Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Gates of Rome
    Unavailable
    The Gates of Rome
    Unavailable
    The Gates of Rome
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    The Gates of Rome

    Written by Conn Iggulden

    Narrated by Alex Jennings

    4/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    The ultimate Rome story

    From the spectacle of gladiatorial combat to the intrigue of the Senate, from the foreign wars that created an empire to the betrayals that almost tore it apart, the Emperor novels tell the remarkable story of the man who would become the greatest Roman of them all: Julius Caesar.

    Brilliantly interweaving history and adventure, The Gates of Rome introduces an ambitious young man facing his first great test. In the city of Rome, a titanic power struggle is about to shake the Republic to its core. Citizen will fight citizen in a bloody conflict – and Julius Caesar will be in the thick of the action.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 1, 2011
    ISBN9780007451937
    Unavailable
    The Gates of Rome
    Author

    Conn Iggulden

    Born in London, Conn Iggulden read English at London University and worked as a teacher for seven years before becoming a full-time writer. He lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and their children.

    More audiobooks from Conn Iggulden

    Related to The Gates of Rome

    Related audiobooks

    Action & Adventure Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Goodbye Gordon

      Jan 21, 2022

      Goodbye Gordon
      7 min read

    • Article

      Blackcurrants

      Jan 15, 2024

      Blackcurrants
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Swords Of Silence

      Sep 11, 2019

      The Swords Of Silence
      5 min read

    • Article

      Stop Hating on Adjectives!

      Jun 12, 2019

      A common admonition in creative writing pedagogy is, “Cut as many adjectives as possible.” I propose that this rule springs from mere prejudice. The post Stop Hating on Adjectives! appeared first on The Millions.

      7 min read

    • Article

      Marco

      Mar 1, 2022

      THE ALLEY STANK . Marco could feel the damp soaking into his tunic as he pressed his back against the wall, trying to seem like part of the shadows. He cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid? He knew if he stayed out after dark they might f

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Girl In The Windmill

      Jan 1, 2020

      MAARTJE VAN DIJK lived in a windmill. At the age of ten, her vater and moeder perished at sea, and she was sent to live with her Opa on the coast. Despite her grief she grew to love him, and he taught her all about how to grind the village’s grains a

      7 min read

    • Article

      Magnets: Carried through time, lovers seek their purpose.

      Feb 6, 2014

      Moon Colony B, 2213 Former Ponzi-schemer Mary Pillar digs through a trashcan. It smells like rotten eggs and milk. She is elderly and homeless, living in an alley between two eco-efficient skyscrapers. Dust particles dance around her. She has lost ev

      11 min read

    • Article

      Autumnal Adrenaline

      Sep 17, 2020

      Autumnal Adrenaline
      5 min read

    • Article

      Major Long Talks to His Horse

      Feb 20, 2019

      Major Long Talks to His Horse
      6 min read

    • Article

      Of Moose and Man

      Sep 20, 2017

      The young moose wasn’t that big. Really, it was only a teenage moose. But the mama moose was big. She was like a giant refrigerator on legs. Her son was just a gangling guy, certainly not such a threat that my brand-new husband would abandon our rece

      3 min read

    • Article

      Gardens Of The Queen

      Feb 2, 2024

      Gardens Of The Queen
      9 min read

    • Article

      Friends

      Sep 1, 2021

      Friends
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Scrub

      Oct 3, 2018

      The Scrub
      3 min read

    • Article

      Cradle Of Wildness?

      Jan 20, 2023

      Cradle Of Wildness?
      7 min read

    • Article

      Bosnia, Bucks And Bear Hugs

      Jun 23, 2021

      Bosnia, Bucks And Bear Hugs
      5 min read

    • Article

      Like Son

      Oct 2, 2019

      Like Son
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Dragon’s Teeth

      Feb 2, 2022

      The Dragon’s Teeth
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Different Nation

      Mar 25, 2023

      A Different Nation
      5 min read

    • Article

      Tales From The Riverbank

      Mar 9, 2022

      A PAIR of teenage swans has taken up residence on the river outside the kitchen window, brown, ungainly, eating weed. One of them glides towards the heron that is staring down from the bank. They both flap their tail feathers in a protracted face off

