Welcome to KIWIreviews - product reviews
•  click here to return to the homepage  •
Welcome visitor.Join us or log in

Product reviews on kiwireviews.nz : Thursday 28th March 2024 - 21:56:23

QuickSearch for:    What is QuickSearch?
QuickJump to:    What is QuickJump?
logon name: p/w:  

I want to:

You Are Here...

Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > Tyrant review

« Dora the Explorer Press-o-Matic Ludo reviewDora the Explorer Press-o-Matic LudoBorn of Empire reviewBorn of Empire »

Score: 5.3/10  [1 review]
2 out of 5
ProdID: 847 - Tyrant
Written by Valerio Massimo Manfredi

Tyrant
Price:
$24.95
Sample/s Supplied by:
Click to search for all products supplied by Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Disclosure StatementFULL DISCLOSURE: A number of units of this product have, at some time, been provided to KIWIreviews by Macmillan Publishers Ltd or their agents for the sole purposes of unbiased, independent reviews. No fee was requested, offered nor accepted by KIWIreviews or the reviewers themselves - these are genuine, unpaid consumer reviews.
Available:
Now

Tyrant product reviews

Sicily, 412BC: the infinite duel between a man and a superpower begins. The man is Dionysius of Syracuse. The superpower is Carthage, mercantile megalopolis and mistress of the seas.

Dionysius, twenty years old, and fearless combatant of the army of Syracuse, is forced to witness the horrifying massacre of Selinus - a splendid Greek city in the edge of the Carthaginian provinces - which he attributes to the fatal indecision of the democratic government. His rage and distain foment three ironclad convictions in the young man: democracies are inefficient, the Carthaginians are mortal enemies of Hellenism and must be uprooted from Sicily, and no one but he is capable of achieving such and endeavour.

Dionysius dreams of transforming Sicily into a Greek island. And to achieve total control over the economic and military resources of his city he is willing to condemn himself in the eyes of history for centuries to come: to be eternally branded as the Tyrant.

Thus begins the adventure of a man who built the largest army of antiquity and invented dreadful war machines; the adventure of a man who was also a dramatist, a statesman, a poet and a lover, tied for all his life to the memory of his unfortunate first love, the beautiful Arete. He fought five wars and dozens of battles against the Carthaginians. He mercilessly struck down countless enemies and a good number of friends, finally managing to create a state that extended all the way to the northern end of the Adriatic.

But who was Dionysius? The ruthless egocentric monster described by his detractors, or the intellectual capable of feats far ahead of his time? Historians have condemned hi, but they have not denied his greatness. In Tyrant, Valerio Massimo Manfredi, the bestselling author of the 'Alexander' Trilogy and Spartan, has recreated a memorable protagonist full of Homeric energy and Machiavellian rationality.

Check out Macmillan Publishers Ltd onlineClick here to see all the listings for Macmillan Publishers Ltd Visit their website They do not have a Twitter account They do not have a Facebook page They do not have a YouTube Channel They do not have a Pinterest board They do not have an Instagram channel They do not have a TikTok channel



Tags:
-none-
Other listings you may be interested in:
The Dark FieldsThe Dark Fields
Rating: 9.0
Feel: Robbie WilliamsFeel: Robbie Williams
Rating: 6.0
Talk to the HandTalk to the Hand
Rating: 10.0
The Last TemplarThe Last Templar
Rating: 7.5
Geronimo Stilton - Singing SensationGeronimo Stilton - Singing Sensation
Rating: 8.3
Conspiracy 365 : 6 : JuneConspiracy 365 : 6 : June
Rating: 8.9
My Big Fat Teen CrisisMy Big Fat Teen Crisis
Rating: 9.6
The Invincible Iron Man, an Origin Story - mini versionThe Invincible Iron Man, an Origin Story - mini version
Rating: 8.5
Keeper of the Crystals 2: Eve and the Fiery PhoenixKeeper of the Crystals 2: Eve and the Fiery Phoenix
Rating: 8.3
300 Minutes of Danger300 Minutes of Danger
Rating: 9.4
Captain Underpants 12 And the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-LotCaptain Underpants 12 And the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot
Rating: 10.0
Violet BlackViolet Black
Rating: 9.3
Elastic Island Adventures: Kingdom of BlongElastic Island Adventures: Kingdom of Blong
Rating: 10.0

Product reviews...

Everyone is welcome to post a review. You will need to Join up or log in to post yours.

Click here to read the profile of goldfishstar

Review by: goldfishstar (Natalie)
Dated: 23rd of January, 2006

Link to this review Report this review

 

This Review: 5.3/10
Value for Money:
Score 5 out of 10
Level of Realism:
Score 7 out of 10
Rereadability:
Score 4 out of 10
Lose Track of Time:
Score 5 out of 10

This was a history lesson thinly disguised as a novel...

But that isn't necessarily a bad thing...

The story weaves it way through 60 years or so of the life of Dionysius and his closest friends as well as the overriding enemy - the Carthaginian empire.
It starts with a young, strong, overwhelming man - strong not only of body, but mind and spirit as well. He is an idealist and is infuriated by the loss of a city he knows he could have saved with prompter actions...
During the evacuation of the survivors, he rescues the woman that will become the love of his life, Arete.

Dionysius takes action and starts his path to becoming the Tyrant, overthrowing the democratic governing body of his home city of Syracuse, building a huge army and gaining enemies as fast as he loses friends to the battles of his own making.
Not only does he lose friends, he loses his wife in the cruellest way possible, and this tips him over the edge, turning him from a man with a passion, to a man possessed...

I am not sure this it the most enjoyable book I've ever read, in fact I know it's not, but it was interesting...
There were some hard slogging bits throughout the story that I struggled through - descriptions of the history of Sicily that were possibly a little too deeply rooted for the average reader, but there were some very sweet moments with Dionysius and Arete that make him more than the Tyrant... it makes him a man like everyone else.

If you are a history buff, then this might be for you, but if you want something light to read, look elsewhere...


Random listing from 'Books'...

Score: 10.0
Product reviews for listing 7058: Thunderbirds Are Go! Dare & Rescue Sticker Activity Book -  Brand / Author: Hachette

Product image for Thunderbirds Are Go!  Dare & Rescue Sticker Activity BookWhen disaster strikes, International Rescue answers the call! 48 pages of puzzles, stickers and activities to entertain any budding recruit.

From a hidden island base in the South Pacific, the five Tracy brothers pilot remarkable, cutting-edge Thunderbird vehicles from the depths of the oceans to the highest reaches of space, all for one purpose: to help those in need.

This official Thunderbirds Are Go bumper sticker and activity book is filled with puzzles, stickers and activities to entertain any budding International Rescue recruit.

Go to the listing

General Disclaimer...

Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Do not copy content from this page. Creative Commons Licence All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.

"Sometimes only those who love you can tell you what you need to hear, instead of what you want to hear."
anonymous