REVIEWS ON LI N E E XC LUSI V ES Due to an ever-increasing number of books for review and space constraints within HNR, some selected fiction reviews and all nonfiction reviews are now published as online exclusives. To view these reviews and much more, please visit www.historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews
C L A SSIC A L ALEXANDER’S LEGACY: An Empty Throne Robert Fabbri, Corvus, 2022, £17.99/$28.95, hb, 414pp, 9781786498045
On the death of Alexander the Great, his ramshackle empire, built entirely on his personal charisma and extraordinary military talent, rapidly unravels. His famous ambiguous selection of a successor, “the strongest,” obviously divides his advisors and generals, and they swiftly begin to carve out chunks of territory for themselves. It is the time of the successor states, an era of intrigue and strife, of alliances made and broken, of slights growing to grievance and eventually blood feud. This is the latest instalment of an immense story with a vast cast, who unfortunately tend to have long, unfamiliar names that sound very similar. However, the character definition is excellent, and helps the reader to keep track of who is who. The best drawn is Eumenes, who is clever, deceitful, and yet extremely loyal to the Argead Royal house, although the derogatory term for him— “sly little Greek”—is rather overused. The title is a reference to his setting an empty chair at meetings to represent the absent infant grandchild of Alexander, the theoretical King of Macedon. Other top-notch characters are Olympias, Alexander’s harridan of a mother; and Antigonos, the elderly oneeyed warlord who is the main antagonist of the second part of the book. The period feel is excellent, and this is a book that is hard to put down. Martin Bourne
ROME’S END Fiona Forsyth, Sharpe Books, 2022, £7.99, pb, 224pp, 9798411868739
This novel is presented as the first Lucius Sestius mystery, so presumably there will be a sequel at some point. The time is 45 BC, and the place is Rome under the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, and those who know anything about Roman history will know that this doesn`t end well— “Et tu Brute?” and all that. Lucius Sestius is a young up-and-coming 16
lawyer, and he becomes embroiled in an investigation of corruption in an African region which mysteriously links to the Catilinarian Conspiracy of twenty years before. One issue is that many major events happen offstage, and the reader is told about them afterwards, removing a lot of immediacy and drama from the tale. The author has clearly done her research carefully and seems to have a thorough knowledge of Roman naming, customs, dress and rituals, but at times, for me, the story could be more compelling. Overall, this is an interesting novel which gives a flavour of its times. Readers will recognise many important names and historical events as the hero, a fairly naïve young man with a lot to learn, navigates the underlying corruption and machinations of this highly political world. Ann Northfield
SHADOW OF THE EAGLE Damion Hunter, Canelo, 2022, £18.99, hb, 302pp, 9781800326668
A young man, exasperated by his limitations of ambition and obligation, signs up as an officer of Emperor Vespasian’s legions. His family background, mainly his father’s legion service and his mother’s British origin, means he is thrust into the lower officer ranks of a new British campaign. Under Governor Agricola, he is tested and found true to find his own destiny in the army. But he’s accompanied by the shade of his father, who berates him for abandoning the family farm, choosing to discard his traditions in order to pursue a military career. Do his new-found talents in command of the Roman military might make up for his dissatisfaction with his origins? He has found his own place, rather than memories and tales? From the landing in Britain to the Orkneys, this is a well-written tale. Good research as well as clear description mean that the Roman presence in Britain is well presented. Alan Cassady-Bishop
THE RIVER THROUGH ROME Nicholas Nicastro, Independently published, 2021, $13.99, pb, 311pp, 9798454859695
As Nicholas Nicastro’s The River Through Rome opens, Nonius, a minor but talented engineer in the last days of the Roman Republic, is receiving a new commission—an urban aqueduct to bring water and respectability to a notoriously seedy quarter of the Eternal City. As he begins to oversee the tearing up of the Via Labia, routed through the townhouse of a Senator, Nonius sees a strikingly beautiful redhaired slave girl fetching jugs of water from a well. The girl, Amaris, belongs to the Senator, who has begun to make increasingly physical demands of her as she comes of age. Nonius’s
REVIEWS | Issue 100, May 2022
growing infatuation gives the girl a potential escape route, endangering them both. Shifting between limited third person for each of Nonius’s and Amaris’s points of view, Nicastro’s novel depicts the cynical detachment bred into the Celtic girl as she grew up in the Senator’s house, revealing it as an intrinsically Roman trait. Only Nonius does not fully display it, preferring a more mathematical escapism that veers into naïveté. Rome itself, in its splendor and vulgarity, is the third main character. Both main human characters change in a realistic way as their fortunes rise and fall, and it is enjoyable to watch them and feel your sympathy for each of them deepen. What might first seem like a dry archaeology lesson more than a story is actually a perfectly balanced examination of a relationship only possible in this setting. This is a wonderful novel that makes the reader feel that they have been a fly on several Roman walls. As someone unfamiliar with the realities of daily Roman society, it was an immersive treat. The characters are vividly alive, even (or especially) at their most cynical. Due to the amount of blunt sexual imagery, it is appropriate for adults only. Irene Colthurst
1ST C E N T U RY THE WOLF DEN Elodie Harper, Union Square, 2022, $16.99, pb, 488pp, 9781454946540 / Apollo, 2021, £8.99, pb, 464pp, 9781838933555
74 CE. Once a doctor’s daughter before family tragedy forced her into slavery to a cruel pimp, Amara now lives as a whore in Pompeii. She is a She-Wolf, a “lupa,” marked by the cut of her clothes: “…they wear togas, the uniforms of men and prostitutes.” Amara’s luck might finally be changing, though, when she is invited to perform at the party of a rich freedman. Soon her talent with the lyre grants her nights away from the brothel. While she could never afford her own freedom, a wealthy patron could… but at what cost to Amara’s soul and her budding romance with a fellow slave? Life is harsh and crass, but Harper manages to keep the focus on the characters’ emotional complexity above the acts they must perform. The struggle for the women to keep their sanity by means of friendship and small kindnesses amidst terrible cruelty is starkly explored. The others in Amara’s situation are in different stages of slavery, from acceptance to hopelessness, but they all desire one thing: a choice. The enslaved men and women are well-drawn and uniquely positioned within their place in Pompeii’s bustling community, all combining to provide a richly colored canvas of this ancient society. Amara’s intelligence entangles her in her pimp’s business accounts, but this also provides her with opportunity. As her position grants her time outside the brothel, relationships change alongside Amara’s darkening outlook. Overall, the visceral storyline weaves a soul-stirring web
