Emperor: The Blood of Gods (Special Edition) (Emperor Series, Book 5) [Kindle Edition]

Review
So after a gap of 8 years since the last book in this series
Emperor
1. The Gates of Rome (2003)
2. The Death of Kings (2004)
3. The Field of Swords (2004)
4. The Gods of War (2005)
5. The Blood of Gods (2013)
How does this new offering stack up? does it have all that the early books did? or has it progressed with the writers skill?
I'm happy to say that the book retains the passion of the early Emperor books, but incorporates all the lessons learned since that time.
As usual with this series you have to accept the authors slight meddling with the timeline for places and character names, this as per previous books is done to make the book a tight, fast paced novel, whilst retaining the integrity of the history (it is fiction after all). All those niggles the purist may have are answered in the author notes at the back of the book.
This book tells how Octavian starts his rise to power, how does a young boy of 17 take over from his adopted father? how does he suddenly take on the devious and wily Liberatores, the men who killed Caesar? And how does he command the respect of the people and legions of Rome?
Conn gives a convincing and powerful portrayal of this young man and his two friends Agrippa and Maecenas, their journey from adolescents enjoying leave in Greece, to absorbing the news of the murder of the greatest man of their age and then the audacity and prowess needed to take on the might of the senate, Cassius, Brutus, Mark Anthony and the systemic corruption and arrogance of the Roman elite.
Conn charts this progress with skill and believability, we know Octavian managed all this, what many know is how, the high level story but we don't know all the problems he faced along the way. One of the best parts of Conn's writing and research is how he mixes in all the little facts, the nuggets that are so strange they sound like fiction, and turn out to be true. When you couple that with his natural storytelling skill, you get a stunning novel.
You know the type of bloke, a person who in face to face in conversation can just keep a whole room captivated. He is the type of guy you either hated at school or wanted as your best mate. I think we just need to be thankful he became a writer so we get to enjoy that natural storytelling talent, rather than him being the centre of attention in the pub on a Friday night.
Are there issues with the book?
Yes, it's not long enough this story deserves a whole series all on its own, the story of Octavian is just as epic as Gaius Julius Caesar, in fact possibly more so, Octavian was thrown in at the deep end Caesar had time to build and learn. Octavian was the true father of Imperial Rome and ruled until the age of 75, which in Rome is unprecedented. This series was supposed to end with book 4 and yet we have book 5 and WOW am i glad we do...will Conn cave and do book 6? I doubt it but never say never. I still hold out hope of another Genghis book but don't ever expect to get one.
After this brilliant book we have a shift in time periods for Conn his next book is set somewhat later than this series, and when i have more i will blog on it, he will be at a new publishers also, so we should see some fantastic new cover styles to compliment the book.
Many thanks to Harper Collins for bringing us such a fine writer and so many brilliant tales.

But for now, Conn signs off with Harper in style, with a truly powerful dramatic tale that fulfilled almost every expectation I had for Octavian's rise to power.

Very Highly recommended
(Parm)

Conn made my Top 10 books list, see which book and wherehttp://headofzeus.com/article/my-top-10-books-robin-carter
For Conn's other books see below
Emperor
1. The Gates of Rome (2003)
2. The Death of Kings (2004)
3. The Field of Swords (2004)
4. The Gods of War (2005)
5. The Blood of Gods (2013)
Gates of Rome / Death of Kings (omnibus) (2009)
Emperor: The Gates of Rome / The Death of Kings / The Field of Swords / The Gods of War (omnibus) (2011)

Conqueror
1. Wolf of the Plains (2007)
aka Genghis: Birth of an Empire
2. Lords of the Bow (2008)
aka Genghis: Lords of the Bow
3. Bones of the Hills (2008)
4. Empire of Silver (2010)
aka Khan: Empire of Silver
5. Conqueror (2011)
Conqueror and Lords of the Bow (omnibus) (2009)
The Khan Series (omnibus) (2012)
Conqueror Series 5-Book Bundle (omnibus) (2013)

Tollins
1. Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children (2009)
2. Dynamite Tales (2011) (with Lizzy Duncan)

Quick Reads 2012
Quantum of Tweed: The Man with the Nissan Micra (2012)

Novellas
Blackwater (2006)

Non fiction
The Dangerous Book for Boys (2006) (with Hal Iggulden)
The Dangerous Book for Boys Yearbook (2007) (with Hal Iggulden)
The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do (2007) (with Hal Iggulden)
The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Know (2008)(with Hal Iggulden)
The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Wonders of the World(2008) (with Hal Iggulden)
The Dangerous Book for Boys Kit: How to Get There (2008)
The Dangerous Book for Boys Kit: Nature Fun (2008)
The Dangerous Book for Boys: 2009 Day-to-Day Calendar(2008)
The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Facts, Figures and Fun(2008)
The Dangerous Book of Heroes (2009) (with David Iggulden)
The Dangerous Book for Boys 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar (2009)(with Hal Iggulden)

Rome, the Ides of March and Julius Caesar is dead, stabbed to death by his friends and colleagues in the very city he had dominated for so long. For the killers, the elation of bringing down a tyrant is quickly dispelled as the people of Rome vent their anger on the city and the men who brought down their Caesar.

