Emperor: The Gates of Rome

Excellent. Enjoyed the entire book. Had to pace myself otherwise I would have listened in just a couple of sessions. Well written and well read. Story very easy to follow and the characters were bought to life by good narration. Would recommend to anyone who likes historical novels.

In their style of writing, certain books complement certain venues - two examples being Dawkins' books for coffee shop reading and Michael Palin's books for holidays. Having listened to many audiobooks in my travels to & from work, I have found few better than the Emperor series for keeping my attention and yet not requiring me to know every detail of the plot.

This particular one was the first one Robert Glenister narrated and it is amazing how, even early on, he has a talent for the voices and a skilful clear narrative. The plot may be a little slow at first, but that is typical of biographical novels, and the action that begins on the third part is well paced and compelling.

Since I have heard all but one of the rest of the series before this one, I would recommend this audio download on its own merits as a good foundation to build the rest of the series on (though the order of reading is not especially important). The Emperor series make for brilliant and engaging adventure novels which help long journeys go by like a breeze!

This was my first taste of a Conn Iggulden novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes it isn't exactly based on historic fact, as explained by the author himself at the end. He has taken some poetic licence with the timelines and has crafted a fictional account of what Julius' early years might have been like. As there is no actual written account of his childhood the author based his story around what it would have been like for a typical middle class Roman boy and I think he's done a fantastic job. I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Glenister's narrative and I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series. I'm middle-aged and female so probably don't fit the typical demographic of Conn Iggulden readers but as an avid reader of historic fiction and non-fiction I would recommend this writer to anyone who enjoys the same.

really good story about julius ceasars young days , told really well and isnt too difficult to follow, id recommend this book to simple roman times enthusiasts !

This series weaves a detailed and believable story around major characters from the time of Julius Caesar and follows them as they move towards Caesars assassination as they grow and develop as people fighting personal as well as military battles along the way

Amazing narrative, truly wonderful!! the book is alive in his voice. Great!

It was a pleasure to heard so many and so different characters.

Got this for my son, who is reading the series, however he prefers the hard copy (i.e. reading it in book form) so I tried it for a "light listen" while walking the dog. It is a compelling story and I can see why it would appeal to young boys. It's written in quite a simple, yet forceful way and it makes for an altogether enjoyable read. However, I found the narrator rather disappointing. His female voices, in particular, are risible; there is very little difference between the 2 main characters (Gaius and Marcus) and his characterization of Renius (a mighty warrior) is uninspired (he comes across as a spiteful weakling). There is very little passion in his tone in general. Glenister's voice, I think, is not suitable for this book. He's a good reader, but he needs a much more sinister book to do himself justice. As it is, he sneers through this one, without ever reaching the necessary levels of pathos and excitement required by the text.

Enjoyed the book but was a bit disappointed when I found afterwards out that the story does not bear any resemblance to what actually happened in real life.

Epic
This simply epic in every aspect adventure, romance, death, history, battles, and it?s all put together by the master Conn Iggulden

Being a bit dim I didn't get who this fascinating story was about until near the end - it made it even better when his true identity was revealed.

Great historical novel.