- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Michael Joseph; First Edition edition (9 July 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0718153316
- ISBN-13: 978-0718153311
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.6 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
60,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6 in Books > History > Political History > Anarchism
Warrior of Rome II: King of Kings (Warrior of Rome 2)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
`Sidebottom's prose blazes with searing scholarship' --The Times
Review
`A well-constructed, well-paced and gripping account'
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This was a very rewarding read and a great second book which maintains the high standard set by the initial book `Fire in the East'.
Its educational quality is superb and the intricate level of detail that the author has incorporated into the story is outstanding. You will certainly learn more about Roman life, customs and etiquette as you progress through the book. The text contains frequent Latin words and phrases which will require you to break from the story in order to consult the glossary at the back of the book. Readers of the first book will realise that this is now firmly established as part of the author's writing technique and helps to craft a more authentic read.
Ballista's career and association with the Emperor Valerian alternates between periods of favour and near disgrace. It is these periods of near disgrace that see Ballista being handed some of the less honourable positions which result in the northern barbarian's involvement in dangerous and dramatic events.
This is a more detailed and perhaps slower paced read than Scarrow's Roman series, but that does not detract from the quality and enjoyment you will experience by reading this book. Scarrow's series is ideal when you are in the need of an action packed book which is swift to read. Harry Sidebottom's books are superb reading material for those interested in the Roman Empire who desire more detail and are prepared to allow the book time to achieve its full potential.
Its educational quality is superb and the intricate level of detail that the author has incorporated into the story is outstanding. You will certainly learn more about Roman life, customs and etiquette as you progress through the book. The text contains frequent Latin words and phrases which will require you to break from the story in order to consult the glossary at the back of the book. Readers of the first book will realise that this is now firmly established as part of the author's writing technique and helps to craft a more authentic read.
Ballista's career and association with the Emperor Valerian alternates between periods of favour and near disgrace. It is these periods of near disgrace that see Ballista being handed some of the less honourable positions which result in the northern barbarian's involvement in dangerous and dramatic events.
This is a more detailed and perhaps slower paced read than Scarrow's Roman series, but that does not detract from the quality and enjoyment you will experience by reading this book. Scarrow's series is ideal when you are in the need of an action packed book which is swift to read. Harry Sidebottom's books are superb reading material for those interested in the Roman Empire who desire more detail and are prepared to allow the book time to achieve its full potential.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An admirable sequel to the first Warrior of Rome volume, this King of Kings continues of the saga of the 3rd Century "crisis" in the Roman Empire through the character of Ballista, northern barbarian turned Roman warrior. Violent, but a gripping story. Amazing detailed reconstruction of the ancient world and especially ancient warfare, about which Sidebottom is a leading expert. Readers will have to wait until July 2010 for the conclusion of the series. It will be a hard wait, at least for me.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having zipped through a lot of the other reviews, a fairly strongly held view seems to be this is not as good as the first installment!
Well I agree in part with that but I think that is in no small way down to it being the 'set up book'. If I can make a footballing analogy this book is the cross into the box and I think the next in the series will be a spectacular volley into the net.
Sidebottem essentially with this book tells of the treachery of some of the Emperor's court and their cunning use of Ballista in this plot, however this is so cunningly told I only realised about the same time as Ballista himself so whilst enjoying the book a lot, I was a little bemused about what the actual 'story' was.
The book ends in highly unsatisfactory way, in that it left me screaming 'Nooo!' and shouting obscenities at Amazon because the next volume is not out and there are a few characters still living and breathing I want to see die in highly imaginative and colourful ways! Not that this is Amazon's fault.
I think the author has to take much credit for the emotion he has drawn from me. His character portrayals are such that I have a genuine fondness for the Ballista household especially his two celtic slaves. They are genuinly 3D, flawed human beings and some other writers in this genre could learn much from Sidebottem about characterisation.
The use of latin terminology and titles is still present but didn't jarr with me in the same way it did in the first volume. Whether this is because it is more subtly done or I have adjusted to his style I am not sure. It did still feel a little contrived and just un-needed. Tell the story and then refer me to where I can find all the genuine latin terminology, in the unlikely event I ever want to read it. But don't tell me a great story and then constantly interupt it with mini latin lessons!
Anyway I am now genuinley needing to read the next volume for my own psychological welfare due to the cliff hanger nature of this work, so Harry just you be careful crossing those busy roads!
Well I agree in part with that but I think that is in no small way down to it being the 'set up book'. If I can make a footballing analogy this book is the cross into the box and I think the next in the series will be a spectacular volley into the net.
Sidebottem essentially with this book tells of the treachery of some of the Emperor's court and their cunning use of Ballista in this plot, however this is so cunningly told I only realised about the same time as Ballista himself so whilst enjoying the book a lot, I was a little bemused about what the actual 'story' was.
The book ends in highly unsatisfactory way, in that it left me screaming 'Nooo!' and shouting obscenities at Amazon because the next volume is not out and there are a few characters still living and breathing I want to see die in highly imaginative and colourful ways! Not that this is Amazon's fault.
I think the author has to take much credit for the emotion he has drawn from me. His character portrayals are such that I have a genuine fondness for the Ballista household especially his two celtic slaves. They are genuinly 3D, flawed human beings and some other writers in this genre could learn much from Sidebottem about characterisation.
The use of latin terminology and titles is still present but didn't jarr with me in the same way it did in the first volume. Whether this is because it is more subtly done or I have adjusted to his style I am not sure. It did still feel a little contrived and just un-needed. Tell the story and then refer me to where I can find all the genuine latin terminology, in the unlikely event I ever want to read it. But don't tell me a great story and then constantly interupt it with mini latin lessons!
Anyway I am now genuinley needing to read the next volume for my own psychological welfare due to the cliff hanger nature of this work, so Harry just you be careful crossing those busy roads!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
JP
Excellent story, I enjoyed this as I had enjoyed it's predecessor. I like roman stories very much and this one gripped my attention.
Published 2 months ago by John
Wonderful, But it Does Take a Little Long to Get There
This is a wonderful book, but it rather suffers in comparison with the first one. The good points are still there, but they no longer fit together as well as they should. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Stuart McCunn
an never ending series?
Having enjoyed the first in the series decided to by the rest. Unfortunately its a bit like film spin offs were the follows-up fail to reach the same standard or expectations. Read more
Published 6 months ago by george robson
A brutal and entertaining read.
I have to say, the second instalment of the Warrior or Rome saga is not quite as well focused as the first, the first being set almost entirely in one location and on the route to... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Timothy Cooper
Bit of a let down
I felt the author didnt put much thought into this. There seemed to be no real direction and the pacing was uneven. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ss
Warrior of Rome
I bought this book for my husband for Christmas. The book arrived within 2-3 days of purchasing and was in excellent condition.
Published 17 months ago by Suzanne L. Krauel
Top notch reading!!!!!!!!!
I'm now reading the third instalment of 'Warrior of Rome' and still loving it!
The books are expertly written with characters you feel a real empathy with. Read more
The books are expertly written with characters you feel a real empathy with. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Pj Betts
second part of Warrior of Rome trilogy
2nd part of the trilogy (warrior of rome) entertaining and well written follows on from Fire in the east (part 1). Read more
Published 20 months ago by Galdie
A very enjoyable book
This was a briliiant book. I recommend you buy the previous book Fires in the East, before you get this. This is a better the book of the 2. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Ben Nicholson
Not as good as the first
I enjoyed the first of Sidebottom's books in this series as a light read; hence I bought the second one. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Marcus Allgood
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
