriter,” but I was less impressed by Iggulden’s interpretation of the events in The Gates of Athens than I was with his interpretation of Xenophon’s adventures. Where the story he told of Xenophon’s exploits was very faithful to the history, The Gates of Athens seemed to include a lot more supposition on Iggulden’s part, mostly to add interpersonal drama. Yet he is telling a story about some of the most dramatic moments in recorded history, and I wonder if added drama is really necessary.
The Abbot’s Tale Review
The Abbot’s Tale, though, is something different, and in this Iggulden is serving more as a translator than a writer, or even a researcher. It is drawn almost entirely from a surviving manuscript written by Dunstan, a tenth century English monk, and the titular protagonist of The Abbot’s Tale. That manuscript is a sort of memoir or maybe a personal confessional, and it is clear that the original author never intended for it to be read, or even to survive.
Wars of the Roses Series Review
Considering that a lot of classic fantasy genre tropes come from this period and region of history, perhaps that is a bit of an oversight on my part, one that reading Iggulden's Wars of the Roses series has helped me address. In fact, reading these books, combined with some thinking I've been doing recently about plotting, has led me to some interesting reflections. So while this is still a review of the series, I also want to talk a little about those thoughts.
Ravenspur Review
If I were reviewing this is a fantasy book, I would critique is for being repetitive. After all, this is book four in which Lancaster and York fight, kings get captures, kings get killed, people don't have heirs at the appropriate times, and battles are fought over the exact same thing that they were waged a few years ago. However, if this is not a fantasy novel, so I can't blame Iggulden if Ravenspur started to feel repetitive in places. This is, after all, what really happened, or at least the broad strokes are. For some thirty years, the houses of York and Lancaster fought back and forth over the throne of England, and devastated the population in the process.
IGC Publishing 