Tyrant by Christian Cameron

[ParthianBow]

I bought this book when it came out in 2008. It's the story of my life that I buy more books than I can read, and it languished in the 'To Be Read' pile for 4 years. More and more people began to tell me how good an author Cameron was, however, so I tackled it in the summer of 2012. I was astonished by how good it was, and devoured it in 3 or 4 days. To say that it's well written is an understatement of the greatest kind.

Cameron is a reenactor, and has therefore spent many an hour, and day, wearing and using the kit of a Greek soldier of the 4th century BC. He's also spent considerable time learning ancient Greek, and reading all the sources that he can lay his hands on. Boy, does it show. Kineas, the main character, reeks of authenticity. So too do the people he encounters: his friends and enemies, and the world that they all inhabit.

Rarely have I been so transported to another place, another world. I lived with Kineas and his comrades for every moment that I read this book. I could not wait to buy the sequel, and over the last 12 months, I have read three of the four others in the series. It's a benefit of not having read them as they were published, I suppose, but I will be sorry to come to the end of Tyrant: Destroyer of Cities. At least I will have the Long War series to read then, however!

If you haven't read any of Cameron's books, I suggest that you start now. He stands head and shoulders above most authors out there, and is now one of my favourite writers. If I could award this book more than five stars, I would.

[Nathan Ross]

I agree, Cameron's an excellent writer. Actually I've only read the first and third of the Tyrant novels, so thanks for the reminder - I'd been meaning to fill the gap and read book 2 for ages, and now I will!

One of the things I liked about the first book was the age of the protagonist; Kineas starts out as a mature experienced soldier, rather a youthful tiro. I know there are reasons for starting series with younger heroes (we discussed this before, Ben), but it's refreshing to have a character who isn't obliged to learn the ropes... Like Harry Sidebottom, though, Cameron sends Kineas off to an unusual part of the world (the north shore of the Black Sea), so we still get to see things freshly, through the eyes of a newcomer.

I was a bit concerned when I started the third book that the main characters had now become... children! But this worked better than I'd expected, and there were still enough older people about to balance it out and stop it becoming too 'coming of age'-y... Plus the ongoing joke about the man with no nose was particularly amusing...

I'd be interested to know what you make of the 'Long War books - I still haven't got round to reading them either!

[John Conyard]

Well said Ben, and Nathan. Excellent books that fire the imagination. I give them as presents. Fiction that teaches something, characters that rise above the normal cliches and storey lines that make people want to read more.