WWW Wednesday – 27 November 2019

On November 27, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday4 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow (Trade Paperback)

The latest book from one of my favourite authors, Simon Scarrow. I knew well in advance that I was going to love Traitors of Rome, and it has been pretty awesome so far. I only have around 100 pages left, and should hopefully knock it off in the next day or so.

Star Wars: Force Collector by Kevin Shinick (Audiobook)

The last Star Wars novel released in 2019, Force Collector is an interesting read that ties into the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker movie. I’m a little way into this one at the moment, but I don’t think it is going to take me too long to finish it off.

What did you recently finish reading?

Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan (Trade Paperback)

This was a fun and action packed read, and it was pretty cool to see Jordan’s early writing.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker (Audiobook)

Easily one of my favourite fantasy books of 2019 so far, this was an absolutely amazing book, and I will hopefully get a review up for it ASAP.

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Light at the Bottom of the World by London Shan (Hardcover)

That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

WWW Wednesday – 20 November 2019

On November 20, 2019November 27, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday9 Comments

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan (Trade Paperback)

The previously unpublished first book from the late great fantasy author Robert Jordan. I am about halfway through this novel at the moment and it is a very interesting read.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker (Audiobook)

I have been reading to listen to The Bone Ships for a while, and it is among the top books I want to read before the end of 2019. I am nearly halfway through this audiobook, and it is proving to be an exception book.

What did you recently finish reading?

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson (Trade Paperback)

Highly recommended.

Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno (Audiobook)

I am hoping to get a review of this up tomorrow night, but it was a pretty good book.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow (Trade Paperback)

That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Book Haul – 17 November 2019

On November 17, 2019November 17, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul2 Comments

Before the new week starts up I just wanted to do a quick Book Haul post to look at the books I have received in the last couple of weeks. This haul is combination of books I have received from publishers, as well as a few books/comics that I bought myself. Most of these are sequels to some great novels/comics I have read in the past, as well as a couple of releases from some new authors that sound pretty interesting. Let’s dive in.

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Starsight Cover

Starsight is easily the book I was most excited about getting a copy of. Starsight is the epic sequel to Skyward, and it is a book that I have been looking forward to ever since I finished the Skyward last year, having previously featured Starsight in both a Waiting on Wednesday and My Top Ten Most Anticipated July-December 2019 Releases list. I actually just finished this book today and it was pretty amazing. Planning to get a review up for it soon so stay tuned.

Seven Crows by Kate Kessler

Seven Crows Cover.jpg

This is a cool sounding thriller that I am looking forward to checking out.

Josephine’s Garden by Stephanie Parkyn

Josephine's Garden Cover.jpg

This is an interesting historical fiction novel that looks at the life of Empress Josephine of France, should be fun to check out.

Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw

Grave Importance Cover

Grave Importance is the third book in Shaw’s fantastic Dr. Greta Helsing series. I really enjoyed the first two novels in the series, and I have been looking forward to this latest instalment for it for a while.

Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow

Traitors of Rome Cover

Another book that I have been looking forward to for a while. Scarrow is easily one of my favourite authors, and Traitors of Rome is a book that I really want to finish by the end of the year.

Angel: Volume One – Being Human by Bryan Edward Hill and Gleb Melnikov

Angel Volume 1 - Being Human.jpg

BOOM! Studios reimagining of the entire Whedonverse continues in this first volume of a brand new series of Angel comics. I really loved their new versions of the Buffy and Firefly canons, and I look forward to seeing their take on one of Joss Whedon’s most intriguing characters.

Uncanny X-Men: Wolverine and Cyclops – 2 by Matthew Rosenberg and Carlos Gomez

Wolverine and Cyclops 2 Cover.jpg

The second volume of a new series of Uncanny X-Men that sees the returning Wolverine and Cyclops team up once again. The first volume of this new series was pretty good, and I am interested to see where the story goes in this volume, especially with all the massive events occurring in other areas of the X-Men universe.
Looks like I have a lot of reading to do in the future, I should probably get started.

Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books I Would Like to Read by the End of 2019

On November 12, 2019November 12, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List10 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are supposed to list their Top Ten Favourite Bookmarks. However, I am once again going to go a little off-book (if you will excuse the pun) and instead I am going to list the Top Ten Books I Would Like to Read by the End of 2019.

It may alarm some of you that there are only 50 days left in the year (it certainly alarmed me), which means that the pressure is on to read and review everything you want to before the end of 2019. I personally have quite a few books that I would love to finish before the year is out, including a few essential books that I really need to read as soon as possible. I do have to admit is that this is not an original topic that I came up with myself; I actually saw that one of the blogs I follow, Kristin Kraves Books, shared something similar earlier today. Their post inspired me to think about what books I would like to read by the end of 2019.

As a result, I was able to come up with a list of the top books that I would like to read by the end of the year. This list got a little out of hand, but I was eventually able to cull it down to 10, along with a rather generous Honourable Mentions section. Sadly, some books I would probably have an amazing time reading, such as Anyone by Charles Soule, The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H. Wilson and The Bear Pit by S. G. MacLean did not make the cut. I also did not include Starsight by Brandon Sanderson, despite it being one of my most anticipated reads for 2019, mainly because I received a copy of it yesterday and I have already started reading it. I think this is a pretty good and varied list, although I did feature quite a few of these books previously on my Top Ten Most Anticipated July-December 2019 Releases list. Check out my entries below:

Honourable Mention:

Star Wars: Allegiance by Ethan Sacks

Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward

Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan

This is probably the book I am going to read next, as I am planning to feature it in a Canberra Weekly review in a few weeks.

Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

Probably the only book in this article that I have not done a Waiting on Wednesday article for, Ruin of Kings is an interesting-sounding fantasy book that came out earlier this year. I have been meaning to read this book for months, especially after I recently received a copy of the sequel, The Name of All Things. Hopefully I will get a chance to listen to it soon, but it is a massive book that might struggle to fit into my reading schedule.

Top Ten List (in no particular order):

Rage by Jonathan Maberry

Now, while this list is mostly in no particular order, Rage is probably the 2019 release that I am most looking forward to reading. I have become a little obsessed with Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series in the last year, and I am very keen to check out this latest book as soon as possible, especially after enjoying some outstanding Joe Ledger books such as Assassin’s Code and Code Zero earlier this year.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

Duplicity by Richard Evans

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch

Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow

Firefly: Generations by Tim Lebbon

Sword of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

Star Wars: Force Collector by Kevin Shinick

I have made no great secret of my intense love of Star Wars extended universe fiction, so I had to include at least one upcoming Star Wars book on this list. As I have already read and reviewed Darth Vader: Dark Visions, Resistance Reborn and Black Spire, the intriguing-sounding young adult book Force Collector is the only choice left for this list.

Hopefully I will get around to finishing all of these in the next few weeks, but we’ll have to see how it goes. What books would you like to read by the end of 2019? Let us know in the comments below.

Waiting on Wednesday – Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow

On September 18, 2019September 18, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday9 Comments

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. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I examine a forthcoming historical fiction novel from one of my favourite authors, Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow.

Traitors of Rome Cover.jpg

Traitors of Rome will be the 18^th book in Scarrow’s action-packed historical fiction series, Eagles of the Empire. This series follows the adventures of Roman Tribune Cato and Centurion Marco, two veteran legionnaires who have served on every battlefield in the Roman Empire. I have long been a fan of this series, having read every previous book, including last year’s enjoyable entry, The Blood of Rome. Scarrow is probably one of my favourite historical fiction authors at the moment, having recently featured on my Top Ten Auto-buy Authors list. This latest book in the series sounds pretty darn interesting and it looks to kick off the war against Parthia that has been brewing in the last few books.

