03-17-2003, 10:34 PM
Jesus, you people are a hard crowd. I agree almost nothing is known about Caesar's early life, but we can infer certain things from his later accomplishments. Swimming saved his life in Alexandria, aged 52, for example. Suetonius said he rode well, was accomplished with arms and went bareheaded in sun, wind and rain. Clearly, he had to be taught those skills and attitudes and so this book deals with the sort of training a young Roman of that social class might have received. It isn't a history textbook, however and I freely admit to having made changes where I thought it was necessary.<br>
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For example, Sulla and Marius attacked each other in Rome on a number of occasions over years. This is unsatisfactory from a plot point of view - dull reading. I condensed the action down to a single event, which I hope is a bloody exciting sequence. In such an exciting life as JC's, it would take nine or ten books to cover everything he was involved in and some of it just doesn't have to be told.<br>
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Also, no-one knows when Brutus was born. Some claim with lofty authority that he was Caesar's son, but I am convinced this rumour came from JC's long relationship with Servilia, his mother. There is motive for the assassination, by the way. Granted, they probably didn't grow up together, but no-one knows when they met either, so I can't apologise for the fiction considering it led to a number of scenes I love - (Catching the raven together, learning to resist cold and pain, being taught tactics by a young Greek tutor etc.)<br>
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Aw heck, I'm not going to go through the whole novel, defending it. It's the kind of book I like to read and the second one is even more interesting. Not many people know he was captured by pirates as a young man - long before senate authority of any kind. They wanted to ask for a ransom of twenty talents and he told them to ask for fifty. He said when he was free, he would find them and have them crucified. When they dumped him on a lonely bit of African coast, he went from village to village, collecting arms money and men until he had enough to take to sea and search for them. That's the history - the second book puts flesh on it and goes further into his astonishing life.<br>
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I was really pleased when I found this site. It was a bit galling to see my book slated by people who share a common interest. I do think if you read it less critically, you'd find it wasn't all bad.<br>
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Best wishes,<br>
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Conn Iggulden. <p></p><i></i>
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For example, Sulla and Marius attacked each other in Rome on a number of occasions over years. This is unsatisfactory from a plot point of view - dull reading. I condensed the action down to a single event, which I hope is a bloody exciting sequence. In such an exciting life as JC's, it would take nine or ten books to cover everything he was involved in and some of it just doesn't have to be told.<br>
<br>
Also, no-one knows when Brutus was born. Some claim with lofty authority that he was Caesar's son, but I am convinced this rumour came from JC's long relationship with Servilia, his mother. There is motive for the assassination, by the way. Granted, they probably didn't grow up together, but no-one knows when they met either, so I can't apologise for the fiction considering it led to a number of scenes I love - (Catching the raven together, learning to resist cold and pain, being taught tactics by a young Greek tutor etc.)<br>
<br>
Aw heck, I'm not going to go through the whole novel, defending it. It's the kind of book I like to read and the second one is even more interesting. Not many people know he was captured by pirates as a young man - long before senate authority of any kind. They wanted to ask for a ransom of twenty talents and he told them to ask for fifty. He said when he was free, he would find them and have them crucified. When they dumped him on a lonely bit of African coast, he went from village to village, collecting arms money and men until he had enough to take to sea and search for them. That's the history - the second book puts flesh on it and goes further into his astonishing life.<br>
<br>
I was really pleased when I found this site. It was a bit galling to see my book slated by people who share a common interest. I do think if you read it less critically, you'd find it wasn't all bad.<br>
<br>
Best wishes,<br>
<br>
Conn Iggulden. <p></p><i></i>
