Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

February Group Read discussion thread for Attila by William Napier

The dawn of the 5th century AD, and the Roman Empire totters on the edge of the abyss. Already divided into two, the Imperium is looking dangerously vulnerable to her European rivals. The huge barbarian tribes of the Vandals and Visigoths sense that their time is upon them.

But, unbeknownst to all these great players, a new power is rising in the East. A strange nation of primitive horse-warriors has been striking terror on border peoples for fifty years. But few realise what is about to happen. For these so called 'Huns' now have a new leader. And his name is Attila - 'the Scourge of God.'

Thus begins a saga of warfare, lust and power which brought the whole of the Christian world to its knees - and ended in blood on the fields of France. It is a story of two men: Attila the Hun and Aetius the Roman. One who wanted to destroy the world, and one who fought one final battle to save it.

As mentioned on the other group read thread, I will be starting with Mercenaries in Feb and then coming to Attila afterwards.

As this one arrived first, I've decided it shall be first. First week end of February to the "barbarians".

Great. I'm raring at my bit. Right, I know that's a muddled-up metaphor. It's horsey.

I'm okay with horsey metaphors, but I prefer cattle ones.
I will be like a bull out a gate with Attila, come Feb 1st.

Picking up Attila from the library tonight!!

Are you going to your library more these days, Bobby? You used to only buy didn't you?

I have it out now too. Just waiting to finish a few and then get moving on it.

I am still waiting for mine to come into the library....(I better bloody double check that I DID reserve it)....I have the other group read, Mercenaries here, so if Attila doesn't come into the library on time I can go with the other GR first.
Feb is still a couple weeks away though...

Terri wrote: "Are you going to your library more these days, Bobby? You used to only buy didn't you?"

I used to ONLY buy until a couple of years ago and then I re-discovered my local library. It has grown up a lot!! I still buy when I can't get something thru the library or it's Inter Library Loan system. I really use the library a LOT nowadays as do my 13 and 10 year old daughters.

If it helps, our groups reads are open ended. Some don't get to the book or finish the book until the month after the read, some come many months after.
The thread stays open and people are welcome to post on it forever more.
So if you decide at any stage to read the book, even if it's twelve months from now, Jaq, please feel free to post your comments in this thread.

I forgot to reserve Attila at the library. *sheepish*
I thought I had already reserved it, but I hadn't. It is currently out on loan and won't be due in until Feb 11.

This means I will be starting the month with the other group read, Mercenaries.

Bryn wrote: "Great. I'm raring at my bit. Right, I know that's a muddled-up metaphor. It's horsey."

Chomping at the bit, or raring to go. Both are equine, with 'raring' being some kind of form of 'to rear', which is of course what a horse does when it stands up on it's hind legs. :D

I've had horses under me do both in my rancher's son youth. My father has had some...excitable...steeds. :)

Well then Patrick, I am glad that Bryn did not say she is pig rooting.


(Also equine related..)

Eh?
Watch out when I do. That'll be if I don't like the book. :^] And I'm telling you what I'd rather do than read it.

Lol. I'll keep an eye out for that. :D

This looks like a potentially exciting read - the 'bad boys' of history seem to be more interesting than the 'saints.' I might read the whole series. I'm amazed that my library actually had a copy.

I have fingers crossed that Napier's Attila is an exciting version. :-)

Have added a video, to the groups videos, on Attila.
It is a short biography (2 minutes) on Attila to get memerbs up to speed on him if you need it.

http://www.goodreads.com/videos/37338...

Anyone starting this straight away at the beginning of the month?

I haven't started the other group yet. Still about a day off.

I'll be starting this within the hour. I have 10 or so pages left of my current read.

Oh good. I can't wait to start seeing people's feedback on this one. :)

Terri wrote: "Anyone starting this straight away at the beginning of the month?

I haven't started the other group yet. Still about a day off."

I started reading today earlier this evening. Have not got that far yet.

Also good news, Silver.
I have been waiting for the feedback to start tumbling in, but I think I might need to be more patient- The group read has only just started!! :-)

I'm about 50 pages in and I keep thinking 'would you just get on with it'. I'm holding judgement though as all the Fall of Rome history and descriptions might be necessary for the rest. I'm also unsure about the dates, they seem to be off by a decade, but I'm willing to concede that might just be me.

Do you think it possible that he wrote it mainly as the series set up?
As we all know, some authors put far too much background in book one because they know they are writing a series as opposed to a stand alone book that might one day become a series.

It could be. I intend to read the bulk of it today, so I`ll be able to offer a better idea of what I think he`s doing at the beginning. But you might on to something, that`s more for the series than the book. I`ll keep it in mind as I continue.

I'm waiting a bit, as I know I'm not in the mood and I'd better not force it.

Right well, I've given it a 3. It's okay, but I think the series as a whole should be measured. This book is only about Attila's childhood, but not about just Attila. (view spoiler)[This series as a whole is about a prophecy and how it is achieved. I would say that 1/3 of this book is about the people involved in the final years of his life - but this author has them all meet as children - which I'm finding is taking creative license a bit far. Having said that, it's okay, slow at first, but it picks up a bit. I think there will be more action in the next book and considerably more in the last one, simply based on the pace. (hide spoiler)]

I am very disappointed that it is only him as a child. :(

Read a couple of chapters. Quite promising for me. The writing's average but I like the story.

