Release Date: 20/10/16
Publisher: Orion
SYNOPSIS:
Arimnestos of Plataea was one of the heroes of the Battle of Marathon, in which the heroic Greeks halted the invading Persians in their tracks, and fought in the equally celebrated naval battle at Salamis.
But even these stunning victories only served to buy the Greeks time, as the Persians gathered a new army, returning with overwhelming force to strike the final killing blow.
For the Greeks, divided and outnumbered, there was only one possible strategy: attack. And so, in the blazing summer of 479 BC, Arimnestos took up his spear one final time at the Battle of Plataea.
REVIEW:
Christian is an author that I always love to pick up and spend time with. I'm guaranteed a cracking story with top notch characters and a level of believability that just transports me to the time period concerned. Here in this final tale in Christian's Long War series we're treated to an epic battle, delightful descriptive prose and all topped off with a principle character that just helps to drive the plot forward. All round a magical experience and for me, if you're looking for a series to pick up for that historical fiction fan in your life, pick up this ancient greek saga. Its an epic that will entertain the spirit of Homer.
Release Date: 13/08/15
Publisher: Orion
SYNOPSIS:
Arimnestos of Plataea has already lived through several lifetimes' worth of adventure, from being a rich man's slave in Ephesus to winning glory at the battle of Marathon against the might of the Persian Empire. But the gods - and the Persians - aren't finished with him yet. As an experienced sea captain - his enemies might say pirate - he has a part to play in the final epic confrontation of the Long War between the Greeks and Persians, the Battle of Salamis. It is a battle where many debts of blood will be repaid, ancient grudges settled, fame won and treachery exposed, where the Greeks must finally bury their differences and fight as one - for against them Xerxes, the Great King, has assembled the greatest fleet the world has ever known, his sworn purpose to brutally extinguish the flame of freedom and make every Greek his slave.
REVIEW:
Ah the joys of Christian Cameron’s writing and whilst I do tend to love all his books, I really have a soft place in my heart for his continuing saga featuring Arimnestos of Plataea. I love being wrapped up in this time period since I read David Gemmell’s Lion of Macedon and any chance to journey to ancient days wins a place on my shelf.
What you get from Christian is a story that is full of blistering high octane action, breakneck pace and of course characters that fit in well into a world we can only hazard educated guesses at. The dialogue works well and all round generates a series that is so addictive, that you can’t resist a reread when the new one lands. Superb.
Release Date: 04/12/14
Publisher: Orion
SYNOPSIS:
The vast and deadly conflict between Alexander the Great's former generals as they battle for control of his empire has reached a tense stalemate. No one seems able to strike the decisive blow.
But with everything in the balance, a secret emerges: hidden in the remote mountains is a young man who could change everything: Herakles, the son of Alexander.
Whoever aspires to Alexander's mantle must now control his one legitimate heir - or destroy him - and a war being played across the known world is set for its final, bloody conclusion. As the rival armies converge on the village of Ipsus, twin monarchs Satyrus and Melitta know that they too must gamble their own lives and the survival of their Black Sea kingdom on the outcome...
REVIEW:
The latest Christian Cameron title and as usual, one that is on form to give you not only hardcore action but great prose with a cracking storyline.
As a fan of Chrisian’s writing I don’t have a clue how he can turn out so many books with such great form in a year and when you add to this characters that you just want to spend time around which when accompanied with the authors own indomitable writing style all round gives you a cracking treat for the holiday period or even for a time of year you want picking up.
Release Date: 01/08/13
Publisher: Orion
SYNOPSIS:
William Gold comes into the world as his family slides down the social ladder. His head filled with tales of chivalry, instead he is branded a thief, and must make do with being squire to his childhood friend Sir Robert, a knight determined to make a name for himself as a man at arms in France. While William himself slowly acquires the skills of knightly combat, he remains an outsider - until the Battle of Poitiers when Sir Robert is cut down by the greatest knight of the age, Sir Geoffrey de Charny, and William, his lowly squire, revenges him. But with his own knight dead, no honour accrues to William for this feat of arms, and he is forced to become a mercenary. Scavenging a mismatched set of armour from the knightly corpses, he joins one of the mercenary companies now set to pillage a defenceless France, and so begins a bloody career that sees William joining forces with the infamous Sir John Hawkwood and immersing himself in a treacherous clandestine war among the Italian city states. But paradoxically it is there, among the spies, assassins and hired killers serving their ruthless masters, that William finally discovers the true meaning of chivalry - and his destiny as a knight.
REVIEW:
Christian Cameron is one of those authors that I just love to spend time around. He brings historical fiction vividly to life and to be honest with you, the practical side of things within (such as the armour) demonstrates an author who has not only done their research well, but one whose clear love of re-enactment shone through on a practical archaeological point of view.