Hachette Australia Synopsis:

AD 56. Battle-hardened veterans of the Roman army Tribune Cato and Centurion Macro are garrisoned at the eastern border, aware that their movements are constantly monitored by spies from dangerous, mysterious Parthia. But the enemy within could be the deadliest threat to the Legion … and the Empire.

There’s a traitor in the ranks. Rome shows no mercy to those who betray their comrades, and the Empire. But first the guilty man must be discovered. Cato and Macro are in a race against time to expose the truth, while the powerful enemy over the border waits to exploit any weaknesses in the Legion. The traitor must die …

Traitors of Rome promises to be another fantastic addition to this awesome series. Not only do I get to check out the continuing adventures of this great duo of historical warriors but it looks like Scarrow has come up with an intriguing story hook for this novel. The hunt for a Parthian traitor in the Legion sounds rather cool, and I look forward to see how well Scarrow blends this sort of espionage storyline with his classic historical fiction setting. Because I love this series I was always going to grab this book no matter what. With its fascinating new plot, Traitors of Rome should be a pretty awesome book, and I am excited for mid-November when this comes out.

Top Ten Tuesday – Auto-Buy Authors

On July 16, 2019June 17, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List53 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. This week’s topic is to list my top ten auto-buy authors, that is the top ten authors whose latest books I will always buy no matter what.

This was a pretty cool topic to explore. There are a number of amazing authors out there whose books I will generally try to get each year due to how much I enjoyed their previous works. However, there are a few authors whose books I will automatically buy the moment they come out, many of whom I have been fans of for years. I managed to list my top ten of these authors, with a couple of honourable mentions thrown in as well. Fair warning: this top ten list features quite a large number of historical fiction authors. This is mainly because I previously focused solely on historical fiction for quite a long period of time and have only recently started getting into reviewing other genres such as science fiction or thrillers and have yet to finalise any auto-buy authors in these genres. I have added in a few fantasy authors, mostly because I have been reading these guys since I was fairly young, and their work is still incredibly impressive. Check out my list below:

Honourable Mentions:

Conn Iggulden

THe Falcon of Sparta Cover

One of the top authors of historical fiction, Iggulden has written some compelling books, set in some intriguing historical periods. His latest book, for example, The Falcon of Sparta, was pretty epic and focussed on an amazing event from history.

Mellissa Caruso

The Unbound Empire Cover (WoW)

This author’s debut series, the Swords and Fire trilogy, is just outstanding, and I will be adding all of her future books to the top of my reading list. Make sure to check out all the books in this series, including The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir and The Unbound Empire.

Harry Sidebottom

The Last Hour Cover

An author who focuses on Roman history, Sidebottom has recently started blending his books with the thriller genre, creating some intriguing reads, such as his 2018 release, The Last Hour. I currently have his latest book, The Lost Ten, on my shelf and cannot wait to read it.

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

Terry Pratchett

The author of the Discworld series and the master of combining fantasy elements with comedic stories. Before he passed away, I could always expect to receive the latest Terry Pratchett book as a Christmas gift every single year, and I would often finish it off by the end of Christmas day. Since his death in 2015, I haven’t really bought any of his novels, although I did manage to obtain them all on audiobook, which I relisten to all the time. As Pratchett is and probably always will be my favourite author of all time, I had to include him on this list, especially as he was my original auto-buy author

Moving PIcture Cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

Raising Steam was the last one of Pratchett’s books I received, while I recently reread Moving Pictures before I reviewed it earlier this year.

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

Maybe a nice copy of Good Omens, since I really enjoyed the show. I am planning to reread Pyramids next, as I am hoping to review it on the blog at some point.

