Protector is the second novel in the Athenian series by Conn Iggulden. This book focuses on two huge battles and one warrior who lives without fear. Themistocles is the leader of Athens, scarred by battle. But he’s not officially a nobleman, and he finds that many don’t trust him. However, these people cannot fight against two facts. Those are the victories he has had as a warrior, and the fact that there is a huge Persian army coming.

What will follow is a terrific novel where events leading to and eventually ending with this war between Athens and Persia are wonderfully written with great dialogue and human interaction, but where big brutal battle actions are somewhat less pictured, but in my opinion this series is at least an equal in comaprison with Christian Cameron's "The Long War" series, featuring Arimnestos of Plataea, and thus for me this author has his own interpretation and compelling fashion in telling his great tale. The details are evocative, and the stakes are high throughout: Greece’s fate hangs in the balance, and with it, perhaps, the ensuing course of Western civilization. (In his afterword, Iggulden notes that, “The philosopher John Stuart Mill once described Plataea as more important to history than the battle of Hastings.”) That’s just one section, though, so don’t worry, there’s lots of fighting and killing to whet your thirst for violence! The sea battles at the start are very well described as are the fights we see on land later on. There’s a duel near the end which I really enjoyed as it ends a little differently than I expected but all the fight scenes are visceral and exciting.This is the second novel in the Athenian series of Conn Iggulden, telling the tale of the Persians Wars and the Peloponnesian War. I did enjoy ‘the gates of Athens‘ that ends with the fantastic first part of the battle of Salamis. Protector continues the story of this battle and I was immediately drawn into the action. He also would write a book called The Dangerous Book for Boys with his brother. The book goes over many topics, such as tying knots, famous battles, how to build a soapbox racers, and more. The book received the title of British Book of the Year as part of the Galaxy British Book Awards. He would write a children’s book in 2009 titled Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children. He has written three more stories to go along with the Tollins story. Te midden van de zeeslag van Salamis tegen de Perzen ziet het er niet goed uit voor de Grieken. Athene is in vlammen opgegaan en de inwoners schuilen op het eiland Salamis. Het is aan Themistocles om iets uit zijn mouw te toveren. Om de Perzen uit heel Griekenland te verdrijven zullen Themistocles, Aristides en Xantippus de hulp van Sparta moeten inroepen en daar ontbreekt leiding na de dood van Leonidas.

The sights, sounds and smells of Athens bring history to life with gripping brilliance' DAILY MIRRORThe time for Julius Caesar to indulge in treacherous political battles has come. His great courage to face slave rebellion, love for a beautiful older woman and the sword of his loyal friend, Marcus Brutus has strengthened him. Once his rank is promoted, he is able to do what no other leaders of his era did. Genghis Khan is dead, but his legend and legacy have not yet left the plains. Ogedai, his son, has built a white city on a great plain which becomes the capital of a new nation. During this time, new enemies are coming together to find out which Genghis has the strength of a Khan. To make his own name he must prove himself in the liar's den of Athenian politics: pitting wits against friends, sceptics, enemies.

Conn Iggulden has the gift of making ancient history come alive - from the battles of Salamis, Plataea and Mycale, ultimately battles to save the Western world from becoming part of the already massive Persian Empire, to the politics of Athens and Sparta. The main characters’ names are legendary - Themistocles, Xanthippus, Cimon, Kings Alexander of Macedon and Xerxes of Persia. This is quality historical fiction, well researched, brought to life, and with an excellent end note by the author which adds further detail. For all the excitement of the action scenes, Protector struggles to provide the same emotional impact as the first book. The problem is twofold. The first is the small amount of time we get to spend with any of the characters. The nature of the story means that it is necessary to use multiple perspectives, but there’s also a good deal of head hopping, which makes it harder to connect to any of the characters. This was somewhat of an issue in book 1, but the focus on Themistocles and Xanthippus in particular allowed the reader to feel like they really understood them, even if neither was an easy man to like. For the most part, Protector relies heavily on the emotional links built up in the first book, but it does little to reinforce them. This feeds in to the second problem. To get in all the important moments means jumping around a fair amount. Without the impactful characterisation, the narrative feels bitty, especially when it comes to wrapping up certain stories at the end. The history means that having an entirely satisfying ending was unlikely, yet finding out what happens to the main characters is anti-climactic at best. This book had bled out all my care for them and that was more disappointing than anything else. Iggulden] has outdone himself on the tension and suspense he has created with these characters and this story' 5***** Reader Review He also was one of the two hundred public figures who signed their name to a letter sent to The Guardian that was against Scottish independence in August of 2014 leading up to a September referendum regarding the topic.His first book was the first of the Emperor five-part series titled The Gates of Rome. It is based on Julius Caesar’s life from childhood to adulthood, betrayal, and death. Spitfire Productions bought the film option for the series. The fifth book in the series was called Emperor: The Blood of Gods. He has an Irish mother and says that from the time he as young he would tell him about stories and include dates from history. He says that he supposes that telling stories must be in the genes somewhere, since his great-grandfather was a Seannachie. Conn says that his father flew in World War II and taught math and science after. He says that his father loved telling good stories and poetry. The author recalls that when he started teaching, classes were told that girls were the only ones good at English. Iggulden draws the Greek world convincingly and he is strongest writing battle scenes' THE TIMES on the Golden Age series

He published Dunstan in 2017, a historical fiction book that focused on a tenth century monk and his life. He followed this up with the 2018 novel The Falcon of Sparta, which was about Prince Cyrus’s goal to become the king of Persia. He would leave teaching English to write The Gates of Rome, his first novel. He married his wife Ella, who hails from southern Italy’s Amalfi coast. Her relatives there are known for being specialist producers of craft pasta and ravioli. The pair shares four children and they live in Hertfordshire, England. If Iggulden decides to tell that tale—of how the third Alexander from Macedonia’s royal family came to be known as “the Great”—I will absolutely devour it (top-down storytelling or not). Especially if Iggulden relates it with the same deft blend of pacing and politics he showcases in Protector.Er zijn heel wat afwisselende perspectieven en de focus ligt opnieuw op twee grote veldslagen. Die van Plataea is misschien wel de belangrijkste uit de hele oorlog. At the beginning of the book you'll find a well drawn map of the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, and a list of Military terms, Locations, Characters, Additional words and the Ten Tribes of Athens.