Michael Curtis Ford

[Connavar]

Anyone that has read him?

I wonder what you guys think about his books?


I have seen he has written military history fiction about some pretty intresting times and characters. Attila book, the ancient Greek one,Last King etc

[svalbard]

Is he the guy that wrote a book about the Roman emperor Julian, I think it was called Generals and Gods.

[Connavar]

Yep thats him.

Im most interested right now in The Sword of Attila ,The Ten Thousand ,The Last King


Three pretty interesting sounding Historical Fiction!

[svalbard]

A friend of mine read the Ten Thousand and didn't enjoy it. I found his story of Julian very good. The Last King is about Mithradates, I think. That is a book I will be looking out for.

Having read one of his books, I can say that he is good but... and there is always a but with me. I read a brilliant version of Julian's life, called Julian, by Gore Vidal. Ford, though, brings the period to life and tells a good story.

[Connavar]

Whats the but?

I hear he is pretty historical accurate and in Attila i want that cause i want to see a fiction story and at the same time being told of his real history. He is not like the famous Romans someone you have read alot HF books of.

I read the great Ghengis Khan book of Iggulden who told the story of the mongols and their steppes perfectly. I hope Attila's book is like that.

Have you read Conn's Ghengis Khan book? You should like it as it like 99% historical accuracy of Temujin and his time.

[svalbard]

I have a historical fiction book about Attila at the moment. It's by a writer called Ross Laidlaw. I haven't started it yet but will soon. The 'but' is nothing to do with Ford, just my hyper-critical view of the books that I read.

[Connavar]

Ah i see.


Let me know if you think that Laidlaw's Attila is any good.

[Melisende]

Stephen Grundy has written a novel on Attila - "Attila's Treasure"

[annis]

I enjoyed Michael Curtis Ford's "Ten Thousand", the story of Xenophon leading the 10,000 Greek mercenaries back from Persia to Greek-held Trebizond (The March of the Ten Thousand). It was a formidable trek through hostile territory from near Babylon to the Euxine (Black Sea) after Cyrus's defeat at the Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC).
The Greek mercenary soldiers were fighting for Cyrus the Younger in his attempt to seize the Persian throne from his brother, Artaxerxes II.

The story is told from the POV of Xenophon's shield -bearer, and it certainly captured my attention-- characterization, battle scenes and descriptions of the trek itself and the privations endured by the men were all excellent.

Interestingly Valerio Manfredi Massimo's latest novel, called "The Lost Army" is also about the March of the Ten Thousand.

Attila is a popular subject - William Napier has written a trilogy about him as well.

[svalbard]

Originally Posted by Melisende

Stephen Grundy has written a novel on Attila - "Attila's Treasure"

Grundy has another book out called Rhinegold. I read it years ago and it tells the story of the Nibelung. Attila also appears in that. It was a good read.

[Snowdog]

I've got The Ten Thousand. It starts off with a rivetting prologue, telling of an assault by Athenian soldiers on a fort that had been taken over by rebels. It's very well done.

However, I'm now mired in the next chapter which is setting the scene for the adult relationship of Xenophon and the narrator. It's a bit clunky with great chunks of exposition thrown at you rather than gradually worked into the plot.

In fact I put the book down to read Sansom's Dissolution. I'm hoping that when he gets all this preamble out of the way, he'll get back to the quality of the prologue.

[annis]

"The Ten Thousand" is worth sticking with, I think, Snowdog. It does involve you more as the stoy moves into the campaign.

I just staggered through Manfredi's "The Lost Army" which tackles the same subject. He takes an interesting angle- the proceedings are seen from the POV of a woman who accompanies the Greek mercenaries. Lots of people will probably enjoy this story, but I found it quite tedious, probably because the characters stayed flat and one-dimensional throughout. Their motivations, fears, conflicts and relationships were never developed in any depth, consequently I found it hard to care much about them or their fate.

Sansom is brilliant, isn't he? The Matthew Shardlake series really captures the mood and feel of Tudor England. and the main character is so well-drawn.