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The Last King of Lydia

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We gradually see what sort of a man can vanquish so many, choose so many destructive wars, and also leave behind a written legacy of religious tolerance that still stands out in a narrow-minded world.

What makes this a special book is less to do with the events, the battles, the conquests and so on, but the effect on the characters. In the publicity for The last King of Lydia comparisons are made with among other authors, Mary Renault, who is still considered the best of historical novelists focussing on ancient Greece. He remembers the time he asked the old Athenian philosopher, Solon, who was the happiest man in the world. As a big fan of all manner of historical fiction I would highly recommend this book both for its writing but also how it explores a period not often seen in the genre.and made offerings to Greek shrines, especially *Delphi; anecdotes attest his friendliness to Greek visitors and his wealth. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but I found it to be a compelling story of the ancient world.

Leach puts these words in the mouth of a 5th Century BC ruler, yet I’m not sure I’ve read a more apposite phrase to sum up what’s wrong with modern society. The first chapter gives a strong sense of what's to follow: The guards had long since learned the way to make a royal prisoner docile. For his debut novel, Tim Leach steers clear of the familiar Greek and Roman legends and instead concentrates a lesser-known character, King Croesus of Lydia. However, the format of the book is not implied or even conventional: it is not an action-packed thriller, although there is action in it; it is not a book of political intrigue (thank God), yet political intrigue features; and it is certainly not a murder mystery or fantasy story. This is an absorbing, refreshing novel which offers something a little different to the norm and I hope that the author has more tales of ancient worlds in the pipeline.

Important events are seen from the perspective of unexpected characters which gives the book so much more depth. To an extent, this is a book about philosophy, but that makes it sound like one of those irritating stories where "the message" is clumsily wedged into the narrative, which it is not. His subsequent fate soon became the theme of legend: he is cast or casts himself on a pyre, but is miraculously saved by Apollo and translated to the land of the *Hyperboreans or becomes the friend and counsellor of Cyrus. Herodotus and other Greek authors recounted a lot of myths that built up around him and threw some of their own in for good measure.

Croesus is supposed to be king of an impressive empire, but I didn’t feel as though the story centred me in that empire of vast distances and countless people. They were veterans of many wars of conquest, and they knew that a king bled and died like any other man.I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Last King of Lydia, not least because it is not exactly run of the mill, but also because of its ability to engage the reader and mix in a variety of settings, battles and courts across Asia Minor whilst remaining focused on the key issues of the book. It's intelligently written, often poetic, compelling and even though I knew the story of Croesus, it was full of surprises.

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