The Forum

So what is everyone reading? I'm on Gemmell at the moment, revisiting old favourites in honour of the great man.

hey all names nic and i studied ancient history at school and am now doing it at uni (college..sorta) as well
From east coast of aus, half italian so these books strike a lovely chord with me,
love your work conn, never give it up
peace~

I signed up to this forum last year, but i failed to introduce myself i think. Anyway here goes;

I am 24 and i am currently a serving soldier within the British Army. I hold the rank of Lance Corporal and i serve within the Parachute regiment. I joined the army at 20, after completing my degree in Ancient History.

Why i joined the rank and file rather than go in for Officer training is partly due to my family history. I come from a rather distinguished line that can be positively traced back to around the time just before the Norman invasion of 'Anglo Saxon' England, and so far all of the ancestors that have been traced have all been soldiers with the few exceptions joining the English/British Royal Navy but they all seem to have risen through the ranks to gain prominent ranks, my dad included that held the rank of Sergeant in the Royal Highland Fusiliers. I continue that line. The second reason is through knowledge passed down that soldiers that rise through the ranks are always given more respect because of the experience and knowledge gained, rather than an Officer just out of military training colleges and seeing i am going for a career in the army i intend to learn everything i possibly can to ease that time.

My interests include, Ancient and Medieval Europe periods primarily but i dabble in Ancient Indian epecially the cultures in and around the Indus Valley. I try to keep fit as much as i can, by working out, running and practising Krav Maga. I also love reading, which is why i am here after reading Conn's fantastic Emperor series. :D

Hello Bp.
Being able to trace your ancestors that far back is pretty impressive, i bet you can tell us some good tales about some of them.

Hi everyone I'm Calum and have just found the wonder of Conn Iggulden books. I'm half way through the Gates of Rome and have to say I've not enjoyed reading a book as much as this in a long time.

I've visited Rome a couple of time now and absolutely love the place, so much so that I've enrolled on an Open University course to study history and can't wait until we get to the ancient Rome.

Welcome to the site, Calum, Bp and Donwog (sighs at some of these forum names......)

That's an interesting history Bp - I was reading a lot about Winston Churchill last year and I was struck how much he was influenced as a young man by his military ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough. I'm certain that knowing there are brave men in your line is an influence. I'm also guessing you like the Sharpe books!

Conn

Whoops, didn't see this thread.

Well, hi :P


Conn W

I don't think I properly introduced myself. I'm Vaughn. I live in the deep south of the USA in Mississippi. I own a small company that assists cities, counties and school districts in buying the things that they need through the use of what's called "reverse auctions". I help them do it cheaper, faster and more efficiently, and although it may sound boring, its quite honestly more fun than a human being should be allowed to have. I've been married for 8 years and have a two year old son that I worship daily, Jack.

I read all different types of books. Once I finished the Genghis series by Conn, my wife got after me to read the book on the American football player-turned soldier who was killed in Afghanistan, Pat Tillman. Its a very interesting read so far.

I also really enjoy video gaming, although I don't get as much time to do it as I would like to. I play a little World of Warcraft, and love Shogun: Total War - anything to do with strategy at all.

Hey all, my name's Mike and just found this forum while trying to find out about the last instalment of Conqueror.

Am 35, Scottish, and an ENORMOUS fan of Emperor and Conqueror. However, my copious intake of caffeine and nicotine whilst enjoying the aforementioned, has resulted in a diminished amount of sleep.

Sleep is for the weak!! (Which therefore includes me)

Figured I'd introduce myself here, since I've posted a couple of times without any elaboration on myself. My name's Meg, I'm 22 years old, and I live in Florida (for the moment). I'm an undergrad history major, my favorite being the Viking Age and Northern European/German history. I'm a great fan of historical fiction and came through Mr. Iggulden's work via "Genghis: Birth of an Empire" which was a great surprise and pleasure to read, having just randomly picked it up in the scifi/fantasy aisle at Borders (when are they going to get a historical fiction aisle, eh?). Besides being a bum college kid, I have an online bookstore, hope to open a real bookstore one day, and am an aspiring (read: unpublished) author working on a novel set during the Carolingian Dynasty. Yeah, sounds a lot more pretentious than I meant it to, but anyway, glad to be here, and back to the forum!

Hello everybody, I'm Caspar, I'm 16 and I live in England. I have always had a passion for the ancient side of History. Strangely only got into the books a couple of months ago. I hope to study Ancient History at Uni. And huge fan of the series!

Welcome to the site, Caspar, Meg, Vaughn and Mike.



What was the title? I remember that. I know he's been criticised for his sacrifice, but I thought he was an inspiration, that man.

Conn

Hello I'm Ben from Oxfordshire and I just want to say what an inspiration Conn Iggulden's books have been to me! I really feel that the Emperor series has given me an urge to discover more about the late republican period. I have gleaned most of my knowledge on Caesar from these books. My favorite book is probably the first one, with the attack on the Caesar estate. Anyway I hope that you bring out more historical books Conn! (PS Do you like Simon Scarrow's works?)

Not knowing where else to post... Has the post rate dropped this much completely or are we just in a lull?

J

I think it has been lower since Christmas, but the usual suspects are still around.

The title of the book is Where Men Win Glory. Its not horrible, but its certainly no masterpiece. I feel like the author really digs a little too deeply into Pat's life. Its not intrusive or anything, just stuff that I don't really seem to be able to bring myself to care too much about, so I have caught myself skipping some of the accounts of specific football games. I was hoping that the book would deal more with what happened in Afghanistan, and it does do that, but its the getting there that makes the book feel lengthier than it may have needed to feel. The one thing the author really does do a great job of is in his explanation of the tribal alliances and the differences in the various factions and who is aligned with the US and who is not, and why. He also goes into lengthy detail about the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan, as well as Bin Laden's repeated attempts to force American intervention into the nation. Pretty brilliant on the part of Bin Laden, but then again, no one in his right mind ever accused Bin Laden of being an idiot.

I don't see how anyone could criticize Tillman for his sacrifice. In the end, we all have to choose our own path, and he chose his, knowing full well the ramifications. Of course, I'm sure he never considered being murdered out in the field, but then anything can and does happen in war. Pat was an adrenaline junkie and fiercely patriotic. Quite frankly, both of our nations could use more men like him. I'm about halfway through the book right now, and like I said, its not one of my favorite reads, but it'll do until some of the Clavell books I ordered come in (I bought those based on your well known love for Clavell by the way).

On another note, I was wondering the other day while I was working if you had ever considered doing a series on some of the history of Japan, particularly the Edo period up through the transformation of Japan during the Meiji period. There was so much going on during those 300+ years, it couldn't help but be sweeping and b****. Perhaps a start to the series prior to the Edo as Japan fights off the invading Mongols with the help of the Divine Wind...

Obviously, I have been very remiss about checking in here. So hi and welcome to donwog, bp, Calum, Conn W, Boogra, Yao Shut, Godbout, Caspar and benjy.

Egads!!

Conn, Winston Churchill actually used to visit my grandfather in the very early 1900s where, according to my mother, the two of them would talk long into the night about politics and world issues. Apparently, he came often enough that the children thought he was related.

Hey, my names Oliver and i'm new to the site, although i posted a few things on other threads before i saw this one, im 20 (soon to be 21);

Really love ancient history; as soon as gun-powder got invented, everything became so boring. I love both the Emperor series and the Conqueror series. Really impressed that you manage to read every post and find the time to reply Mr.Iggulden

Keep those books coming!

Welcome Olly. I'm sure you'll enjoy prowling around the site.

Nice Kitty