Darien: Empire of Salt Book I

This was a fun read with interesting characters, a solid plot, and a promising setting. The writing itself was perfectly satisfactory, as befits an experienced professional like Iggulden (though I've always found it a bit jarring how quickly and how often Iggulden changes his point of view within the flow of an unfolding scene). I do have a few key criticisms that keep me from scoring this any higher.Darien drops the reader into the eponymous city, which feels like a combination of ancient Rome with the early modern Dutch Republic. It's a world of ancient sorcery, magical artifacts, and the new technology of firearms. I enjoyed the introduction to this world and consider it a promising setting - however the author didn't do himself any favors in this regard by how heavily he leaned on real history in his narration. There were several instances where the narration referenced events and names that were lifted straight from our own history - the destruction of Carthage and salting of its earth, the Roman practice of decimation, mention of "the Caesars" - which pulled me out of immersion. This made me question whether it was the author's intent that these things also existed in his world under the very same names, or if he's just referencing out-of-universe events as a crutch for his world-building? Either way it was an extremely un-immersive touch that I didn't appreciate.The narrative follows three primary protagonists, with several prominent supporting characters. The cast was small enough that I never became frustrated by moving from one set of characters to the next, and the book is overall paced quite effectively. The three main characters are each in their own way a magical oddity in their world, with their own special abilities that set them on a collision course with society and each other. The way the story was plotted to establish each character's motivations and then bring them together towards the book's climax was very well planned and executed - with exceptions. Of the three magical protagonists, one of them feels like their particular skillset doesn't really feature in the story's climax in more than just an incidental way. It's a Checkov's gun that's never fired, and that's a little frustrating. The role of the other two protagonists in the climax of the story was much better plotted. Another point of frustration is that a certain antagonist is ultimately undone by a very minor character, as opposed to the protagonist who had tremendous narrative weight invested in seeking that outcome. The ending is still fine, but lacking the pay-off of a much-anticipated confrontation that was easily within reach. The plot is very well-planned and well-executed, but it does fumble a little towards the end.Overall Darien was an enjoyable read that kept me well entertained, but a few key missteps kept it from living up to its potential.

I am a big fan of Iggulden's Historical Fiction series so I gave this one a chance - very glad I did. My regret is that I didn't go ahead and order all three at once. Had to wait forever to get the second and third books (ok, exaggeration slightly but I was excited to get the books and - in somewhat Karen style - disappointed they couldn't be delivered the next day).Others will write better reviews and synopsis but, part of Mr. Iggulden's Acknowledgement in book two sums up why I am loving this series:"Lastly, I would like to thank David Gemmell, for his influence on me from the earliest days... I used the grey fields of Homer's Hades in this book, just as he did - though I dare say not as well."While somewhat chronologically strange, it was an introduction by Mr. Iggulden in one of Gemmell's books that got me started on the path to Troy and onto the lands of Druss. This series stirred me in the same manner as those did.

It seems like many of the people who gives a one or two star review, do this because they are disappointed its a fantasy novel, and not another Caesar or Wolff series. Its says its fantasy, don't start reading a fantasy novel and then rave that its historical incorrect.Anyways, as a David Gemmel fan I thought this was just great. The universe was quite intriguing, the pace was fine, the characters was interesting (even though only very few we got really inside the head of) and the battle scenes were as always very well written without them being too long ...or short.In my opinion this was much better than the Roses seriesI will certainly read the next one.

I enjoyed the book and am a big Iggulden fan but it seemed to take forever to get started. It shouldn't take that long to set up characters. The second half takes off though and makes it worth it. I'm a fantasy fan but coming from Iggulden it takes some getting used to. All in all a good read and am looking forward to the next one .If I may, I'd like to whine a little about the difficulty of getting this book. It's listed on Amazon and kindle but l had to buy it from someplace in England. Anyone know why?

The first book, in a new world, is always the hardest to write cuz you need to build up a new setting and new characters. And I think Iggulden does start of on a good note with this book. Sure I would've wanted some more back story on the world and it's different factions and history, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.It kept you guessing and kept you on your feet. Since it felt like this book more introduce the characters and there abilities it would be nice with more in depth knowledge of the world they live in..

It was entertaining in a kind of simple way. Missed very much a world building, and a little bit more meat to the main characters. Nevertheless I am going to read the next installment of the series.

I am a dedicated fan of good historical fiction. It follows that Conn Iggulden is one of favorite authors. Great research and story teller. Capitivating and entertaining page-after-page. In the past....Needing good reading for a long trip, I purchased all three books of Iggulden's "Salt" series at the same time to take along with me. I was careless and didn't read the description of the works carefully; assumed that they were his normal genre' - historical fiction. I discovered, of course, about 50 pages into "Darien" that I couldn't have been more wrong. It was Fantasy - and not very well written fantasy.This review is for the intial 70 pages of Darien, only. I donated it and the other two books in this series without cracking the covers.Caveat Emptor. I wish my Latin was good enough to write, Reader beware!

I send these books to my husband in prison and he truly enjoys them, so do the other inmates that he passes the books onto. I have my husband donate the books to the prison library so, all the others that will end up serving time there will have a better selection of books than the BOP offers!

