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Tyrant: Funeral Games Paperback – Illustrated, December 15, 2010

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 452 ratings

An action-packed tale of betrayal and revenge set amid the war between Alexander the Great's generals and climaxing in the most spectacular battle of the ancient world.

Satyrus and Melitta, twin heirs to a rich kingdom on the Black Sea, become desperate fugitives when their mother, the Scythian warrior-princess Srayanka, is cut down in a savage act of betrayal. Accompanied by their tutor, the Spartan Philokles, they must make a perilous journey west, pursued by ruthless assassins, to find sanctuary with the army of their father's closest friend, Diodorus.

But Diodorus is caught up in the tangled web of alliances, betrayals and intrigue that followed Alexander the Great's death, as his generals fought over the huge empire he had created - and soon the twins will have their first taste of real battle as two Macedonian warlords clash. In this violent and unstable world, they must choose sides carefully, as Antigonus One-Eye, and his brilliant son Demetrius, prepare to take on the might of Ptolemy's Egypt, and the forces gather for the biggest and most spectacular battle the world had ever seen - Gaza.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Excellent fun―SOUTH WALES ARGUS

About the Author

Christian Cameron is a writer, re-enactor and military historian. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, where he served as both an aviator and an intelligence officer. He is a co-author, with his father Ken Cameron, of the acclaimed Gordon Kent military thriller series, as well as WASHINGTON AND CAESAR, a novel of the American Revolution. He now lives in Toronto with his wife and daughter, where he writes full time.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orion; Illustrated edition (December 15, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0752883941
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0752883946
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.28 x 7.85 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 452 ratings

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Christian Cameron
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Christian Cameron (also Miles Cameron) is a military veteran and a life-long reenactor and history addict. He lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife and daughter and one cat. He writes three to five books a year, mostly about history. Christian can be found on his website at www.hippeis.com or as Miles Cameron at www.traitorson.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
452 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoyed the book's compelling story and fast-paced pacing. They found the characters engaging and the descriptions of battles vivid. The book provided an enjoyable escape from reality and provided a good glimpse into ancient Greece.

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9 customers mention "Story quality"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the engaging story with its fast-paced action and vivid descriptions of battles. They appreciate the well-crafted historical fiction and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

"...On the book itself, there was a good amount of action, heroism, stoicism but hey, it's ancient Greece, they invented those ideas...." Read more

"...was always present throughout the book, but the battle scenes were swiftly and deftly narrated...." Read more

"...The beginning is non stop action...." Read more

"...The plot ranges from the Black Sea to Alexandria and is rather episodic, held together mainly by the fact that the children are constantly under..." Read more

8 customers mention "Readability"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find it a good way to escape reality and enjoy a ride back to ancient Greece.

"...All in all, good way to spend some hours in escaping the reality and maybe tickling your interest for more ancient Greek history." Read more

"...I have enjoyed all three books, and look forward with anticipation to the next two volumes." Read more

"...What an absolutely enjoyable read!" Read more

"This was a fabulous read with some great characters and a seriously great chase across deserts rivers and mountains...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's fast-paced story with engaging characters.

"...Like all Cameron's novels this one moves briskly, is full of colourful incident both on and off the battlefield, and has an immediacy of practical..." Read more

"excellent book, fast paced and well written" Read more

"Fast moving, compelling story with wonderful characters!..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2017
    I'm a bit of a historical fiction fan so yes, what I believe will be biased and unhistorical. So if you're interested in swashbuckler action with some ancient strategy and throw in a mix of well founded historical tie-ins, this is a good book. Of course, I'd greatly recommend you start reading from the first book, though if not, it's still alright, cause this book is sort of a start of a new chapter bit in the main line of events.
    On the book itself, there was a good amount of action, heroism, stoicism but hey, it's ancient Greece, they invented those ideas. So it might come off as a bit cliche but like I said, back then, it was the trend to give rhetoric speeches. Also since the book focuses on a pair of teenage twins, it involves a lot of immature decisions and stuff like that, which may puzzle an adult's perception of things. But then, it only goes to say how nice of a job the author did on trying to portray the characters accurately. And again, since we can hardly find a good book on how ancient teenagers think nowadays, some of these ideas may come off as rather modern view thinking, furthermore, some words such as knights, hour, minutes may also trigger some ancient buffs on historical accuracy. Alas for me, I think it's just the suitable amount for me to read a historical fiction story with ease, yet not so much inaccuracies that I'll call BS on everything.
    All in all, good way to spend some hours in escaping the reality and maybe tickling your interest for more ancient Greek history.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2010
    Tyrant: Funeral Games purports to be the third volume in a five-part series. The first two (Tyrant, and Tyrant: Storm of Arrows) told the story of Kineas of Athens -- His exile to the Euxine, and his partnership with a Sakje (Scythian) princess that carved out a small kingdom that Kineas' heirs would rule following his death at the end of the second novel.

    Tyrant: Funeral Games resumes the story into the next generation with his twin daughter and son now young teenagers. But the politics following the death of Alexander the Great intrudes itself into their lives, killing their mother and forcing them into exile with their loyal tutor, the Spartan warrior-philosopher, Philokles. (I must note that the subtitle of this volume appears to be a homage to Mary Renault's wonderful novel of the wars following Alexander's death.) Ultimately, the fleeing party ends up in Ptolemy's Egypt.

    The novel began a little predictably, and early the internal concerns of the young man about his courage (or lack thereof) seemed a little whiny. However, as the action picked up so did the maturation process, and about halfway through the book, you realized the whining was gone, and it now dealt with a young man in control of himself and his destiny. Some characters from the first two books appear along the way in this one, but at least the loyal Sakje scout was off stage dealing with his own rebellion, and the author did not try to bring him to Egypt.

