Customer Reviews

Tyrant

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Oddly enough there were none of those reviewers who say "wow what a great book" on the back. Don't know why, but i thought it was a really enjoyable, interesting read. Can't wait for the next one....Kinda in the Jack Whyte, Conn Iggulden type writing style...

"Tyrant" is the second novel of historical fiction author Christian Cameron ("Washington and Caesar")."Tyrant"'s conquering Alexandrian Age heros-turned-mercenaries for hire find their futures "balanced on the knife's edge", when every decision could force a meeting of the Fates. Christian Cameron has embued his self-reflective characters with an extraordinary sense of identity, loyalty and religious reverance. We ride with the Scythians and Slavic peoples as they battle for the "sea of grass" of their homelands, and we stand at the firesides of the citizenless band of Greeks who must set aside their Homeric ideals to ally with unlikely compatriots. "Tyrant" is a rewarding read that brings mysticism, military strategy, ever-shifting cultural boundaries, and halting romance together in an immersive, richy detailed novel.

Christian Cameron's writing reminds me very much of Patrick O'Brian. Tyrant is full of rich historical detail and deep relationships between characters. The book is not simply an excuse to race from one battle to the next. Christian is a living history reenactor (and former military officer)and these experiences come through in the vivid depictions of camp life and the relationships that develop between brothers in arms. Tyrant is one of the finest historical fiction novels I have read.

Salve,
I found this book by pure chance, and immediately, after a few pags, loved the idea of reading it. First of all its hero is a cavalry commander, embodiment of Xenophon ideas about riding and fighting on horseback, Hellenic/ ancient Greek/style, and usually we are treated to Greek or Roman historical novels where main characters ride by necessity and have no love for horses and mounted warfare. Here our hardy lot is a bunch of Alexander's dismissed-from-service veteran cavalrymen and one Spartan of questionable Lacedaemonian virtues. Secondly, it has promised to take the reader to the lands beyond Euxine (Black Sea), area that was so vital to the ancient Greek polis (states), being the grain, honey and fur production area for the mother-states, especially the epicenter of the ancient Greek world before the Alexandrian conquests - Athens. And to Scythia you will go, meeting the most formidable ancient people scarcely talked about - the archers or Scythians (Skuda, Skudra, Saka) - good book to check on them is Osprey's 'The Scythians', or 'The Scythian Gold'. Finally, I has never been big fan of Macedonian power in the Balkans and beyond and our author decided to explore little known defeat of the Macedonian infantry and cavalry at the hands of the Scythian-Pontic Greeks alliance. Additionally, good reader will find Scythian lore and material culture well described (with big role of women leaders), ancient Greek martial arts including panktration, Greek polis politics, ancient Greek warfare, economics, culture and history. There is love and conspiracies, betrayal and living to one's word and honor (so absent in our current politics and world in general). Finally, we get a bit of post-Alexandrian conquest social and political dissolution of the Achaemenid Empire, with refuges trickling in the northern lands from beyond the Caucasus and Caspian Sea.
IN my opinion a fine novel to read and then go and grab the second one that is equally engrossing and even more oriented towards the ancient Eurasian nomads.
The novel is well researched and strongly based in historical sources and archaeological findings (from Ukraine and southern Russia). Imho it is much better the the latest efforts by Simon Scarrow (the Eagle cycle). So bridle and saddle up to ride into the late 4th century Eurasian steppes with Kineas and Sryanka.

First let me say that the novel would have benefitted greatly by having maps of Olbia and The Euxine. Our heros are found wandering around areas most readers are probably not very familiar with. Secondly, the ancient common soldier who becomes a rogue general has been done a number of times in historical novels. Third, I, for one, don't believe that 'strong warrior women' engage in very many battles either today or in antiquity.
Having said that, I felt that the author was in command of his writing style and offers a book that I felt compelled to read to the end (500 pages). Essentially, this is a story wherein our hero, an exiled veteran of the Alexandrian Wars, links up with a band of misfits, mysterious people, and loyal friends, and sets out to become a mercenary for a "Tyrant" far far away. He meets a barbarian princess-warrior, they fall in love, battles ensue, and the stage is set for the second book (coming soon)
It gets three stars because of the writing but the story never grabbed me in the ways that Dando-Collins, Holland, or McCollough has consistantly done through the years. I think that Christian Cameron will grow into a very good writer and I will probably try the next book in this series.

Going by thecover note and the genre, this book had all the promise of the historical fiction I read and love (David Gemmel, Conn Iggulden, Simon Scarrow, Valerio Massimo Manfredi), but failed to deliver for me. The key thing for me was that I really didn't care for the main character by about 80 pages in. I had read nothing to make me love him or hate him, and for me that is where this book falls down - it read more like a report at times rather than a character driven tale. I didn't get the beginning, was it a prologue, and if so why? It seemed to want to sum up the main character's journey from naive soldier to brilliant general in a few pages. Sorry, but that's something that should be a journey for me rather than a sprint.

This novel was brilliant in parts, but slow in others.
The Author did a great job building the characters in the group of greek warriors and looking at the dilemnas of command. His fight scenes were excellent particularly the final battle. After an early skirmish with nomadic horsemen it felt like a good 300 pages before any more action.
The lifestyle of the scyths was interesting, but needed to be interspersed with some other interest.
Why do all authors of ancient novels feel the need to go on about oracles. OK it was an integral part of their belief system, but endless passages about dreams are not what i expected in this book.
The theme was a very interesting one and I will probably continue on with the series.

This is one of the best historical fiction novels I have read! The author apparently has a vast knowledge of the hellenistic world, and he puts it to good use. Rich personalities and philosophical discussions, references to the ancient classics all combine with great combat scenes to make this a fantastic book. The only minus is the lack of maps. A good historical atlas will solve that, but most readers will probably not have that handy.

The subsequent books in the series have maps, but they could have been more detailed.

I was very impressed. It was a good story that I thought really captured the birth of Hellenism. Not quite Mary Renault's league but I thought the book was good literature. I did have some problems otherwise I would have been happy to give the book 5 stars. Another reviewer, commented on the lack of maps and I agree. A map would have been good, two would have been better. The other problem I had was with what I thought were a few loose ends (was the Spartan a spy? what about messages from Athens? etc.). When I purchased this book I didn't realize it was part of a series, so maybe it's OK to have loose ends if you are going to follow up in the next installment. That said, a well-crafted story that I enjoyed and I think you might also enjoy.

I BOUGHT ALL THREE BOOKS OF CAMERON AND AS A GREEK I THOUGHT THAT I LIVED IN THAT ERA. VERY DETAILED EXCELLENT