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  • Darien

  • Empire of Salt Trilogy, Book 1
  • By: C. F. Iggulden
  • Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
  • Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (467 ratings)
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Darien cover art

Darien

By: C. F. Iggulden
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
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Summary

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Darien by C.F. Iggulden, read by Daniel Weyman.

TWELVE FAMILIES. ONE THRONE. WELCOME TO THE EMPIRE OF SALT.

The city of Darien stands at the weary end of a golden age. Twelve families keep order with soldiers and artefacts, spies and memories, clinging to a peace that shifts and crumbles. The people of the city endure what they cannot change.  

Here, amongst old feuds, a plot is hatched to kill a king. It will summon strangers to the city - Elias Post, a hunter, Tellius, an old swordsman banished from his home, Arthur, a boy who cannot speak, Daw Threefold, a chancer and gambler, Vic Deeds, who feels no guilt - and Nancy, a girl whose talent might be the undoing of them all. 

As the sun sets, their arrival inside the walls will spark a series of explosive events. Before the sun returns, six destinies will have been made - and lost - in Darien.

©2017 Penguin Audio (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A master storyteller." (Sunday Express)

"Iggulden is in a class of his own." (Daily Mirror)

"One of our finest historical novelists." (Daily Express)

What listeners say about Darien

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great Expectations Partly Met!

I'm a big fan of Conn Iggulden's work. He brings history to life with diligent research and his great quality writing coupled with impressive visualization infuses colour and detail. So when I heard that he was to write a novel in one of my other favourite genres I was naturally delighted. Even more so when I read that a quality narrator like Daniel Weyman was at the microphone.

I have to say that what then unfolds isn't at all bad. There are interesting characters and a detailed enough world, though we never seem to get the kind of background on either that you might expect from Iggulden's work. The story moves along at a fair pace and there is action that Weyman does breathe life into.

Unfortunately I never quite felt that the characters quite made it all the way from two to three dimensional persona and the lighter-hearted humour that the author aimed for didn't quite work for me. The chemistry wasn't quite right particularly where female characters were involved and the magical powers that some possessed seemed a little too convenient to the plot and simplistic in design.

So, one of my favourite authors bravely tries something new and fair play to him but in the crowded fantasy genre this one doesn't stand out.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

No Thank you

Brought this book. Started it. Realised its for young adults. Im not a young adults wish it had been made clear in the description.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

nice idea - though the story seems short

it is a good idea, nice setting, characters, etc. not an awful lot happens though.
i have read all of his books, this is the first im a little disappointed with

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

conn iggulden

took a while to warm up, but once i finished i was looking for the next installment.

CIgg still not reached the heights of tbe mongal series....

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

Very enjoyable definitely worth a listen. Ok there is magic but not the soppy rubbish normally shovelled out by some authors. Top marks Con nothing like a bit of escapism in these sad times . Thanks

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

The best books I’ve encountered for a long time. Iggulden is at least as good at fantasy as historical fiction. One of those rare books which captures you from the first line, and even rarer all the characters and their storylines are interesting, and the pacing doesn’t let up. I binged it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent listen

Just really brilliant story-telling from the opening sentence. What a great writer! The narration is clear and un-fussy, beautifully modulated with a wonderful reading voice, pace and care. An excellent pairing of story to reader - cannot wait for the next book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heroes meets Game of Thrones

I’m a big fan of his historical novels so I wasn’t sure I’d like this. However I loved the characters and abilities. It really reminds me of Heroes with Syler and the Hatian. Now for book 2 !

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • SB
  • 17-07-23

Great read

I thought it would irritate me the amount of characters and side stories. But throughly enjoyed it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story and performance

Normally prefer Iggulden’s historical novels but thoroughly enjoyed this fiction. If I were to be picky, I would have liked a brief pause between the proceedings of one character and the next. Sometimes took a moment to mentally jump from one character to the development of a totally different situation of another character in the same chapter and without any warning. Otherwise brilliant on all aspects.

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