This book is the first of a new fantasy series by Conn Iggulden, better known for his Emperor, Conqueror and War of the Roses Series. The book is set in an entirely fictional universe, even if there are various hints that allow the reader to equate the city of Darien to one of the capitals of the Roman Empire.The city of Darien is still huge, but the Empire of Salt to which it belonged is no more. The city is controlled by twelve prominent Families with one of them - the Sallett House – dominated the others and nominating the King from its ranks. The book reads like an exciting adventure story, with the six main characters either present in or converging on Darien to take part in an attempt to kill the King and wrest power from the Twelve Families. All of them will be changed as a result and some will even survive the upheaval.While the plot may not be entirely original – readers of Stella Gemmell’s “The City” or of other similar stories may find a few parallels – some of the characterisation and the features and the action are rather superb. The artefacts and relics of a more glorious past that survive as treasured possessions of some of the Twelve Families are quite impressive, in particular the powerful “Sallett Greens”. So is the remaining magic in the land, with one of the characters discovering unknown but lethal talents and two others possessing - but hiding - such talents.The attack of the royal palace and the fighting in the streets of Darien is among the best parts, even if some features, such as the old swordsman ability to stand in the front line and to survive the fight despite his age and his lack of armour, tend to stretch belief a bit. The personality of the old soldiers and swordsman, well past his prime, and his attachment to his gang of followers, make him into a rather sympathetic character, just like the Hunter’s devotion to his family which makes him capable of doing just about anything to protect them.Three of the most interesting characters, however, are not among the six main ones. Two of them are the main protagonists in the civil war and bitter fight for supremacy in Darien. One is the general commanding the Legion of Immortals. He is a member of the Twelve Families but from of the minor Families and commands the five thousand strong elite professional force of Darien, a force that is increasingly starved of resources. The other protagonist is an ageing lady, the ruthless and determined head of the Sallett House and the real power behind the throne of her young and fearful nephew. The third character, perhaps one of the most sympathetic in the book, is the fat, unwarlike, middle aged but brave Head of one of the other minor Families who answers the Sallett’s call to defend Darien.There were perhaps a couple of shortcomings, however, which essentially means that I would appreciated a bit more context and world building.One is that you learn hardly anything about the Empire of Salt in particular, and Darien’s past more generally, although this is the book’s title. Another and related point is that only four representatives of the Twelve Families make an appearance in this book. Although future volumes of the Series will very likely shed more light on both aspects, I could not help finding this book somewhat incomplete, which, when seen in a positive light, essentially means that I wanted more of it…Four strong stars and I look very much forward to reading the next instalment.

I'm a big fan of Conn's previous books on Caesar and Genghis and also read a lot of fantasy, so wasn't sure what to expect of this one.Overall it was very enjoyable, with some interesting ideas, however I'm not sure it knows exactly what it's trying to be. High fantasy, a hint of steampunk, westerns, myths, Egyptology, legends and ancient history all show through as influences. The world isn't explicitly stated as a version of ours, so references to Caesars etc. feel a bit incongruous.Hopefully the world will be developed in coming novels, but the read is very surface, no realistic sense of a deep history. It felt a bit like reading a description of a computer game at times. That said, some great ideas and action sequences, so I will be reading the next one when it's published.3.5 stars.

Since Martin, Abercrombie, Lawrence, et al come along and gave fantasy the damn good kicking we (the elder readers of fantasy) knew it needed it's gradually got further and further into the realms of the edgelords - and thus... more and more unlikeable characters. Thankfully, although this has some of the trappings of grimdark there are an awful lot of characters that are actually likeable human beings (with human reasons and reactions) and it all gets damn confusing when your favourite characters get pitted against each other!Damn fine work Mr Iggulden.This one has been stuck on my kindle shelf for a very long time, since nearly release due to the reviews, and turned around my ever decreasing reading speed of months to finish a book to two days - couldn't put it down, couldn't stop turning the pages. Whacked the audio book on while going in/out of work.In short, the best book I've read in a long time.

Darien: Empire of Salt is the first in a planned series of fantasy books by Conn Iggulden. If like me, you have a soft spot for historical fiction, you will more than likely have read or heard of Iggulden’s Emperor, Conqueror or War of The Roses series. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the former two, I cannot say I jumped into this book with unbiased expectations. I hope to provide now at least a frank review having completed the book in just under a week.The narrative is told from the perspective of half a dozen characters in and around the fictional city of Darien, over the course of about a week. In the world of Darien, magical relics from an earlier age are now a commodity. In addition, there are individuals who are born with magical abilities with various applications and degrees of potency, referred to as “knacks”.The book starts by building up a background to the characters, before leading them unavoidably to both Darien and on collision courses with each other.I found the world of Darien to be an intriguing place, with its reliance on magical items to secure personal power and wealth. This in contrast to the gritty political and private ambitions of its populace I found drew me into the book almost immediately. My only complaint here is I wanted to know more of the workings of this world, details of the city’s history, geography and culture are scarce.The characters are a mixed bunch, all with backgrounds and personal agenda’s that set them apart. Some I felt were more engaging than others. I found I looked forward to the sections of the book devoted to Elias, Deeds, Arthur and Tellius but struggled to feel emotionally attached to Nancy and Daw. Generally though the characters are well fleshed out and relatable.Overall, I enjoyed the book and it kept me turning pages but when compared to Iggulden’s earlier series it feels a little flat. Perhaps for me this could be reconciled with continuing to expand the breadth and depth of this fantasy world throughout the series, as I feel there is plenty of interesting elements to build on.

Stumbled across the sequel and thought it sounded intriguing so bought the first installment and wished I'd waited as I have just been offered it for 99p though even then it would be a waste of a weekHence this review to try and save the rest of youStarts off well enough with some interesting characters who gradually turn into annoying stereotypical drivelStory builds well to a point then follows the same formulaI dont usually write reviews so the motivation should give you a clueYes it's that disappointing and worseBut feel free to judge for your selves as there are plenty of positive reviewsI just think they are by 12 year olds who should read more than just the dialogue on their games console's