As with Christian’s other books, the prose is not only razor sharp but something that helps you acclimatise yourself to the timeline wonderfully quickly. Add to this great dialogue as well as characters you want to spend time around. Yet for all this, for me, it’s the author’s wonderful action sequences that stand out. Throughout the book, any action is wonderfully imaginative with easy guides for the reader to visualise which when added to matter of fact nitty gritty manoeuvres all round make this something that you can’t wait to get behind. Another stunning book from Christian and one that I had a great time reading. Thank you.
Release Date: 14/02/13
Publisher: Orion
SYNOPSIS:
Demetrius, son of Alexander's former comrade, Antigonus One-Eye, was perhaps the most dashing and charismatic of the Successors, the Macedonian generals who fought a bitter war for the spoils of Alexander's short-lived empire. Still smarting from his epic defeat at the hands of Ptolemy, Demetrius has his eye on one of the richest prizes in the ancient world - the naval superpower of Rhodes. But the Rhodians know that defeat will mean annihilation, and Demetrius's campaign will entail five separate naval battles over several years before he can begin to breach the city walls - leading him to employ an array of fantastic war machines: ancient super-weapons like his gigantic lens of polished bronze used to focus on the city's wooden ramparts and set them ablaze. If she is to survive against such a merciless assault, Rhodes will need the help of every ally she can muster - including the newly crowned King of the Bosporus, Satyrus, and his fiery twin, Melitta...
REVIEW:
Historical Fiction is a genre that I really get a lot of pleasure from and to be honest one man that’s very prolific is Christian Cameron, each book is not only an adventure but a story that I lose myself in for quite a while from the real world.
What Christian’s writing does is bring cracking characters, top notch action and blends it all with a storyline that moves at a great pace which when wrapped up in his own familiar writing style, makes him an author that I just can’t help but enjoy. Add to the mix characters that you really care about which when blended with some political machinations wraps it all up very neatly. Great stuff.
Release Date: 05/01/12
SYNOPSIS:
The story of how Alexander the Great conquered the world - first crushing Greek resistance to Macedonian rule, then destroying the Persian Empire in three monumental battles, before marching into the unknown and final victory in India - is a truly epic tale that has mesmerised countless generations of listeners. He crammed more adventure into his thirty-three years than any other human being before or since, and now for the first time a novelist will tell the tale in a single suitably epic volume. The combination of Alexander's life story and Christian Cameron's unrivalled skills as an historian and storyteller will ensure that this will not only be the definitive version for many years to come, but also one of the most exciting historical epics ever written.
REVIEW:
OK, so you want an historical fiction title that will not only impress but one that will give you real characters that have a more 3D feel as well as being people you can associate with. You also want a story that concentrates on giving you factual information without a lot of hocus pocus and tales about divine intervention alongside a story that allows you to get to know the principle players with a realistic feel with the events that shaped them.
Well look no further as this new book by Christian Cameron about the story of Alexander the Great comes to the fore. He’s rounded, he is talked about in the third person and the things that can make a king a villain are also present as the events that shaped his life are brought to the reader’s attention. It’s wonderfully descriptive, the characters are fascinating and above all else it’s the story of Alexander that everyone should read as it allows you to see the man, the not the mythical figure that has made his way through antiquity.
Finally add to this Christian’s wonderful writing style, with cracking prose, a wonderful sense of pace and when backed with an instantly identifiable writing style, it’s a book that is going to take a hell of a lot to beat this year especially in the award season, and lets face it, that’s saying something considering how early this one’s out.
Release Date: 18/08/11
SYNOPSIS:
The Battle of Marathon in 490 BC was one of history's great turning points - the first time the Greeks managed to defeat the Persians in a pitched battle, it enabled the rise of classical Greek civilization. As John Stuart Mill famously put it, 'The Battle of Marathon, even as an event in British history, is more important than the Battle of Hastings.' Without it, the modern world as we know it would not exist. Christian Cameron's epic retelling of the battle will bring it alive, with all of its human drama and tragedy, as never before. The Greeks do not always behave well - in fact, many readers may come to see them as ignorant and bigoted as compared to the multi-cultural Persians, who for some, actually bring greater freedom - at least for a while. The heroic Militiades, who led the Greeks at Marathon and then died in exile, a ruined man, was a fatally flawed character. His opponent, The Persian King Darius, was guilty of vaulting ambition and hubris, but he combined it with personal integrity and vast generosity. And in the middle, torn between two cultures, one of which has already made him a slave, we find Arimnestos - ancestor of the Kineas of the Tyrant books - nicknamed 'Killer of Men', he will lead a decisive contingent of infantry in the thickest of the battle...
