Archive for category: Roman fiction

Legionary, By Gordon Doherty.

Legionary is Gordon Doherty’s first novel, a self-published full length Roman military adventure. It distinguishes itself from many Roman fiction novels by moving itself away from the best known era of the late Republic and early Empire, being instead set in the Eastern Empire at a time when the Empire has been split in two, and Valens is Emperor. The story follows Pavo, a freed slave who becomes a legionary and joins the XIth Claudia. It is well-researched novel and an interesting time to read about, when former enemies, the Goths, are friends, and new enemies, the Huns are arising. Pavo survives against the odds in battle, against enemies with and outside the Empire, and needs to use his skills, connections and low cunning to save his legion from treachery and the threat of the Huns.
Legionary snowballs well as it progresses, small climaxes becoming bigger and bigger until the grand finale, making me read the last fifty pages in one sitting. That this is self-published and a first novel shows up slightly in some of the descriptions early in the book, but whether the writing improved as I read on, or I no longer noticed any problems because I was too gripped by the plot, this is a minor criticism of an exciting story. Well worth taking the time to download and read.

The Crossroads Brotherhood by Robert Fabbri
Publisher: Corvus

Publication Date: December 2011

Length: 54 pages

Review:
This prequel to the Vespasian series is only a novella, so don’t be disappointed that you haven’t purchased a full length novel. I haven’t read the rest of the Vespasian series yet, so this is my first encounter with Robert Fabbri. Being a short tale, I read the whole book in a short period of time on my mobile phone, but this didn’t detract from the experience. The everyday life of the Crossroads Brotherhood, imagined here, probably realistically, as a Mafia style organisation, is described with vivid detail and excitement. It was a surprise to me to find a story set at almost the same time as my own novel, Carbo (first draft finished, yay!) and like my own novel set in the lower echelons of society, but I was reassured that the story was dissimilar enough from mine that I don’t need a rewrite. Magnus, the Patron of the Crossroads Brotherhood, has to help a brothel owner under his protection, while also doing a nefarious favour for a Senator that he owes. The story is wrapped up neatly in the length available, and while this isn’t as satisfying as finishing a full length novel, I would recommend the Crossroads Brotherhood as an entertaining diversion. I will certainly be moving on to the Vespasian series when time allows.

Marius’ Mules I: The Invasion of Gaul by SJA Turney

Publisher: YouWriteOn
Publication date: November 2010

Print length 436 pages
Kindle Edition

Review:

The first in SJA Turney’s series chronicling Caesar’s Gallic Wars, begins as you might expect with the invasion of Gaul. Marius’ Mules were the legionaries of Caesar’s armies, named after the general and consul Marius who first reorganised the Roman army into a professional fighting force. Caesar was able to benefit from the changes wrought by Marius and his rival Sulla, who changed the outlook of the Legions from loyalty to the Republic above all, to loyalty to their general above all, a situation that ultimately led to the the demise of the Republic.
Marius’ Mules I: The Invasion of Gaul brings the campaign to life in a way that Caesar’s dry de Bello Gallico never did. The main character Marcus Falerius Fronto is the fictional commander of the Tenth legion, and while I am of the school that prefers historical accuracy over author’s licence, Fronto is a strong character, who pulls the reader nicely into the story.
Caesar himself is presented intriguingly, coming across as a complete person, full of flaws and virtues rather than the demi-god or alternatively complete tyrant that some authors present him as.
Battles and action abound, with a good sprinkling of heroes, villains, politics and intrigue. Don’t be put off that this book wasn’t picked up by a mainstream publisher, it should have been! Recommended!.

Alex Gough November 2012

Before e-books, I always made a point to finish a novel before starting the next. Rarely I would abandon a book half read, but generally pride made me finish them all, and I was often rewarded with a satisfying ending to an otherwise slow moving book. Now, in this digital age, and a bit of a gadget geek, I have a New IPad, a Samsung Galaxy SII, and ipod touch, all of which have a Kindle app, and now I have bought an actual Kindle. Further, I use my car journey to work to listen to audiobooks. This now means I have several books on the go at once, read/listened to in different environments. So I have recently worked my way through the outstanding Richard North Patterson books on audiobooks, and am in the middle of Conn Iggulden’s Conqueror series in the same format. I have read all of Harry Sidebottom’s Warrior of Rome Series on my Ipad, after which I started SJA Turney’s first Marius’ Mules book on the ipad, and have just transferred this to the kindle. I’m reading Petronius’ Satryicon on the ipod touch. I have decided I will read all 10 books of Steven Erikson’s immense series, the Malazan Book of the Fallen, which must amount to nearly 5million words (10 volumes each of around 1000 pages each!), purely on my phone – I am currently halfway through book four, House of Chains. But what of paperbacks you cry? 3/4 way through Ben Kane’s Forgotten Legion – review to come here soon, and am also enjoying sharing Caroline Lawrence’s children’s Roman fiction books with Roman Fiction minor at bedtime.
So what are the pros and cons of simultaneous novel reading. The cons are that it takes a lot more time to finish an individual book. But I feel the pros outweigh this. I have a huge backlog of books I want to read, and am discovering more all the time. Time in a busy life to sit down with a paperback is limited. But time in the car listening to the adventures of Ballista is time much better spent that listening to an inane DJ or an ill-informed caller on Five Live. Time standing outside a shoe shop waiting for the other half, Romana Fictiona, or while waiting for Roman Fiction Minor’s swimming lessons to finish can be spent reading on the phone. Overall, I get through a lot more reading than in the days of paperbacks alone. Do I get confused, holding so many narratives in my head at once? No more so than watching ongoing series on TV – I can cope with watching the Sopranos on DVD, Homeland on TV and House on SkyPlus without wondering when Tony Soprano is going to cure the Al Qaeda double agent’s obscure illness. I did have a moment this morning though, as Caesar began his campaigns in Gaul in Marius’ Mules