Waiting on Wednesday – The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday article, I look at the upcoming second book in the awesome Alexander’s Legacy series, The Three Paradises, by bestselling historical fiction author Robert Fabbri.

The Three Paradises Cover

Fabbri is probably one of my favourite historical fiction authors at the moment. I was a major fan of his Vespasian series, which followed the entire life of the titular Emperor-to-be as he navigated the insane, debauched and dangerous world of ancient Rome under some of the most deranged Emperors in history. The Vespasian novels were extremely exciting and captivating, and to my mind it is one of the best Roman historical fiction series in recent years (make sure to check out my reviews of the eighth and ninth books in the Vespasian series, Rome’s Sacred Flame and Emperor of Rome, as well as the collection of associated short stories, Magnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood).

After completing the Vespasian novels in 2019, Fabbri moved onto to a new body of work earlier this year with the Alexander’s Legacy series. The Alexander’s Legacy novels are set in the immediate aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great and examine what happened to his vast empire when he was no longer around to control it. The first novel in this series, To the Strongest, followed several compelling historical figures who all tried to take advantage of the death of Alexander and advance their own position, with various degrees of success. I really enjoyed this first Alexander’s Legacy novel, and it was particularly entertaining to see the larger-than life point-of-view characters attempted to out-manoeuvre their opponents to gain power, especially as many of these insane events reportedly really happened.

Due to how much I enjoyed To the Strongest, and because of how impressive Fabbri’s writing is in general, I have been really looking forward to seeing how the series continues. The second Alexander’s Legacy book is The Three Paradises, which will be set right after the events of To the Strongest. The Three Paradises is currently set for release in early 2021 and should make for an excellent read for the start of the year.

Synopsis:

In the second instalment in the breakneck, brutal new series from bestseller Robert Fabbri, the fight to control the largest empire in the world continues…

Alexander the Great’s sudden and unexpected death has left the largest, most formidable empire the world has ever seen leaderless. As the fight to take control descends into ruthless scheming and bloody battles, no one – man, woman or child – is safe.

As wars on land and sea are lost and won, and promises are made only to be broken, long-buried secrets come to light in the quest for the true circumstances surrounding Alexander’s death. Was he murdered, and if so by whom? Could he have been sowing the seeds of discord deliberately, through his refusal to name an heir? And who will eventually ascend to power at the helm of the empire – if it manages to survive that long?

Can one champion vanquish all…?

This second entry in the Alexander’s Legacy series sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun to read. I am extremely excited to see where the various storylines around the surviving characters will head next and I am sure it will all make for an exceptional story. I am also rather curious about how the book is apparently going to look into the death of Alexander and I am very interested in seeing how Fabbri explores this. All of this sounds quite fascinating and compelling, and I am looking forward to getting my hands on The Three Paradises in a few months time.