Empire Rising [Kindle Edition]

Sam Barone (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Barone returns to the cradle of civilization in his sanguinary sequel to Dawn of Empire. Lord Eskkar, a former barbarian who earlier saved the city of Akkad from almost-certain defeat, and Lady Trella, an erstwhile slave and his wife, now rule the biggest city on the Tigris. Hoping to crush the bandits marauding in the countryside and extend Akkadian rule, Eskkar dispatches one band of soldiers south from Akkad and leads another north. In Eskkar's absence, Korthac, a newly arrived Egyptian warrior posing as a trader, schemes to infiltrate the city with his followers and seize power. Korthac sends assassins to track down Eskkar, and bandits south to ambush the returning Akkadian soldiers. Inside the city, his followers attack the soldiers left behind to keep order and take a pregnant Lady Trella prisoner. The ruthless Korthac plans to kill Trella once his rule is established, but, unknown to him, Eskkar survives and is preparing to retake the city. The frenetic action might be predictable, but it's never boring. The setting is convincingly rendered, and the characters—heroes and villains—are sharply drawn. Fans of ancient historical fiction will enjoy this instructive journey to the dawn of civilization. (Oct.)
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Review

“Never boring...the setting is convincingly rendered, and the characters--heroes and villains--are sharply drawn.”

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 448 KB
• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books; 1 edition (October 13, 2009)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000WCWV8K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's even better than I hoped, October 17, 2007

By 

W. Morgan "Eclectic Reader" (Renton, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Empire Rising (Hardcover)

I loved Dawn of Empire. This book is better by any measure. The writing style and dialogue is more flowing. Mr. Barone chooses to write the action in a non-linear fashion, switching scenes and rewinding the time line to catch-up to the action. At first disarming, I grew to see the value particularly in the final battle scenes with its divided action. He develops the Lani character into someone we grow to understand and believe in. Similar to his treatment of Trella, Sam Barone understands the value of a strong female persona. Even the minor characters are sufficiently developed to generate empathy (or hate).
While the ultimate results of the siege were predictable, there were enough little surprises along the way (boats, a heroic cat,....) to captivate this reader.
This book stands alone. By all means read DOE if you haven't, but the author has cleverly interwoven the necessary background into this novel without boring those that have. Very nice job.
More please!!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The wait is worth it!, October 3, 2007

By 

Jason Frost "RubiconReader" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Empire Rising (Hardcover)

Simply put... I loved this book! Finding out what happens to Eskkar and Trella, and the city of Akkad makes for one AMAZING story! There really is no need for me to say more because I would be just repeating what others have said. This is a wonderful story with everything that a wonderful story needs. Period!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a better sequel, October 11, 2007

By 

Philip D. Long (clay center, kansas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Empire Rising (Hardcover)

This is one of the rare books were the sequel is better than the original. Speaking as a historian, there are nit picking faults; Coins did not come into being for over 3,000 years, horses were too small to ride then, but the exciting story over rules any faults.
I expecially liked how the author did not make the mistake of writting his characters like they were modern. Trella and Eskar are early bronze age characters but their life and times show that nothing has changed in millinia. A well written book about a rich cast of characters. I hope more are on the way.