    I was a little annoyed that the same set of assassins (trying to kill the twins) was always present throughout the book, but the battle scenes were swiftly and deftly narrated. Ptolemy of Egypt is a character you wish the author had developed a little more fully. The few glimpses of him we have are very enjoyable.

    All in all, this is an enjoyable sequel, although not as strong as the first two books. The author almost abandoned the mysticism which featured prominently in the first two, but perhaps that is because of the youth of the characters. He does hint at a later development along that line.

    I have enjoyed all three books, and look forward with anticipation to the next two volumes.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2015
    I found this 3rd novel in the Tyrant series to be the best yet. The beginning is non stop action. It slows a little in the middle but the author uses that portion of the novel to take the reader on a tour of Alexandria in its formative period. The end of the novel picks up the action again. This series has great characters about whom I found myself caring deeply. All in all an excellent series.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2017
    Great book within an excellent series. Top notch.

    Solid 5-star rating.

    I would like to provide textual content on that Rating as part of this Review, however am unable to do so. The ACDLT has restricted ability to Comment or Reply (without any prior warning, any specific notification, any identification of specific alleged problems or appeal).

    That being so, an inability to respond to Review comments by others (positive, negative, indifferent) would be unfair to myself and others.

    But it is a solid 5-star book in this genre.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2013
    This is the third of four books in a series about Kineas of Athens and his children in the age of Alexander the Great, and it opens with the children in their early teens and both parents dead. The focus is somewhat more on the male twin, Satyrus/Satrax, who goes through the formative tests of an ancient Greek warrior in rather the same way as Arimnestos the smith in Cameron's 'Long War' series. The plot ranges from the Black Sea to Alexandria and is rather episodic, held together mainly by the fact that the children are constantly under threat of assassination and by the shifting groups of friends and allies who help them to survive. The Spartan Philocles remains perhaps the most interesting of these secondary characters, as he was in the previous two volumes, but (no real spoiler here) does not make it to the end of the book.
    Like all Cameron's novels this one moves briskly, is full of colourful incident both on and off the battlefield, and has an immediacy of practical detail that helps the reader to feel closely involved in a variety of exotic settings. For this reviewer it is perhaps the weakest of the four in the series; but that may reflect the natural difficulty of writing an episode that must take a long stride from one generation to another, while losing many of the first two books' best-loved characters along the way..
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • kylie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exaxtly as shown
    Reviewed in Canada on June 5, 2023
    Exactly as shown.. came early...
  • Maccoll Hamish
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is an extraordinary writer
    Reviewed in France on April 25, 2023
    With all of his books I find myself totally absorbed. Every page is rich in detail. You can read a couple of pages when you have a moment and immediately you're back in the story. I don't think I have ever encountered a writer like this.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient
    Reviewed in India on October 5, 2018
    Interesting story. Read it.
  • client
    4.0 out of 5 stars keeps improving
    Reviewed in Italy on August 9, 2014
    it is another page turner.... I really enjoyed it and I'm going on reading the other books of the serie.
  • K. Brandner
    4.0 out of 5 stars Aller guter Dinge sind drei?
    Reviewed in Germany on January 26, 2011
    Dieser historische Roman - der dritte Band der "Tyrant"-Serie - erleidet das Schicksal manch wesentlich prominenterer Serienprodukte historischer Schreiberei, dass früher oder später ein Sequel deutlich von der Qualität der Vorgänger abweicht. Bernard Cornwell, dem Doyen zeitgenössischer Blut-und-Boden Sagas geht es momentan mit seinen Saxon Stories auch nicht besser, er war weise genug, eine kleine Künstlerpause einzulegen, und auch Christian Cameron hat in der Zwischenzeit eine neue Romanserie begonnen. Der Grund wird bei der Lektüre dieses Romans offensichtlich. In den beiden vorangegangenen Bänden waren die Hauptprotagonisten charismatische und vor allem glaubhafte Figuren. Jetzt schreitet die Geschichte eine Generation weiter und schildert die wechselhaften Schicksale der Zwillinge Melitta (nein, nicht die Filtertüte!) und Satyrus, die von ihren Eltern ein aufkeimendes Kleinkönigreich an der Schwarzmeerküste geerbt haben, das ihnen aber von alten Rivalen ihrer Eltern entrissen wird. Sie können mit knapper Not entkommen und landen nach haarsträubenden Abenteuern in Alexandria, wo sie sich unter den Fittichen alter Freunde - ein spartanischer Säufer, einige adelige Söldner und eine Ex-Prostituierte - auf die Wiedereroberung ihres Erbes vorbereiten und in die Diadochenkriege der Ära nach Alexander des Großen Tod hineingezogen werden. Die Zwillinge sind am Anfang der Geschichte zwölf Jahre alt, am Ende ungefähr sechzehn und beide sind die eigentlichen Schwachpunkte des Romans, denn was diese beiden schon als Kinder so alles hinkriegen - philosophische Betrachtungen, politische Winkelzüge und das reihenweise Niedermetzeln von Gegnern - ist so komplett unglaubwürdig, dass diese Kunstfiguren die durchaus vorhandenen Qualitäten dieses Bandes überdecken.Die Konstruktion, dass diese frühreifen Tatmenschen auch noch ständig von Selbstzweifeln geplagt werden, die einem eher in der Midlife-Crisis überkommen, macht den Plot auch nicht besser. Man kann nur hoffen, dass diese Romanreihe im vierten Band wieder zu gewohnter Qualität findet, dafür den vierten Stern als Zeichen der Hoffnung.