Instead of being seen as liberators and heroes they are hounded and abused by the mob and with Mark Anthony cleverly using the mob to his own ends they soon have to flee the city.

When Caesars young nepheblood_of_gods_final_hbw Octavian hears the the news he knows he has just lost his patron and protector but is determined to get to Rome and bring the killers to justice.

Arriving in Rome as a penniless officer and with his only his two closest friends for company he knows that obtaining justice for Caesar will be nigh on impossible.

His fortunes change when the Vestal Virgins read Caesars will and he discovers that he has been adopted into the Julii and that Caesar has left him the bulk of his vast fortune.

He immediately changes his name to Caius Julius Caesar in honour of his father and the power of that name brings him power, influence and more importantly Legions.

With the Legions at his back he can now influence the senate and have the killers declared outlaws.

Despite being rivals for power Octavian and Mark Anthony know they must work together to bring the killers to justice and in particular Brutus, Caesars oldest friend and the man who betrayed him twice.

Safely ensconced in Greece Brutus is finally enjoying the fruits of power after so many years in Caesars shadow. Protected by a powerful fleet he knows a confrontation with Octavian and Anthony is coming and he will choose his own ground.

A little town called Phillpi will decided the fate of the Republic.

As fans of Conn Iggulden will know we have waited for this book since 2006 and the publication of The Gods of War. This is the last book in the Emperor series and I glad to say it was well worth the wait.

This book is as much about emotion as it is about the grab for power and glory. It starts with the aftermath of Caesars murder as it slowly dawns on the killers that not everyone is happy with them. Then the anger starts as Mark Anthony outmaneuvers them and the promise of power and prestige slips from their fingers.

Octavian's anger is palpable throughout the book and his desire for revenge is all consuming. His friendship with Agrippa and Maecenas is his bedrock that he builds his grab for power around.

Brutus has always been one of my favourite characters. While a excellent fighter and solider he has always been flawed and his love for Caesar is tempered by his anger and jealousy at his success. Brutus's bitterness flows out of this book and it is delicious to read. It really captures a man not quite good enough who lashes out at those closest to him.

Conn Iggulden has always taken a few liberties with historical fact to fit into his story but this in no way affects the book. It is fasted paced and beautifully written with some great action scenes and even the political scenes in the senate are written with power and purpose.

This is a great reworking of some of the greatest men in history as they battled it out for the soul and the future of the Roman Republic.

Tantalizingly, at the end of the book we see Mark Anthony sailing east to meet Cleopatra. Could we possible see another book in the series? Lets hope we don't have to wait another 7 years for it.

The story of the aftermath of the assassination of Julius Caesar in the Theatre of Pompey in 44BC is a familiar one, possibly the most famous of all Roman tales thanks to Shakespeare and Hollywood. For Conn Iggulden, though, it represents the inevitable and natural culmination of his superb series Emperor, which has brought alive the rise to power of the god Julius. Now, in The Blood of Gods, he depicts Caesar's fellow Romans slipping in his blood, scrambling for position, giving way under the indomitable obsession for revenge wielded by his adopted son Octavian, the new Julius Caesar - Rome's first emperor in everything but name. The story might be familiar but Conn Iggulden brings a context to it, to Octavian's dramatic rise to power, as well as a poignancy thanks to all that we have learned over previous books about Caesar's deep friendship with Brutus, the final assassin. We can't forget Mark Antony here either. Iggulden replaces the famous speech of Shakespeare's Antony with a piece of gutwrenching theatre performed over the corpse of his friend. The die is cast and we're on the road to Philippi before you know it.

The familiarity of the novel's story is offset by Conn Iggulden's perceptive insight into the characters of Caesar's friends and enemies. This is especially true of Octavian, his brave and loyal friends Maecenas and Agrippa and Mark Antony. Both Octavian and Mark Antony, ingeniously, are very likeable. You could almost feel pity for Brutus and Cassius but in The Blood of Gods the time for sympathy for Brutus' ideals is past. In this book, the focus is very much on the complex character of Octavian instead.

There are some fantastic set pieces and the horrifying battle sequences complement well the political machinations of Rome just as the combat exists side by side with great oratory. The manipulation of Rome's masses is as important as prowess on the battlefield.

It's been over five years since the publication of the last Emperor novel, The Gods of War (Emperor Series, Book 4). Now the story ends at last, just a few months short of Iggulden's move to Penguin for the launch of his new Wars of the Roses series. There is indeed closure here. The Blood of Gods is an enormously confident and accomplished novel that achieves the near impossible task of placing you, the reader, in the very heart of this most fascinating time in Roman history as a witness to the actions of its greatest men. I'm very grateful for the review copy.