Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 Don't leave me this way!!!! July 7, 2010
Mr. A. I. Harrison
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Having zipped through a lot of the other reviews, a fairly strongly held view seems to be this is not as good as the first installment!
Well I agree in part with that but I think that is in no small way down to it being the 'set up book'. If I can make a footballing analogy this book is the cross into the box and I think the next in the series will be a spectacular volley into the net.
Sidebottem essentially with this book tells of the treachery of some of the Emperor's court and their cunning use of Ballista in this plot, however this is so cunningly told I only realised about the same time as Ballista himself so whilst enjoying the book a lot, I was a little bemused about what the actual 'story' was.
The book ends in highly unsatisfactory way, in that it left me screaming 'Nooo!' and shouting obscenities at Amazon because the next volume is not out and there are a few characters still living and breathing I want to see die in highly imaginative and colourful ways! Not that this is Amazon's fault.
I think the author has to take much credit for the emotion he has drawn from me. His character portrayals are such that I have a genuine fondness for the Ballista household especially his two celtic slaves. They are genuinly 3D, flawed human beings and some other writers in this genre could learn much from Sidebottem about characterisation.
The use of latin terminology and titles is still present but didn't jarr with me in the same way it did in the first volume. Whether this is because it is more subtly done or I have adjusted to his style I am not sure. It did still feel a little contrived and just un-needed. Tell the story and then refer me to where I can find all the genuine latin terminology, in the unlikely event I ever want to read it. But don't tell me a great story and then constantly interupt it with mini latin lessons!
Anyway I am now genuinley needing to read the next volume for my own psychological welfare due to the cliff hanger nature of this work, so Harry just you be careful crossing those busy roads!
 A very enjoyable book June 23, 2010
B
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This was a briliiant book. I recommend you buy the previous book Fires in the East, before you get this. This is a better the book of the 2.
As well as being a brilliant insight into roman history, it has a nice plot. The main down side is slower than it could be and there is a lot of latin/greek terms to get your head around. The nice thing is it ends on a major cliffhanger. This is a very enjoyable book a must buy.
 Not as good as the first June 20, 2010
Marcus Allgood (Jersey)
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
I enjoyed the first of Sidebottom's books in this series as a light read; hence I bought the second one. Unfortunately there has been no improvement in terms of writing style and plot line - quite the reverse in fact! For example, the character development of Bastilla has been mimimal and he does not come across as the strong general that he is meant to be portrayed as.
There is an extraordinary amount of detail regarding Rome, its culture, its army and its enemies, and whereas this is very interesting to those who want to delve deep in to Roman lifestyle, it is to the detriment of the characters. Could Sidebottom not have reduced this level of political detail to focus on what I thought was the point of the book - the fictional characters he is writing about?
Will I buy the third? Probably, but not in hardback. I hope that more of the style of the first can be captured in the third - and the details of Rome can be reduced so that we begin to really care about Bastilla et al again!
Not a bad read...but not the exciting follow up to the first book that I was expecting.
A Good Read May 27, 2010
A. K. Gibbens
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Good sequel to book one and I have pre ordered the next in the series. A good mix of fact and fiction
Book Review April 12, 2010
P. Haggerty (E.Kilbride, Scotland)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is the second in the series that I have read. Not quite as enjoyable as the first but still a good read.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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