Conn Iggulden works on bringing to life the tale of Xenophon and The Ten Thousand. Xenophon had joined the Greek army hired by Cyrus to fight his brother Artaxerxes for the Persian throne. When Cyrus lost his head at Cunaxa and the Greek generals were murdered by the Persians, Xenophon became the de-facto general and led the remaining Greeks to the Black Sea, cutting through and outwitting Persians and wild hill tribes that got in their way. The book spends about half the book building up to the Cunaxa and seems to rush though the march to the sea, unfortunately, which makes the book seemed rushed at the end.

The battle for the future of the Persian empire has begun. Following the decisive victory of King Artaxerxes against his brother, his generals and army begin to crumple. Spartans and Greeks have amassed to help win the Persian Empire, only to be rebuffed by the massive Persian Empire. As the battle leads to more skirmishes and death,Xenophon must lead the survivors to the battle out of danger, or be killed himself.

Told in immense detail, readers feel the sand and sun of the battle plain. As always, Iggulden did a great job telling the story and making the characters relatable.

The Falcon of Sparta is a good read for the right reader. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with this story. I skimmed through a lot of it. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of Conn Iggulden's medieval stories, especially the War of the Roses series. The Falcon of Sparta begins in an interesting manner, but fell flat about halfway through. It was sometimes difficult to follow each of the characters, and I eventually lost interest. Though this ultimately wasn't the book for me, it's still a worthwhile addition to larger library collections, especially those with patrons who have an interest in the Persian Empire.

Please note: I will publish my post on 6 February.

The Falcon of Sparta by Conn Iggulden is a fictionalized account of the book The Persian Expedition by Xenophon. Mr. Iggulden is a bestselling author, known for the Emperor, Conqueror, and Wars of the Roses series.

Artaxerxes, the Great King of Persia, has a problem – his brother Cyrus is marching with thousands of soldiers to try and overthrow him. Within his army, Cyrus has 10,000 Greeks, Spartans who are revered by the rest of the army and the world.

One soldier in Cyrus’ army is Xenophon, a Greek who is trying to lead his fellow countrymen home after the fierce battle.

I knew very little about Artaxerxes and his brother Cyrus The Younger before picking up this book. The promise of Sparta together with a fantastic writer is what made me pick up The Falcon of Sparta by Conn Iggulden, and I was not disappointed.

Mr. Iggulden based this book on the account of Xenophon’s book, which on top of giving us context to a great historical battle, was also one of Socrates’ students and the few who put his wisdom into written words. Xenophon is one of the reasons we know about Socrates to begin with.

The book is divided into two parts. The first follows Cyrus and his efforts to build an army and challenge his brother for the throne of Persia. After the Battle of Cunaxa, the climax of the war between the two heirs to the throne the book changes protagonists and starts following Xenophon who leads the Greek mercenaries, known as the Ten Thousand. The mercenaries who are stuck deep in hostile territory, must fight the Persian Empire to get home.

The whole book was a lot of fun to read, entertaining and educational. I had no idea it was based on a real account until the end (my education on that part of history is … lacking), but was excited to find out that this events were based on reality.

Historical fiction of epic proportions! If you are a Conn Iggulden fan, you will LOVE "The Falcon of Sparta"! Based on real happenings in Persia around 400 BC. On his deathbed, the Persian king Artaxerxes tells his heir ( also named Artaxerxes) that upon his death, he should kill his younger brother Cyrus, because Persian siblings have a habit of killing the heirs to put themselves on the throne. For a variety of reasons, this does not happen...but a whole host of other things do, which make Cyrus feel, shall we say, not very welcome in the kingdom. But Cyrus is in charge of the army, so he sets out to make the army big enough and strong enough that he feels safe. For reasons that are probably obvious, this does not endear Cyrus to his big brother, who is now King Artaxerxes, the third of that name. Eventually a huge battle ensues. But the story isn't finished when the battle is (and you have to read the book to find out who won and how).

Armies have armies of camp followers following them. And most armies are made up of large amounts of mercenaries. The Persian armies are no exception, and at the conclusion of the battle, this army of followers and Spartan mercenaries are left far from home and without protection from the angry winning army. Their story, of how the select new leaders and make the perilous journey out of Persia and back to their homes make up the second part of the book. And part 2 is just as exciting, thrilling and suspenseful as part 1.

We've all heard of Thermopylae but this battle is less well known. Conn Iggulden does a wonderful job of setting the stage and bringing the historical (and fictional) characters to life. Even if you are not into warfare, you will find yourself holding your breath as the battles unfold, courage appears from unexpected quarters, and results are completely different from what you predicted. I loved this book; Iggulden has written many great books, but The Falcon of Spartan rates at the top!

I literally devoured this book. I could not get enough of it! The writing was superb, the characters were amazingly complex. I read this book until way past my bedtime. I also read it while making the kids Mac n' Cheese (sorry, kids) and while applying my make up (sorry, eyebrows.) I could not get enough. Rarely does a novel affect me in that way. What a wonderful way to end my year and ring in the new. I need everything this author has ever written!

The Falcon of Sparta by Conn Iggulden, a well written book. The Falcon of Sparta comes alive from the pen of Iggulden a generation or so after the tale of the 300. Hired by the Prince of Persia to take the throne from his brother, this is the story of what happened to the mercenaries and how they fought.

Thank you NetGalley and Pegasus Books for the eARC.
What a wonderful read this is! I knew close to nothing about the epic, bloody battle of Cunaxa and was totally wrapped up in this ancient part of history, so well written, as always, by Mr. Iggulden
The Persian Empire's Prince Cyrus is considered a threat to the throne of his elder brother, the new King of Persia, Ataxerxes, who tried to have Cyrus killed. Furious by the betrayal, Cyrus enlists an army 120,000 soldiers: Persian troops and Greek mercenaries, including 12,000 mighty Spartans.
I don't want to give away too much, but the trek over the desert back to Greece, after the battle, is written so realistically, I actually had to take my sweatshirt off because I was hot. How on earth any of these men survived, being hounded by Persian soldiers and hill tribes as well as the impossible conditions is a miracle. Xenophon, who leads the March (and wrote a first-hand account) is to my mind a hero and very well fleshed out in the book. I truly loved the book and can't recommend it highly enough!

The style of writing is drawn out and that’s not a style of writing I like to read. Therefore, I’m not the right reviewer for this book.