      2 min read

    • Article

      Bushbuck Reminiscences

      Nov 18, 2022

      Bushbuck Reminiscences
      5 min read

    • Article

      Skein Is land

      Nov 6, 2019

      Skein Is land
      6 min read

    • Article

      It Happened to Me…

      Jul 13, 2023

      It Happened to Me…
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Wimblestone

      Oct 1, 2023

      The Wimblestone
      7 min read

    • Article

      Bold Buck Amid A Barking Chorus

      Jun 30, 2021

      Bold Buck Amid A Barking Chorus
      5 min read

    • Article

      First Day Back

      Sep 21, 2022

      First Day Back
      5 min read

    • Article

      Thieves

      Apr 11, 2018

      Thieves
      25 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Gates of Rome

    4/5

    49 ratings28 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      There is something wrong with the playback of the recording. It keeps chopping up and is bad on both streaming and download. Other audiobooks play fine on my iPad.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      A solid, rousing adventure tale of ancient Rome. I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to realize the main character is the young Julius Caesar. Historically inaccurate in places (as the author admits), nonetheless it is really good fun.
    • 4/5
      With me not being too familiar with this period in history I’m not as irritated as some readers are regarding the historical inaccuracies. With the author explaining what’s not true afterwards, this makes it okay with me, though realise this won’t appease hardcore fans of the Roman era.In a nutshell, the first half of the book is brilliant, the second half’s good in parts. Think this is because it opens with action, rather than a long-winded intro, and we see Caesar growing up and dealing with boyhood. The second part brings in a lot of characters, perhaps too many, and it takes on a more political theme. But there’re good battle scenes and some quality boy-meets-girl scenarios.My favourite character is Renius, the no-nonsense ex-gladiator.So not one for Rome purists but worth checking out if you like your historical fiction fast-paced with plenty of action.
    • 3/5
      I decided to go back to the beginning of this series after having read and enjoyed the final book which was about Augustus, not Caesar. Unfortunately, I wasn't really interested in the young Caesar and his friend Marcus. I would rather read about the politics and intrigues of Rome (relayed in an historically accurate way to the extent possible) rather than the constant fights and battles in this book. If the next book of the series doesn't improve, I'm done with it.
    • 1/5
      De-informative rubbish. Write fantasy if you can't stick to historical facts.
    • 4/5
      This was my first shot at reading Conn Iggulden. By the author's own admission, the story is historically inaccurate, but boy what a read! I found this book hard to put down, despite its formulaic plot. I will definitely be looking for the next one in the series.
    • 3/5
      History meets fantasyI enjoyed this book and thought it was a good page turner and I found the Roman world was painted well. That said, I'm not sure it meets with the history so well - personally I don't care, but pedantic historians may feel otherwise. On the negative side, the second half of the book felt a bit rushed maybe he wanted to fit it all into one book when it really should have been two. It's not such a big issue though.I also didn't feel like I really walked away with anything.In short a good page turned with not much depth. A fun read none the less.
    • 3/5
      The Gates of Rome is the starting book of Iggulden's Emperor series that chronicles the life of Julius Caesar. This first book takes us from Julius' childhood growing up with Marcus Brutus (yes, of 'et tu Brute' fame!), until he joins a Roman legion in Greece during his late teens. Although the description of everyday Roman life was interesting, it didn't have the same impact of the might and power of the Roman Empire that I found in the 3rd and 4th books. Well narrated though and definitely worth a listen.
    • 4/5
      This book was very readable and enjoyable. I cannot like the way he has messed with historical facts, but I will certainly read more by this author.
    • 5/5
      Very good book. Easy reading. Can recommend any day. Tops
    • 4/5
      Iggulden's work is a complex albeit highly fictionalized account of Caesar's early life. A solid beginning to a highly enjoyable series. Iggulden readily admits he is flexible with his history, which admittedly can be distracting at times. However, if you're willing to leave your history book closed and read with an open mind, you won't be disappointed.
    • 5/5
      This guy is now my favourite author. He always pulls you into the storyline with effortless ease. I feel I know the characters and want to grab a sword to fight alongside them. His Civil War books were excellent but this series promises to be even better and I've already started book 2.