Bryn wrote: "Read a couple of chapters. Quite promising for me. The writing's average but I like the story."

Yes so far I have to agree. While it was somewhat disappointing to discover that this book focuses upon his childhood, as I was hoping to read more of his adult exploits, at the same time, I am still enjoying the story itself and it is interesting to have more background on Attila's earlier life.

I recall once I think some years ago there was this really good TV movie/mini series (I cannot recall now if it was broken up in parts or all in one night) about Attila.

In a chronological context this reminds me of the Khan seriesGenghis: Birth of an Empire. I really like the character backgrounds in stories. I learn a lot as to "the why and how" of who they became.

I think p. 42 is hilarious
(view spoiler)[The poem of tribute to the emperor. I can't believe we have to read the whole thing. Had a look at his end note to find out and yes, he says it is, "alas, quite genuine." (hide spoiler)]

Yes, I don't mind Attila as a boy, "that little barbarian", hostage in a bizarrely luxurious and enfeebled Rome.

The upside may be that even though some of us would prefer to read about the man Attila, if we can get through book 1 okay, we may have found ourselves a series to follow.
I wonder if he is grown up in the next book, or whether he is like a young impulsive Alexander in book 2. Riding his horse fast and chasing women.

Silver, was it this one? Tv series? I wish I had seen this. It looks incredible.
Attila the Hun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUT10d...

There is also this one starring Gerard Butler. I stumbled across this one when I was looking for a video for the group read.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yAmtD...

p.72 going strong. Definitely like.

Bryn wrote: "p.72 going strong. Definitely like."

This cheers me up. :)

I am pretty sure the Gerad Butler one is the one which I remmeber seeing.

I would like to track them both down. If I can't, at least they appear to be on You Tube.

The end of Rome gloom, and Stilicho with the British lieutenant, remind me of Eagle in the Snow that we read, only, for me, a whole heap better. I like Stilicho and the lieutenant.

End of Part I, 'The Wolf in the Palace'.

I like how very foreign the Huns are to Roman eyes -- alien or animal. The Hun king joins the triumph in his cloak of 'beaten horse-skin'. I don't know whether Attila ought to be aware of places as east as the Altai Mountains and the Tien Shan, but I'm happy he is.

I like how Rome seduces most of the hostage princes and sends them back to their peoples as cheap Roman imitators. This is an old trick.

The Huns are a different type of barbarian. Attila won't be seduced and his people won't ever be converted (say Stilicho). And this, from Stilicho: The Huns are not our enemies. They are not empire-builders, so they have no reason to be empire-destroyers... They don't envy what the Romans have. So, I like that Napier starts at this point, and I want to watch the steps towards the later hostility.

I've just added Attila to my Nook, and am ready to get started on it. As HF goes, this is a very interesting span of history (and must have been very stressful for the folks who were living at this time period), and while reading, we could immerse ourselves in the lives of the common folks who were witness to the horrors around them.

Welcome to your first A&M group read M.R. Hope you enjoy the book.
I am going to read the other group read first, but you have some great company on Attila as there are already a few people reading it.

I really enjoy the way in which the descriptions within the chapter four show Rome as being on this verge of decline and fallen from its former glory.

The opening scene detailing the feast of the Victory, really details the corpulence, and over indulgence which is acknowledged as one of the factors that helped lead to Rome's eventual fall. The very fact that they had only barely managed to claim this victory, and did so only with the help of the Huns, and yet they celebrate a somewhat hallow victory with such extravagance shows how they have put on blinders. And with the Emperor himself being absent from the event, and Princess Galla being in a state of shattered nerves, there is the sense that it all is just a facade.

Than later when Attila is wandering the streets of Rome, the contrast of the lives of the common, and the ramped debauchery, which is also seen as contributing to Rome's decline, and seeing how much of a discontent there is between the Senate/Government and the common people, and how out of touch with reality they are, still trying to cling on to this vision of their former glory while rot is feasting at their feet.

You can really feel just how fragile it is.

This is the Attila novel I hoped for and didn't expect. I thought they'd be Big Bad Barbarian. I take it, by the third book, he is big and bad, but the story is, they make him that. That's a story I want to read, and I'll follow the trilogy.

There's a bit where, child that he is, he runs in 'terror or disgust' at what we know is a glimpse of his own future self. So far we've seen the nearly wall-to-wall contempt he faces in Rome. I gather the theme is, treat him like an animal, he'll turn into one for you. That theme has a humanity, no matter how blood-splattered the third book gets.

I am more and more interested in the book. I was worried for a second but with views coming from both sides, the negative and the positive, I feel I don't know what to expect for my own personal tastes. Which is how I like it. :)

Suddenly on p.184 I had to buy the other two.
Talk about rough reviews. A worse set of them on Amazon. One of those cases where an author is wisely advised not to read his reviews. For fear of sticking his pen into his grey matter through the eyehole. Well, I like it. Funny, isn't it?

Just got to Part 2...find it entrancing. Love the youthful Attila and the foundation the author is setting for the future King of the Huns!!