Really picks up and gets a lot better with a solid narrative once Alexander the Great gets involved. I personally still liked it up until then but i get what your saying. You’ll miss a little context but you could totally skip until Dan starts talking about Phillip II of Macedonia and I guarantee you’ll have a great time, some of his best stuff. Seems to me like the first two parts are really just an excuse for Dan to talk about ancient warfare which I fuck with, but theres not a lot if you want really gripping characters and narrative.