Attila: The Gathering of the Storm

by William Napier

Book Overview

AD 441: The Roman Empire, though bruised and battered, is far from defeated. Though her coffers are empty, the Visigoths and the Vandals are settling peacefully within her borders, no longer enemies. It is another tribe that will bring down this thousand-year-old colussus: a tribe from far to the East - united under one leader for the first time. For Attila has returned...

In exile, he has wandered for thirty years with his anger and ambition...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312598998
• ISBN13: 9780312598990
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Great second installment!

This is the second book in this series and it is a well-written story. After 30 years of banishment, Attila returns to the Huns to claim his rightful place. He spends most of the book getting the Huns ready to attack and destroy Rome. The author effectively illustrates how Attila uses his cunning and ruthlessness to join all of the Hun tribes for his planned juggernaut against the weak and corrupt west. Attila develops an effective spy network, drills his rusty home tribe into fighting shape and outfoxes his fellow Hun tribal leaders. There is very little about his Roman nemesis Aetius in this book as the focus is on Attila. However, this is a great read. I had a hard time putting it down. I can't wait for the next installment.

Enjoyable Historical Fiction

Attila is the first book of William Napier's Attila the Hun trilogy, and takes place during the boyhood of the legendary conqueror. The story opens while Attila is a political hostage in Rome, to ensure the cooperation of the Empire's new Hun allies, a barbaric tribe of horsemen that have a fearsome fighting style never before seen. Attila is unhappy in Rome, far from the open skies and grasslands of his home, and attempts escape at every opportunity. He is extremely proud of his heritage and very derisive of the Roman way of life, chafing at the constraints put upon him. While to the Romans Attila comes across as a troublesome child, we see right away that he is very serious and determined to make it back to his homeland. From the first he is a brilliant strategist, but is occasionally tripped up by the impulsiveness of his age and his pride. Despite his dislike of all things Roman, Attila does come to respect and trust Stilicho, a Roman general, and his wife, viewing them as surrogate parents. They too feel deeply for the boy, but are no match for the intrigues of the court. Attila finds himself bereft of the only people he trusted, and at the mercy of the Emperor's paranoid sister, the true mind behind her ineffectual brother's rule, who has taken a complete dislike of him. Attila makes another unlikely friend in the Roman soldier Lucius, as they survive an ambush together. Attila ultimately does return home to the Huns, but faces unexpected challenges once there that continue to shape his personality and purpose. I truly enjoyed this story, the character of Attila is single-minded in his purpose, and yet complex in his emotions. Stilicho and Lucius and characters that pull the heart strings, completely loyal to their ideals and companion soldiers, yet betrayed by Mother Rome. It is this nobleness of character that Attila respects in these men, enemies by culture, but allies by circumstance. There is also a wry and sometimes desperate humor present between Attila and the soldiers. I recommend this to lovers of historical fiction, and look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. *I received my copy of this book as a giveaway on [...], given by St. Martin's Press.

A recommended read

It is gratifying to find an author who can write one good historical novel and extend it into a good series. This is such an author. Two books are out, and the third to come. Buy, read, and pass around to a similarly interested friend. Pay it forward.

Great Historical Fiction About Attila the Hun!

This tale of a young Attila the Hun is told by Priscus of Panium who is ninety years old. The scribe introduces himself in a few pages then gets on with his story. The next chapter introduces us to a battle where General Stilicho sees for the first time that not all tales told of the fighting style of the Huns is myth and he is amazed at what he sees. Next, we meet Atilla who is being held captive in Rome. During one of his many escape attempts we also meet the cruel hearted shrew that is Princess Galla and one of Atilla's protectors, General Stilicho's wife Serena. The rest of the story details the beginning of the fall of Rome and Attila's fight to make it home to his tribe, the feared Huns. I thought the book was well written, there is a lot of violence both to animals (which I flinched through) and humans (which is expected) but there isn't as much swearing as some other reviewers report. This is the beginning of a trilogy detailing Attila's life and I can't wait to get my hands on the next two installments. I really like how the first book is just about young Attila leaving the reader eager to add more to the story when the book is drawn to a close.

Well-Written

I thought this book was very well written. Napier paints a vivid picture of life during the fall of Rome. Attila is the first book in a trilogy and follows Attila the Hun through his childhood. Reading this novel is like taking a giant step backward in history. Attila is a slow-moving story. Napier takes his time and captures the essence of life in a world that was battling for land and religious dominance. And because Napier is such an incredible storyteller, I was more than happy to take that slow stroll along with him