The Gates of Athens

The Athenian Series, Book 1

By: Conn Iggulden

Narrated by: George Blagden

Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin. 

Devour the latest epic tale of ancient Greece and Sunday Times top five best seller from the author of War of the Roses.

On the plains of Marathon an army of slaves gathers....

Under Darius the Great, King of Kings, the mighty Persian army - swollen by 10,000 Immortal warriors - have come to subjugate the Greeks.

In their path stands an army of freeborn Athenians and among them is fearsome and cunning soldier-statesman, Xanthippus.

Knowing defeat means slavery lends keenness to his already sharp blade....

Yet people soon forget that freedom is bought with blood.

Ten years later, Xanthippus watches helplessly as Athens succumbs to the bitter politics of factionalism, when the Persians cross the Hellespont in ever greater numbers to raze Athens to the ground.

Facing overwhelming forces by land and sea, the Athenians call on their Spartan allies for assistance - to delay the Persians at the treacherous pass of Thermopylae....

©2020 Conn Iggulden (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Fantastic

This was my first Iggulden book in 10 years, and he hasn't lost a step. This is as good as the opening to Emperor or Conqueror.
The narrator lifts the story as well

OK

Having just re-listened to the Genghis series to my surprise I found this one pretty boring and I'm not sure why. I didn't find the Genghis series at all dull and was involved in all the subplots etc from the first chapter. This one left me restless and I didn't finish it.

A great start to another series by Conn Iggulden!

I thoroughly enjoyed this, both the story and the narration. I've read the previous historical series by Mr. Iggulden - Emperor, Conqueror (an absolute favourite of mine) and Wars of the Roses, all of which have been excellent. This one does not disappoint either. Fast paced without feeling rushed, full of historical details without overwhelming even a reader unfamiliar with the subject, great characters and lots of drama.

A very solid narration as well, particular praise for the consistent pronunciation of names and locales.

I can thoroughly recommend it, and I am about to get the next book!

Superb and mostly accurate

A superb retelling of the dawn of the Athenian hegemony littered will characters that actually existed and participated in these era defining events. Minor liberties are taken with the timeline for narrative reasons, but these are acknowledged by the author. If, like me, you have a non-academic interest in the ancient world, this story brings to life events that have resonated down the ages.

Too slow paced and dry.

I have listened to several Conn Iggulden audiobooks and approached this one fully expecting to enjoy it.
However while the action scenes were as well written as ever most of the rest of the narrative was frankly boring.
It felt in tone and style like a University lecture on the politics of Ancient Greece - knowledgeable, scholarly and unless it is your chosen academic subject, mind numbingly boring.
It was such a shame because George Blagden's narration was excellent.

Awful Narration

I enjoy Conns books immensely. This one is completely let down by the stilted and ponderous narration. There are many great readers around, Peter Noble and Steve Pacey for example, or the superlative Sean Barrett. Had the reader or director never listened to an audio book? I gave this a couple of hours as l really wanted to like it but the reader failed to keep my attention. One to avoid.l shall catch up with this story via an old fashioned book.

Awesome

Narrator was a bit high pitched but luckily the story was so good it didn't really matter

poor narration

conn iggulden is an excellent writer of historical fiction but, and I can't blame all on the bland narration, this is not up to previous work, at times the story stalls in politics and seems disjointed, however I will buy the next in series. I would recommend christian camerons' " the long war " series for a better tale of this time period.

it's alright... I guess🤷‍♂️

a bit too laid back i think... too much about what this guy felt or what that guy was thinking... not enough action like it was in the conqueror or emperor series... but ok I guess

Worst Narration Choice - EVER!

I am only an hour in but can barely listen to it.

George Blagden to read this book has to be the worst narration choice of any book, ever.
I wonder if he is a friend of Conn Iggulden.
The choice of such a weak voice, regardless of how well pronounced he is (which I believe actually detracts), is an awful one. When he enacts the shouts of war it is like nails down a chalk board.

Truly truly terrible.

Excellent!

Great performance. Fantastic writing as always,Conn always brings history to life. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of his books.

Immense

As always Conn delivers, an incredible story teller/researcher who fills in the voids of history perfectly. Can’t wait for the next one. Love the historical explanation at the end.

Took a short while to get going

The story took a short while to get going and especially for me remembering the names of characters however once it did I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the next