REVIEW:
I loved the original book in this series by Christian, so when I heard about the sequel I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. What you get from this series is high octane Ancient Greek action with battles (on land and sea) as well as a plot that moves at one hell of a pace which really doesn’t let up from start to finish.
Add to this a writing style that is identifiable as Christian’s, cracking prose and of course a lead character that is both fun to be around as well as someone to help keep things interesting and it’s a series that is nigh impossible to put down. Finally to this, I’d like to recommend it to anyone missing a new book by David Gemmell as for me, this guy is the closest you’ll get, especially if you loved David’s Troy saga.
Release Date: 03/02/11
SYNOPSIS:
Satyrus and Melitta, twin heirs to a rich kingdom on the Black Sea, were hounded into exile in FUNERAL GAMES after their mother was brutally murdered by one of their father's former comrades, Heron. Heron now rules the land that is theirs by right, but the twins are older and battle-hardened in the wars of Alexander's Successors. Once they have gathered their forces, nothing will stop them from exacting a terrible revenge...
REVIEW:
If you love historical fiction with high octane action packed scenes but don’t want guns, then you really have to try Christian Cameron. The writing style is distinctive, will appeal to fans of David Gemmell and above all else delivers a great book to satisfy the reader.
Add to this great prose, some cracking characters alongside top notch dialogue backed by with a distinctive author voice and you know that it’s a book to set standards by and whilst this isn’t my favourite book by Christian (that’s already owned by Killer of Men.) I eagerly await each new title by this author and it’s going to be a long wait for the next title in the Long War series Marathon out in August.
BOOK BLURB:
Arimnestos is a farm boy when war breaks out between the citizens of his native Plataea and and their overbearing neighbours, Thebes. Standing in the battle line - the wall of bronze - for the first time, alongside his father and brother, he shares in a famous and unlikely victory. But after being knocked unconscious in the melee, he awakes not a hero, but a slave. Betrayed by his jealous and cowardly cousin, the freedom he fought for has now vanished, and he becomes the property of a rich citizen of Ephesus. So begins an epic journey from slavery that takes the young Arimnestos through a world poised on the brink of an epic confrontation, as the emerging civilization of the Greeks starts to flex its muscles against the established empire of the Persians. As he tries to make his fortune and revenge himself on the man who disinherited him, Arimnestos discovers that he has a talent that pays well in this new, violent world, for like his hero, Achilles, he is 'a killer of men'.
REVIEW:
The best way to sum this novel up is OMG. Its definitely my must buy recommendation to all fans of the historical fiction genre and one that I’m also recommending to a number of fantasy fans who’ve also enjoyed offerings in the Greek world by people like David Gemmell.
Add to this mix a tale of war, of slavery and of course the events of the ancient world as seen by a warrior in hindsight and its definitely something special. Christian adds great storytelling in an almost campfire tradition backed up with almost unparalleled dialogue and characters that step from the past to the reader of today’s imagination and I suspect that it could inspire many a future classical historian.
BOOK BLURB:
An action-packed tale of betrayal and revenge set amidst the war between Alexander the Great's generals, and climaxing in the most spectacular battle of the ancient world.
Satyrus and Melitta, twin heirs to a rich kingdom on the Black Sea, become desperate fugitives when their mother, the Scythian warrior-princess Srayanka, is cut down in a savage act of betrayal. Accompanied by their tutor, the Spartan Philokles, they must make a perilous journey west, pursued by ruthless assassins, to find sanctuary with the army of their father's closest friend, Diodorus. But Diodorus is caught up in the tangled web of alliances, betrayals and intrigue that followed Alexander the Great's death, as his generals fought over the huge empire he had created - and soon the twins will have their first taste of real battle as two Macedonian warlords clash. In this violent and unstable world, they must chose sides carefully, as Antigonus One-Eye, and his brilliant son Demetrius, prepare to take on the might of Ptolemy's Egypt, and the forces gather for the biggest and most spectacular battle the world had ever seen - Gaza.
REVIEW:
They say that history is written by the victors, and with the pure joy that Christian brings to his novels I can forgive some reinterpretation of the facts to aid in the telling of the tale.
As usual with Christian’s work it is a sheer delight as it speeds its way through each of the events within, the writing is sparse in description which only goes to add to the enjoyment from the tale. With characters that you really want to not only get to know but spend your time with.
Add to this that if you want BC (that’s BC as in Before Christ not Bernard Cornwell) then there really is no one out there writing this time period better. Cameron is not only a name to watch but one that is fast becoming the name to set your standard by.
