Penguin| May 2023| 409 pages| ebook| Review Book| 5*

Pericles is more than a hero. He’s the leader of Athens. The empire’s beacon of light.

But even during times of peace, the threat of Sparta – Athens’s legendary rival – looms large on the horizon. When a sudden catastrophe brings Sparta to its knees, Pericles sees a golden opportunity to forever shift the balance of power in his city’s favour.

For sometimes, the only way to win lasting peace is to wage war. Sparta may be weak, but their power is far from extinguished. Soon a ruthless young boy steps forward to lead the Spartans back to greatness.

As the drums of battle draw closer, can Pericles rise once more?

Or will the world’s greatest empire fall under his watch?

My thoughts

Empire is the second in the Golden Age series, continuing the story told in Lion. Pericles is the main character, now the leader of Athens, appointed as a strategos (a military general). Iggulden brings the period to life as he details the continuing struggle for power between Athens and Sparta. The earthquake that struck around 464 BC destroyed most of the city of Sparta. After the Spartans rejected the Athenians’ offer of help Pericles realised that war between them was inevitable and he decided to rebuild the walls around the city to keep it safe. When the Spartans heard that the walls were rising they demanded they be taken down. The Athenians ignored this demand which, of course, led to war, with the Spartans laying siege to Athens.

Lion is an action packed and a gripping story. Iggulden tells the story, seamlessly incorporating his research into the narrative so that this doesn’t read like a textbook but as a fascinating and gripping epic tale of war and death between the states of Athens and Sparta. It’s an amazing tale of political intrigue and bloodthirsty battles. Equally as fascinating as the story is Iggulden’s Historical Note, in which he expands on the background and detail of the historical record. He also explains how he has compressed some of the years and has omitted some ‘actions, skirmishes, insults and general breakdown of good relations between the two states and their allies.’

I think it’s an entertaining and very readable book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My thanks to the publishers for a review copy via NetGalley.