Featured Author - January 2023 - Gary Corby

[Alice]

Gary Corby

Gary Corby lives in Sydney, Australia, with one wife, two daughters, and four guinea pigs. My daughters tell him he must now include the two budgies they recently adopted.

Gary's books are set in Ancient Greece

The Pericles Commission
The Ionia Sanction
Sacred Games
The Marathon Conspiracy
Death Ex Machina
The Singer from Memphis
Death on Delos

[Alice]

I have the first two books sitting on my shelf for about 10 years. I know very little about ancient Greece so it should be interesting.

On of my HF buddies has read all of them and enjoyed them.

[Sandy]

Good start to next year's challenge. Thanks.

[Phair]

I read them all as soon as they were published. Looked forward to them and despair of there ever being more. Has he given up writing or just lost his publisher?

[Alice]

I have looked at his website doesn't look like anything has been updated since 2017 http://garycorby.com/

2017 is the date of his last book.

Sometimes I think an author has one good series in them when they are done they are done.

[Robin H-R]

Alice wrote: "Gary Corby

Gary Corby lives in Sydney, Australia, with one wife, two daughters, and four guinea pigs. My daughters tell him he must now include the two budgies they recently adopted.

Had to laugh...he only has one wife? How provincial...LOL

[Alice]

I have started The Pericles Commission. This book will count towards Ancient Greece for me in reading challange.

A couple of things I like about this books so far

Gary Corby created a Timeline to Democracy in front to help you understand history/politics of the time.

He has a list of all the characters and what they do. Big help. He has very good Glossary of terms in the back.

Story is good so far.

[Alice]

Alice wrote: "I have started The Pericles Commission. This book will count towards Ancient Greece for me in reading challange.

A couple of things I like about this books so far

Gary Corby create..."
So I finished it. It was good gave it three stars I think part of it is getting to know the time period and and characters. By the end of the book I felt more comfortable with characters and how they interact with each other. I am thinking book 2 will be better because I have an understanding of what is going on.

[Maggie]

I am glad you mentioned the glossary. I am reading this as an e-book and did not catch the fact there was a glossary. That will prove very helpful.

[Katy]

Maggie wrote: "I am glad you mentioned the glossary. I am reading this as an e-book and did not catch the fact there was a glossary. That will prove very helpful."
Yes, Alice, thanks for mentioning the glossary. I didn't realize either that there was one. It will be very helpful.

[Katy]

I finished The Pericles Commission and gave it 4 stars.

[Phair]

My favorite of the series was Bk3 Sacred Games . Loved how Corby brought in real historical figures before they were famous, like- and I hope this isn’t a spoiler- Nico’s pesky younger brother Socrates, yes, it’s implied that he is that Socrates. And there was another one in this book that I won’t mention but it was also fun to see him well before he became known.
I also loved the extras like the glossaries, especially as he would include pronunciation for names and stuff.

[Sandy]

I've started The Pericles Commission. Appreciate the cast of characters, with pronunciation and which are actual historical people.

[Sandy]

I have finished now and am undecided whether I will continue the series. I found this an okay read but not as compelling as other series I struggle to fit in.

[Maggie]

It was an enjoyable book and though not as compelling as some series, I would still like to read more. My library has the next book in the series on audio only. I wonder how hard it would be to follow the storyline that way.

[Indeneri]

I've just finished the first one and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
All the names took a bit of getting used to, they don't just roll off the tongue, but I loved all the characters and the humour. The court room scene what hilarious. ("I am a modest woman")

I've started the second one already, and hope to read all of them.

I like how Corby doesn't sugar coat any of the bad aspects of ancient Athens, or hold it up as some kind of utopia.

[Dawn]

Gary Corby has been on my list for a long time. I love historical mysteries during the Middle Ages and before. Between the time period and the covers, I had it as one of my "most wanted", but couldn't seem to find it within my price point. When you chose this author for the January read, I decided to make it happen. I loved the story and loved even more that he gave us additional information about the terms and people included in the story. This is going to be one of the series I continue to read.

[Alice]

Dawn wrote: "Gary Corby has been on my list for a long time. I love historical mysteries during the Middle Ages and before. Between the time period and the covers, I had it as one of my "most wanted", but could..."

Glad you enjoyed the author and book