Wolf of the Plains (2007, ISBN 978-0-00-720175-4) (titled Genghis: Birth of an Empire 2010, ISBN 978-0-385-34421-0) The main characters in this story are Cimon and Pericles. They are childhood friends and their fathers had fought in the battles at Marathon against the Persians. The Persians have gone quieter of late, but that does not mean there is no danger. The city-states of Greece come together to form the Delian League, they amass a fleet that patrols the Aegean to keep a look out for potential Persian threats. The Dangerous Book for Boys, byConnand Hal Iggulden, is aguidebookpublished byHarperCollins, aimed at boys “from eight to eighty.” It covers around eighty topics, including how to build atreehouse, grow a crystal, or tell directions with a watch. Also included are famous quotes, stories, historical battles, and phrases that “every boy should know.” The two main characters are both young men, Cimon the older of the two has more authority than Pericles, the younger man. Lion is the story of their early careers. Iggulden covers the capture of Eion under Cimon’s leadership of the Delian League, an alliance of Greek states, and of Scyros where Cimon found the bones of Theseus and returned them to Athens. He then captured Cyprus and destroyed a Persian fleet on the Eurymedon River. Below the age of thirty little is known of Pericles’ life, but the likelihood is that he was with Cimon for these events. Interestingly, though, the narrative is told mostly from the point of view of Pericles, the future leader, as he begins to emerge into maturity. We watch him struggle to balance the competing claims of the war at sea, his new -and by no means submissive - wife, his family, and his friends, including the playwright Aeschylus and the philosophers, Zeno and Anaxagoras.

Lion: The Golden Age, Book 1 (Audio Download): Conn Iggulden

Conn Iggulden is well-known for writing historical fiction books. He was born in 1971 to an English father and an Irish mother. He attended St. Martins School located in Northwood before transferring to Merchant Taylor’s School. Dunstan, One Man Will Change the Fate of England by Conn Iggulden". www.penguin.co.uk . Retrieved 25 September 2017. A distinctly odd book this. The Lion of Athens is Pericles, a man who helped shape the culture and direction of Athenian politics. But we are presented more with Athens as the central character, the development of a fleet to take battle to the Persians and the excitement of a city that was the centre of almost everything. Pericles is presented as a young man finding his feet and love of culture and the more interesting character is the General, Cimon. I found it hard to engage with most of the characters. Pericles, the main character, was difficult to understand and contradictory. I did not understand his determination to marry the complete stranger they met on an island. He behaved like he'd never seen a female before. Nor did I understand why he and his wife became so nasty to each other once they were married. Yes, he suspected she was in love with someone else, but given all the talk about Athenian men learning to be calm and mature, you'd think he could do better.This will be an enjoyable read for anyone with an interest in history, military strategy, and the ancient world! One of them is a senator’s son, who has been given everything to achieve his dream. The other is an adopted child who is cunning and strong. His love for his adoptive family and brother will be the most powerful force in his life. The prologue starts in the point of view of Pausanias, so you'd think he'd be important to the story, right? Wrong. He turns up for some minor passages throughout the first act and then promptly goes home to die quietly. Historically true, but doesn't mean you have to structure the narrative around him.

Lion by Conn Iggulden | Waterstones

A second central character in this book is Cimon, also prominent in the Athenian series. Cimon is the Strategos of the Greek Alliance, which is shown being formed in this part under the leadership of Xanthippus. Much of the book involves the Pericles/Cimon relationship as Pericles both admires Cimon as a leader and person and is jealous of him, especially for his intimacy with Thetis, the captive concubine of a pirate from Scyros and the woman who becomes Pericles wife. The third in a series set during the Graeco-Persian wars, The Lion depicts the triumph of Cimon, the man most responsible for the defeat of Persian king, Xerxes. The story covers the formation of the Delian League (the alliance of Greek states set up to combat the Persian threat), the hostility of Sparta to Athenian leadership, and the first fracture in the alliance caused by the rebellion of Thasos.Born in 1971 to an English father (who was an RAF pilot during the Second World War, [1] ) and Irish mother (whose grandfather was a seanchaí). He went to Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary in Ruislip, Middlesex, then attended St Martins School in Northwood, before moving on to Merchant Taylors' School. [2] He then went to St Dominic's Sixth Form College, before he studied English at the University of London, [2] and went on to teach the subject for seven years, becoming head of the English department at Haydon School, where one of his students was Fearne Cotton. [3] He eventually left teaching to write his first novel, The Gates of Rome. He is married to Ella, who is from the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy and whose family are renowned craft pasta and ravioli specialist producers in the region. [4] They have four children and live in Hertfordshire, England, [5] near Chorleywood Golf Club. [1] I was born in the normal way in 1971, and vaguely remember half-pennies and sixpences. I have written for as long as I can remember: poetry, short stories and novels. It’s what I always wanted to do and read English at London University with writing in mind. I taught English for seven years and was Head of English at St. Gregory’s RC High School in London by the end of that period. I have enormous respect for those who still labour at the chalk-face. In truth, I can’t find it in me to miss the grind of paperwork and initiatives. I do miss the camaraderie of the smokers’ room, as well as the lessons where their faces lit up as they understood what I was wittering on about.