    • 3/5
      This is a fictional account of the early life of Julius Caesar and his friend Brutus. We see how young men were raised and trained to become soldiers for the Roman army. When young he was known as Gaius and was the son of a wealthy land owner and politician. Marcus (Brutus) was an orphan taken in by Gaius' father and the two grew up side by side. When Gaius' father was killed in a slave revolt he went to live with his uncle, Marius, a general of the army known as First Bloods. Marcus went to Greece to join the Roman forces there with Renius, the old gladiator who trained the two boys.While Caesar's early life is not well recorded, life at the time is and this is where this book stands out. Details of the slave revolt and the battle over Rome between Marius and Sulla bring these events to life as well as the details of every day life.
    • 4/5
      Two boys grow up together on the outskirts of mighty Rome- one is the son of a senator and the other a bastard. The brotherly-like bond they share shapes their future but will things turn out as they plan?Gaius and Marcus have each other’s back; they fight the other’s fight. The two boys even stick together when Renius the gladiator arrives to instruct them in the art of combat and makes their young lives more miserable than they could imagine. Tubruk, the hired overseer of the estate, seems to be their only ally and even he is an old legionary, scarred from hundreds of battles as a gladiator. But it isn’t until the boy's lives intersect with another, one who has a profound influence on their young lives, that thier futures are altered from their course. Rome will change them forever...I didn’t realize when I purchased the book that it was the first book in a series; I also did not read the back closely to make the connection. I enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book immensely, but the last few chapters seemed to drag for me. That said, Iggulden’s novel is still worth reading and I would recommend it (even though it is not completely historically accurate).
    • 4/5
      Conn Iggulden’s first foray into authorship with the novel “Emperor: The Gates of Rome” is laden with a number of missteps and stilted writing. I especially did not enjoy the pseudo-magical powers bestowed upon a major character, I felt it discredited the story with a historical inaccuracy it would not be able to recover from. That being said, Mr. Iggulden breaks away with a burst of frenetic and provocative storytelling in the last quarter of the novel that peaked my curiosity so much so, that I may pick up the next novel. This last section is where Mr. Iggulden’s writing truly shines and I hope he perseveres and continues the momentum into the next volume.
    • 4/5
      The first and best book in Iggulden's EMPEROR series.The early days of Caesar, recounted with few bells and whistles by a dependable, unpretentious author. A great story, well-told. Along with Stephen Pressfield and Michael Curtis Ford, Iggulden is among the best of a current crop of writers devoted to creating authentic and gripping historical fiction.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful!This series will delight you whether you care about the history of Julius Caesar or not! Iggulden writes with a passion, and has a rare ability to draw you in and through a story. But take care. The author messes a bit with history. In later works in the series he tells you how, but here there are things that you are told that do not stack up. As a story it works though, and it really works very very well. Forgive the historical inaccuracies (there are not so many of these. The most notable is the way Marcus Brutus and Julius Caesar are made to be the same age, and even grow up in the same home), and enjoy being transported into a believable ancient Roman adventure that will keep you reading to the last page of the last book.
    • 4/5
      Liked it a lot. The author is sort of relying on you to not be smart enough to recognize who his two main characters are, which I suppose is a little insulting, but if I got angry at everyone who insulted me, I wouldn't have any time to read. It read well and I'm looking forward to the rest of them. The author has a really good voice to his writing, a lot of it is rather like Calvin and Hobbes. How is a book on Rome like a newspaper cartoon? The two kids that are the main characters spend a lot of their time wandering through the woods figuring things out. Except of course, one of them isn't a stuffed tiger.
    • 3/5
      Conn Iggulden convincingly recreates the Roman Empire of around 90BC to show us the life of a young Julius Caesar. The characters and settings are convincing and compelling.The author furthermore informs the reader at the end of how much of the book is historical, what historical licenses were taken and what elements are entirely fictional. I'm looking forward to the next book.
    • 4/5
      Great start to the Emperor series, telling the story of young Julius Caesar, and his adopted brother Marcus. Great story-telling and filling in the gaps between historical events that occurred in the city of Rome during the days of the Roman Empire. Very detailed in the scenes of conflict both small and large. Can't wait for the next book in the series!