Simon Scarrow

Simon Scarrow has to be one of my favourite historical fiction authors at the moment. His Eagles of the Empire series is one of the best Roman historical fiction series at the moment, and he has also produced a number of other books, including his Roman Arena and Invader novella series with T. J. Andrews, as well as his incredibly detailed Wellington and Napoleon Quartet. I have read all 17 of the books in his Eagles of the Empire series and am eagerly anticipating the 18^th book, which will be out later this year. This has to be one of my favourite historical fiction series at the moment, and I will pretty much grab anything written by Scarrow as a result.

the blood of rome cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

The Blood of Rome (2018)

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

Either the 18^th book of the Eagles of the Empire series, Traitors of the Empire (out 14 November 2019), or Pirata (out 9 July 2019), the collected edition of the Pirata short stories that was recently released.

C. J. Samson

In my mind, the best author of historical murder mysteries at the moment has to be C. J. Samson. His Matthew Shardlake series is just incredible, as each book contains an extremely clever and detailed murder mystery that perfectly utilises the author’s Tudor England setting to tell a compelling story. Every one of his books generally becomes the best historical fiction releases of the year and will often be my favourite overall book of the year as well. As a result, each of Samson’s books are extremely high on my to-read list, and it’s such a shame there is usually a big gap between each of his books.

Tombland Cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

Tombland (2018), which not only got a five-star review from me, but which made my Top Ten Reads of 2018 list.

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

Hopefully the eighth book in the Matthew Shardlake series, although I may have to wait till 2022 for it to come out. I have no doubt it will be worth it, though.

Raymond E. Feist

Raymond E. Feist is one of the best fantasy authors in the world today. His iconic Riftwar Cycle, which ran for nearly 30 years, is considered one of the greatest fantasy series in the world today and features some incredible books. Feist’s Talon of the Silver Hawk was one of the first fantasy books I ever read, and after falling in love with it I went back and read every single previous book he wrote, starting with Magician and moving onto books such as the epic Empire trilogy he wrote with Jenny Wurst. Without a doubt, Feist is one of my favourite authors of all time and I eagerly grab every new book he releases, including the books in his new series, The Firemane Saga, which started last year.

King of Ashes Cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

King of Ashes (2018)

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

The Firemane Saga book 2 – (I believe it will be called Queen of Storms)

Lindsey Davis

Lindsey Davis is probably the most prominent authors of the ancient history murder mystery. Her iconic Falco series, which ran for 20 books, placed a character styled after a modern private investigator in ancient Rome, resulting in some entertaining and enjoyable reads. I first started reading the sequel series to Falco books, the Flavia Albia series, back in 2013 and haven’t looked back. Her books are a heck of a lot of fun, and I especially loved the fifth and sixth books in the series, The Third Nero and Pandora’s Boy, which had some extremely epic comedy moments. These Flavia Albia books are a great highlight of my April reading schedule, and I fully plan to keep buying them as long as Davis continues to write them.

a capitol death cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

A Capitol Death (2019) – review to follow soon.

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

The Grove of the Caesars (April 2020)

Stan Sakai

I am a massive fan of many examples of comic books and magna, and I have had the pleasure of reading some amazing series from a variety of different publishers. However, the comic series that I look forward to the most each year is the Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai. There is just something about this series I cannot help but love, and I currently own all 32 volumes of the series, as well as some of the associated books. Sakai’s works are a must-get for me and he easily makes this list.

Usagi Yojimbo Mysteries Cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

Usagi Yojimbo, Vol 32: Mysteries (2018)

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

Usagi Yojimbo, Vol 33: The Hidden (2019). I have already ordered this book and it is hopefully on its way.

Robert Fabbri

For the last few years, Robert Fabbri’s debut body of books, the Vespasian series, has been an extremely entertaining highlight of my reading year. The author did an amazing job of combining a compelling examination of the history of one of the most influential Roman Emperors with some of the wild and extreme stories of Roman excess and insanity. The end result is an amazing series of books that I absolutely devour when I get my hands of them. Fabbri is currently working on a new series of books, The Alexander Legacies, which I am really looking forward to, and I imagine I will grab every book in this future series.

Emperor of Rome Cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

Emperor of Rome (2019). This book recently made my Top Ten Favourite Books from the First Half of 2019 list and is a heck of a lot of fun.

