The Field of Swords: The Field of Swords

This title is the third volume in Iggulden's projected four-volume Emperor series, following Emperor: The Gates of Rome0 (2003) and Emperor: The Death of Kings 0 (2004). The series continues to be a highly (and authentically) detailed, fast-paced, and elaborately plotted saga based on the life of the greatest Roman of them all, Julius Caesar. As the second volume ended, readers saw Caesar gathering an impressive record as a military leader. Now, in the new installment, Caesar is taking significant steps into the complex arena of the politics of the Roman republic and moves further to the forefront with his famous conquest of Britain. Caesar is inarguably a man of ambition, and the results of his ambition are dramatically played out as the series proceeds. --Brad Hooper Copyright 2005 Booklist

The third (after Emperor: The Gates of Rome and Emperor: The Death of Kings) of four projected volumes in the much-praised fiction series based on the life and times of Julius Caesar, this sweeping epic resumes the narrative in Spain where young Julius is fantasizing about the conquests of Alexander the Great. After four prosperous years with the Tenth Legion in Spain, Julius has discovered gold and decides to return to Rome with his loyal general, Brutus. There, rich with Spanish loot, Julius enters into an alliance with Pompey, a popular and autocratic military leader, and his older, wealthy co-consul, Crassus. Sponsored by this pair of influential and unscrupulous politicians, Julius is elected consul and assumes charge of an expedition to Gaul with full powers to take spoils and rule his conquests in the name of Rome. His eventual victory over Vercingetorix is only postponed by a daring side campaign in Britain. The novel ends as Julius receives word that Pompey plans to have him slain, and Julius, Brutus and Mark Antony prepare to march on Rome, leaving avid readers athirst to read the final volume. Iggulden has been gathering momentum gradually over his first two installments, and here he blasts full steam ahead, with blistering battle scenes ("there was more flesh than grass") and rapier-sharp political intrigue. Agent, Kathy Anderson at Anderson/Grinberg Literary Management. (Mar. 8) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

As evidenced by the first two books in the "Emperor" series, Iggulden really knows his stuff about ancient Rome. Here, Julius Caesar's enemies start lining up. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gaius Julius Caesar is back in the third of Iggulden's projected tetralogy (Emperor: The Death of Kings, 2004, etc.), and he's kicking Gallic butt and taking unpronounceable names. It's midpoint in the first century b.c. Having ranged widely throughout the eastern stretches of the Roman Empire, having put down slave revolts and attempted coups, having come and seen and conquered much of the known world, Caesar is still far from Rome, where fellow triumvirs Pompey and Crassus are enjoying Falernian wine and the other delicacies of the capital. Caesar has work to do, though, before he can join in the fun: when this installment opens, he's in Spain among men who, unaccountably, bear modern Spanish names, but soon he's in the field battling rebellious Romans and then off to the north to attend to successive swarms of Germanic and Celtic warriors, all with points of their own to prove. Iggulden has read Caesar's Gallic Warscarefully, and most of the particulars here are supported, or at least hinted at, by the soon-to-be capo, who had the uncommon virtue of self-criticism and a good eye for detail. Where Iggulden really shines, though, is in putting flesh on historical bones and reading between the lines, providing, along the way, motives for old Brutus to be ticked off, not least of them a few costly tactical errors: "Brutus looked over the heads of his men, his heart pounding with anger. If he survived the retreat, he swore Julius would pay for the destruction of the Tenth." Brutus holds his anger in check, however, and he and his fellow soldiers have many a merry day slaughtering everything they see; think of the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan, and you'll have a good idea of the tenor of Iggulden's expertly rendered--and unfailingly exciting--battles. Less psychologically sophisticated than the granddaddy of all Roman historical fiction, Robert Graves's I, Claudius, but a pleasure for those for whom the words "alea jacta est" mean something. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

This title is the third volume in Iggulden's projected four-volume Emperor series, following Emperor: The Gates of Rome (2003) and Emperor: The Death of Kings (2004). The series continues to be a highly (and authentically) detailed, fast-paced, and elaborately plotted saga based on the life of the greatest Roman of them all, Julius Caesar. As the second volume ended, readers saw Caesar gathering an impressive record as a military leader. Now, in the new installment, Caesar is taking significant steps into the complex arena of the politics of the Roman republic and moves further to the forefront with his famous conquest of Britain. Caesar is inarguably a man of ambition, and the results of his ambition are dramatically played out as the series proceeds. ((Reviewed February 15, 2005)) Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews.

As evidenced by the first two books in the "Emperor" series, Iggulden really knows his stuff about ancient Rome. Here, Julius Caesar's enemies start lining up. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

The third (after Emperor: The Gates of Rome and Emperor: The Death of Kings) of four projected volumes in the much-praised fiction series based on the life and times of Julius Caesar, this sweeping epic resumes the narrative in Spain where young Julius is fantasizing about the conquests of Alexander the Great. After four prosperous years with the Tenth Legion in Spain, Julius has discovered gold and decides to return to Rome with his loyal general, Brutus. There, rich with Spanish loot, Julius enters into an alliance with Pompey, a popular and autocratic military leader, and his older, wealthy co-consul, Crassus. Sponsored by this pair of influential and unscrupulous politicians, Julius is elected consul and assumes charge of an expedition to Gaul with full powers to take spoils and rule his conquests in the name of Rome. His eventual victory over Vercingetorix is only postponed by a daring side campaign in Britain. The novel ends as Julius receives word that Pompey plans to have him slain, and Julius, Brutus and Mark Antony prepare to march on Rome, leaving avid readers athirst to read the final volume. Iggulden has been gathering momentum gradually over his first two installments, and here he blasts full steam ahead, with blistering battle scenes ("there was more flesh than grass") and rapier-sharp political intrigue. Agent, Kathy Anderson at Anderson/Grinberg Literary Management. (Mar. 8) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.