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The Gates of Athens
- Athenian
- Narrated by: George Blagden
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Devour the latest epic tale of ancient Greece and Sunday Times top five best seller from the author of War of the Roses.
On the plains of Marathon an army of slaves gathers....
Under Darius the Great, King of Kings, the mighty Persian army - swollen by 10,000 Immortal warriors - have come to subjugate the Greeks.
In their path stands an army of freeborn Athenians and among them is fearsome and cunning soldier-statesman, Xanthippus.
Knowing defeat means slavery lends keenness to his already sharp blade....
Yet people soon forget that freedom is bought with blood.
Ten years later, Xanthippus watches helplessly as Athens succumbs to the bitter politics of factionalism, when the Persians cross the Hellespont in ever greater numbers to raze Athens to the ground.
Facing overwhelming forces by land and sea, the Athenians call on their Spartan allies for assistance - to delay the Persians at the treacherous pass of Thermopylae....
What listeners say about The Gates of Athens
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Stephen Deal
- 19-08-20
Superb and mostly accurate
A superb retelling of the dawn of the Athenian hegemony littered will characters that actually existed and participated in these era defining events. Minor liberties are taken with the timeline for narrative reasons, but these are acknowledged by the author. If, like me, you have a non-academic interest in the ancient world, this story brings to life events that have resonated down the ages.
4 people found this helpful
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- Silver Surfer
- 02-09-20
Too slow paced and dry.
I have listened to several Conn Iggulden audiobooks and approached this one fully expecting to enjoy it.
However while the action scenes were as well written as ever most of the rest of the narrative was frankly boring.
It felt in tone and style like a University lecture on the politics of Ancient Greece - knowledgeable, scholarly and unless it is your chosen academic subject, mind numbingly boring.
It was such a shame because George Blagden's narration was excellent.
3 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 21-09-20
it's alright... I guess🤷♂️
a bit too laid back i think... too much about what this guy felt or what that guy was thinking... not enough action like it was in the conqueror or emperor series... but ok I guess
2 people found this helpful
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- will h
- 04-10-20
Awful Narration
I enjoy Conns books immensely. This one is completely let down by the stilted and ponderous narration. There are many great readers around, Peter Noble and Steve Pacey for example, or the superlative Sean Barrett. Had the reader or director never listened to an audio book? I gave this a couple of hours as l really wanted to like it but the reader failed to keep my attention. One to avoid.l shall catch up with this story via an old fashioned book.
1 person found this helpful
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- Richard
- 25-09-20
Excellent!
Great performance. Fantastic writing as always,Conn always brings history to life. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of his books.
1 person found this helpful
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- Neil
- 15-09-20
Immense
As always Conn delivers, an incredible story teller/researcher who fills in the voids of history perfectly. Can’t wait for the next one. Love the historical explanation at the end.
1 person found this helpful
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- Antony Norris
- 09-02-21
Sadly disappointing
As a big fan of Con Iggulden , I was sadly disappointed with this book, the story was not up to his normal excellent standard and at times was very flat.
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- john cullinane
- 15-01-21
quality
loved it bring on the next chapter ! good narration skills.Nice pace and very educating.
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- Anonymous User
- 13-01-21
Another excellent story very well told
George Blagden has the pace, sensitivity and timbre of voice to deliver another excellent Con Iggulden
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- Honkin' Baldhead
- 14-12-20
Dreadful narration
This is a reasonable enough story that is let down by the most dull and monotone narration that I have come across in a long time. Not much more to say but I will be avoiding anything with this narrator. It almost as if he is trying to put you to sleep by reading it in the most boring way possible. When not sedating you, the narrator runs sentences into each other with no change in tone, so meaning can be lost too - I’m not entirely sure about this though, because I was asleep most of the time...
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- peter
- 04-09-20
OK
Having just re-listened to the Genghis series to my surprise I found this one pretty boring and I'm not sure why. I didn't find the Genghis series at all dull and was involved in all the subplots etc from the first chapter. This one left me restless and I didn't finish it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Stian Sandvik
- 11-11-20
Fantastic
This was my first Iggulden book in 10 years, and he hasn't lost a step. This is as good as the opening to Emperor or Conqueror.
The narrator lifts the story as well