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From the daring and critically acclaimed master of historical fiction Conn Iggulden, DARIEN is the first book in the Empire of Salt, an epic new fantasy series of spellbinding imagination . . .TWELVE FAMILIES. ONE THRONE. The city of Darien stands at the weary end of a golden age. Twelve families keep order with soldiers and artefacts, spies and memories, clinging to a peace that shifts and crumbles. The people of the city endure what they cannot change. Here, amongst old feuds, a plot is show more hatched to kill a king. It will summon strangers to the city - Elias Post, a hunter, Tellius, an old swordsman banished from his home, Arthur, a boy who cannot speak, Daw Threefold, a chancer and gambler, Vic Deeds, who feels no guilt - and Nancy, a girl whose talent might be the undoing of them all. As the sun sets, their arrival inside the walls will spark a series of explosive events. Before the sun returns, six destinies will have been made - and lost - in Darien. Welcome to the Empire of Salt, where sword and sorcery is at its finest . . . show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I never fail to be amazed by the versatility of this author - who is rapidly going on my must-read-everything-he-writes list.
From medieval England (The Wars of the Roses series) to ancient Rome (The Emperor series) and then the incredible stories about the Mongols (the Conqueror series) each are very well researched and stick closely to historical fact ( with a few variances and licences taken here and there for the sake of good story telling - about which historical pedants cavil, even so)
But now he has added Sword and Sorcery to his repertoire. Without going over the top with the magic, it reads very well. This is the first of a three part series and I'm already hooked and panting for September when the next installment is show more published.
The story is about twelve powerful families that control a huge city called Darien. It seems a bit like a cross between the Gorbals of 19th century Glasgow and St Johns Wood in London – only much bigger of both.
Political intrigue is the norm for the day and lowly folk confront the wealthy and powerful at their peril. Old feuds, plots and schemes abound – and although there is good development of characters, it is best not to get too attached. A little bit like Game of Thrones, sudden deaths eliminate what one thought of as a principal players show less
From medieval England (The Wars of the Roses series) to ancient Rome (The Emperor series) and then the incredible stories about the Mongols (the Conqueror series) each are very well researched and stick closely to historical fact ( with a few variances and licences taken here and there for the sake of good story telling - about which historical pedants cavil, even so)
But now he has added Sword and Sorcery to his repertoire. Without going over the top with the magic, it reads very well. This is the first of a three part series and I'm already hooked and panting for September when the next installment is show more published.
The story is about twelve powerful families that control a huge city called Darien. It seems a bit like a cross between the Gorbals of 19th century Glasgow and St Johns Wood in London – only much bigger of both.
Political intrigue is the norm for the day and lowly folk confront the wealthy and powerful at their peril. Old feuds, plots and schemes abound – and although there is good development of characters, it is best not to get too attached. A little bit like Game of Thrones, sudden deaths eliminate what one thought of as a principal players show less
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Little Library finds
87 works; 2 members
Library Fantasy/Science Fiction
159 works; 2 members
Author Information
96+ Works 23,788 Members
Conn Iggulden is a British fiction writer, born in 1971. He studied at English at the University of London. Iggulden headed the English Department at St. Gregory's Roman Catholic School in London and taught English there for seven years. He left teaching to write his first novel, The Gates of Rome. Iggulden has also co-authored the #1 New York show more Times bestseller, "The Dangerous Book for Boys". His title Trinity is the second of the series of books covering the Wars of the Roses, when the English noble families were at war with each other. Book 4, Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors, was released in May 2016 show less
Some Editions
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Darien
- Original title
- Darien
- Alternate titles
- Darien: Empire of Salt
- Original publication date
- 2017
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 206
- Popularity
- 158,827
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.82)
- Languages
- 6 — English, Finnish, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 18
- ASINs
- 5
