Review: Tyrant, Book 1 of the Tyrant Series by Christian Cameron

Posted on July 31, 2011 | Comments Off

Tyrant by Christian Cameron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tyrant, Book 1 of the Tyrant Series by Christian Cameron
If you read my book reviews, you will have realised by now that one of my favourite genres is historical fiction especially good yarns about ancient world, Rome, Greece and Briton in particular then when I found the books from Christian Cameron he did disappoint me, I was thrilled by his style of story weaving he is an outstanding weaver of tales about the ancient world.
He is going to become one of the top writers in this specific genre and the ancient era, up there with Conn Iggulden, Bernard Cornwell, and Simon Scarrow.
Anyway let’s get to the story;
“Tyrant”; a well-born officer of Athenian cavalry, Kineas fought shoulder to shoulder with Alexander in his epic battles against the Persian hordes. But when he returns to his native city, he finds not glory but ignominy, as all veterans of the Boy King’s campaigns are sent into exile. With nothing to his name but his military skills, Kineas has no choice but to become a mercenary, and soon accepts a commission to soldier for the Tyrant of Olbia, a wealthy city on the Black Sea. But when he reaches Olbia he finds he and his tight-knit band of Athenians have stumbled into a deadly maze of intrigue and conspiracy as the Tyrant plots to use them as a pawn in the increasingly complex power games between his own citizens, the so-called barbarians of the encroaching Scythian plains, and the dread military might of Macedon. Caught between his duty to the Tyrant, his loyalty to his men and a forbidden love affair with a charismatic Scythian noblewoman, Kineas must call on all his Athenian guile, his flair on the battlefield, and even – he is convinced – the intervention of the gods, to survive.
This is the first story I have read from Christian Cameron and I knew straight away that I was reading a story from someone who has a passion for the ancient world and it is his debut book in a series that I firmly believe will become very popular.
Undoubtedly the backdrop of the story and the dramatis personae (cast) a mixture of Greeks, local tribesmen, and others are original and believable.
The historical facts are quite correct and there is an adequate amount of action to keep you going with a sensation of exhilaration.
You know, I don’t know about other readers but with a good story I picture it in my head, almost cinematically, in fact with some books I can even see which actors should play a certain character anyhow, this is what I got from this story so I believe we know have a story-weaver of the same calibre as Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden, and Harry Sidebottom.
It is, as a rule easier said than done to create a believable story of an actual well documented era and culture, to do it whilst trying to keep to established historical facts and also entertain a reader who might find real history uninteresting is the mark of a superb story-weaver and in Christian Cameron with his first outing as a weaver of tales I think we have found a real treasure.
What did I like about this story?
Well the persona are plausible and as I have said before the descriptions of the battles soar into your mind really well.
It’s an absorbing read one in which you rapidly lose track of time, I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about intrigue, war, love, and the battle of good against evil.