Sam Barone takes the best from my three favorite authors: Zane Grey, Bernard Cornwell, and Wilbur Smith. Like Zane Grey the main characters are presented as people that you can really like and respect. They are thoughtful, introspective, grow in stature, and have interesting relationships. The women tend to play a major role and know how to inspire their men and share in their success. Like Bernard Cornwell, Sam Barone writes great historical fiction. Cornwell is a master at writing about battle and how people react to it. Barone is equal to or better than Cornwell! His single battle detail may take 50+ pages to read, and the battles are described through the eyes of many characters both the good and the villainous. I was up until 2:30 in the morning last night reading the climactic battle in Empire Rising, just loving it while at the same time wishing for it to end so that I could go to sleep. Like Wilbur Smith, Sam Barone is a wonderful story teller. But unlike Smith, Barone rarely kills off the people that you grow to admire. And when he does, he doesn't make the reader ill by graphically dismembering them the way Smith does. Lastly, unrelated to any of the three authors I previously mentioned, Sam Barone's characters tend to not just see and react to dangerous situations. What I find vastly interesting is that when there is time, the characters contemplate what they see, try to make sense of it, use the lessons that they have learned, and then try to make knowledgeable decisions. It is hard to believe that Sam Barone has only written two books!!! Well, I am one person that will continue to buy his future books.

Very enjoyable -- too bad there's such a long wait for the next volume! While this continues the saga of Eskkar & Trella, it is truly Trella's reign that is being established. Eskkar relies so much more on her wisdom that is well beyond her years as well as her keen "sixth sense" to aid her to stay ahead of the political intrigues that begin to manifest society in Akkad. She's smart enough to know there are many more enemies than the recently defeated barbarian hordes. Those new enemies now seek to usurp Eskkar & Trella and gain the riches of Akkad's citizens. One has to remember this is 5,000 years ago - not yet ready for democracy as we know it!

I enjoyed most of the first 100 pages, except for the ultra-politically correct sex scenes written for 21st Century sensitivities. The book lost its focus and unravelled as it went on. The author could have placed his story in almost any time and place. Rather than a deeply felt and researched novel of Mesopotamia, it was a soap opera approach (albiet well done for the most part). Unfortunately, like most historical fiction written recently, the author cashes in on our fascination with the past without doing the difficult and time-consuming research required to bring the realities of that era into contemporary focus.

I thought this was a well written book but i just had trouble caring about the characters. Most of the novel was historically accurate and it was pretty action packed if not a little generic. I would call it a good book but not a great one.

This continuation of Sam Barone's first novel,"Dawn of Empire", keeps you interested from page one. You feel as if you are one of the warriors fighting for your life. I found this book so exciting that I hated to put it down. A must read for anyone who likes adventure.