I have read the previous two books from this trilogy and although there were some issues with writing and style, the story was interesting enough and the plot moved along at a nice pace. The historical detail seemed quite accurate, to someone like me, with just some generic knowledge about the pe...
I really enjoyed this book, right up to the final 12 pages or so. It is a well written and evocative look at the days of ancient Rome and the Roman army. The real historical people are woven into the fictional story line in a credible and non-jarring way, the plot lines are interesting and relati...
The thing that frustrates me most about Ben Kane's books is that picking one up can be such a hit and miss event. There are books where you devour it with relish and really invest in the characters, yet there are others that are just the archetype of staid, wooden and cardboard devoid of anything...
Já há vários anos que tenho um fascínio pelo Império Romano. Não porque seja tudo um mar de rosas ou uma época pacífica, a Roma Antiga impressiona-me e choca-me em iguais medidas. Mas coisas más e desumanas aconteceram infelizmente em todas as civilizações e até hoje, em pleno século XXI, continu...
Despite his best efforts, he had spent the night trying to come up with details he might have forgotten, and worrying that Varus would realise what was going on before he and his warriors rode away for the last time. His lack of rest should have left him feeling gritty-eyed and weary, and prone t...
Mutt knew that killing him would be the final badge of humiliation for the enemy. Except his plan had not gone as he’d have wished it. The officer was on his own, but he was strong and skilled. He was afraid too, which made him even more dangerous. The fact that Mutt was armed with a thrusting sp...
The forested peaks on either side formed a tunnel for the wind that scudded constantly across the Campanian plain from the sea. At the height of summer, it would have provided welcome relief from the heat, but the season had changed early. Once it got dark, temperatures dropped fast and the breez...
All eighty conspirators had been tortured to death and, in a stark warning from Epicydes, the heads of many had been shot into the no man’s land between Syracuse and the Roman fortifications. As far as Quintus had been able to ascertain, Marius’ head had not been one of them, but he still dreaded...
Apart from the sentries on the earthen rampart, he was the only figure in sight. It was a good time to be alone, and one that he often took advantage of to collect his thoughts. He breathed in deeply, enjoying the cool air. Summer was around the corner, and each day it was growing hotter. By midd...
He had to bite his tongue not to scream in terror. At this rate, the animal would seize him by the thigh, or groin. The pain would be unbelievable, and his death lingering, rather than the swift end suffered by the Gaul. Quintus could think of no way out. Desperately, he continued flailing out wi...
A bow hung from one shoulder, a hide quiver from the other, and he carried a broad-bladed hunting spear. He stamped the worst of the mud from his ankle boots as he walked, making the pair of rabbits hanging from his belt twitch as if still alive. They weren’t much to show for a day spent freezing...