    • 1/5
      Audio quality extremely poor. Not possible to listen to this one
    • 2/5
      Please don't read this book if you require your historical fiction to be historical.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books I've read. If you're not too much concerned about historical accuracy and rather enjoy a well-told story, then this book is definetly for you.
    • 5/5
      Brillant! I would not normally read a book that quickly but i couldn't put this one down! I ended up reading the entire series in 3 weeks. (Amazing for me). Reminds me of David Gemmell at his best. Makes me want to know more about ancient rome.
    • 2/5
      It takes a peculiar kind of confidence to attempt a novel set in a period, and whose protagonist, has already received a spectacular treatment in fiction. Unfortunately, this author's confidence is sadly misplaced. Indeed, one has to wonder what the publisher was thinking when it brazenly describes this in the book's blurb as "The Ultimate Rome Story". Colleen McCullough this is not. If one hopes to read this book to gain insights into life in ancient Rome, or indeed the life of Gaius Julius Caesar in particular, one will be sorely disappointed ... as one will be if one merely expects a well-written, tightly plotted action story set in a time long ago. This is hardly the first book in which I have lost count of the number of sentences that I had to re-read, usually several times, to try to discern what information the author was actually intending to convey, but that never makes the annoyance any the less.The tenor of the book was well represented by the first few pages (I kept hoping for improvement; it never came), in which, apart from the Roman names, the action as described [the relevance of which to the plot never became clear, at least to me] might as well have occurred in medieval England as in first century Rome. It was impossible not to contrast this with the first few pages of McCullough's "First Man in Rome", in which one is instantly taken to a time and place one could never mistake as being anything other than ancient Rome.One final, but, I think, telling point (spoiler ahead, so don't keep reading if you intend to read this book). The final words of the novel seem to suggest strongly that Caesar's childhood playmate and best friend in this book, named merely as "Marcus" throughout the book, is actually Marcus Brutus -- the Brutus who would later take part in the assassination of Caesar. This is quite a surprise, as the real Brutus was adopted by his uncle, not Caesar's father; and, even more tellingly, Brutus was some fifteen years Caesar's junior. The author does not deign to address this point in "Historical Note" at the end of the book -- a note in which he, perhaps less surprisingly, also does not mention McCullough's work.I have given this book two stars, but only because I reserve one-star ratings for books that I can't finish. This one was rather like watching a slowly unfolding accident that should never have happened... I kept thinking that it would have to improve, and that I must just be missing some basic piece of brilliance that explained why the publishers thought this a worthwhile addition to the territory covered by McCullough. So I made it to the end (and the bizarre revelation of Marcus' identity); but I certainly don't intend to subject myself to any of the sequels.
    • 4/5
      Exciting and interesting description of a young Caesar and his way into the military life.
    • 4/5
      I won this book as a First Reads giveaway and I really enjoyed it. I've been reading a lot of heavy and somewhat disturbing books lately and this was a nice change of pace. It probably isn't a book I would've picked up on my own, but I'm glad I read it. That's the great thing about book giveaways and sometimes just reading what falls into your lap, you might discover something new. The Gates of Rome is an exciting, swashbuckling novel about the childhood and early adulthood of Julius Ceasar. The characters are great and I'm definitely going to pick up the other 3 books in the series to see how this turns out.
    • 4/5
      I was surprised to read that this was Conn Iggulden's first novel. He did a bang up job as a new novelist.He begins the story of Julius Caesar when Julius was still a child living on his father's minor estate. From there we follow him, and his childhood companion Marcus into the city of Rome and their immersion into the politics and the pitfalls of the city. Young Marcus, with no money of his own, and no family to help him rise, is the fist to join the legions and head out to make his name in the military.Julius remains in the city and is taken under the wing of his mother's brother, a consul of Rome and a great General.But Julius's life is thrown into doubt when Marius and his rival General Sulla, fight over Rome itself.Colorful and nicely written, the time, the city and the boys come to life.