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

The Alexander Legacies – Book 1 (2020)

Ken Follett

Ken Follett is an extremely talented author who has been writing since the 1970s. While he was initially known for his clever thrillers, I am a fan of his incredible pieces of historical fiction. Follett has written some truly amazing pieces of historical fiction including his extraordinary book, The Pillars of the Earth. I was first introduced to Follett’s books with his epic Century trilogy, and honestly all I needed to do was read one of his massive books to fall in love with this author’s work. No one blends life stories of fictional characters with iconic moments of history like Follett does, and I am desperately waiting for his next piece of work

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The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

A Column of Fire (2017)

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

Unknown – Apparently a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth

R. A. Salvatore

This is another author I would consider to be one of the top fantasy authors in the world today. Few authors have the sustainability and imagination of R. A. Salvatore, and I have been a massive fan of his for years. After powering through his The Icewind Dale trilogy, the series I really fell in love with was his prequel series, The Dark Elf trilogy. The way that he built up the history of his most iconic characters was just outstanding and made me a fan for life. I have since bought or read every single Salvatore book set in the Forgotten Realms, including The Cleric Quintet and all the books featuring Drizzt Do’Urden, including the latest book Timeless, and will continue to read them as long as Salvatore rights about the character. I have also started getting into his books set in the Corona universe and have read the first two books in The Coven series, which started last year with Child of a Mad God.

Reckoning of Fallen Gods Cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

Reckoning of Fallen Gods (2019)

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

Boundless (2019)

Bernard Cornwell

The final author to feature in this list is the author I consider to be at the top of the historical fiction genre, Bernard Cornwell. With over 55 historical fiction novels on his resume, Cornwell has written some incredible pieces of work, and I have been a huge fan of his for years. The first Cornwell books I read were part of The Last Kingdom series, and I quickly graduated to other series, such as The Grail Quest novels. I really love how Cornwell can tell a huge number of different stories from across the historical periods, whether he looks at prehistoric adventures in Stonehenge, battles in America with The Fort or setting an intriguing piece of crime fiction amongst the plays of Shakespeare in Fools and Mortals. His body of work is just amazing and I cannot wait to check out what he writes next.

War of the Wolf Cover

The Author’s Latest Book I bought/read:

War of the Wolf (2018)

What is the Next Book from this Author that I will Auto-buy?

Unknown

I hope you enjoyed my list. Are any of the authors featured within on your auto-buy author list? Let me know if the comments below or link through your auto-buy authors so I can check them out.

Top Ten Tuesday – First Ten Books I Reviewed

On April 24, 2019April 24, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, bloggers get to talk about the first ten books that they ever did a review for.

This is quite an interesting topic for a top ten list, and it is one that proved to be a lot of fun for me to put together. It is always an intriguing prospect to dig back into one’s past, and I was quite curious to see what my earliest reviews were. Luckily, I have kept a copy of some of my earlier professional reviews for The Canberra Times, which were among the first reviews I ever did. Thinking back even further, I also remember doing a bunch of reviews or review-like documents for a random assortment of books back in my school days. I decided to include them, as I count them as books I have reviewed, especially as many of them required a large amount of work to do. As a result, my list is going to be an interesting combination of historical fiction books and some of the novels I read in high school, which luckily proved to be quite a unique and diverse collection of tomes.

While I am confident that I have listed the books in the order that I read and reviewed them, I may have to get a little vague when it comes to the dates I did them on. The actual dates are probably lost in some ancient hard drive or long dead family computer, but I am fairly certain of which year I did them in. Anyway, here is my list in the order that I reviewed them:

1 – The Other Side of Dawn by John Marsden – Reviewed in 2004

The Other Side of Dawn Cover.jpg
I reviewed The Other Side of Dawn when I was in year 8 for an English class I was doing. I cannot quite remember why we had to do reviews, but I remember inadvertently spoiling parts of the story for someone who hadn’t read it (an important lesson I remember to this day). The Other Side of Dawn is the seventh and final book in John Marsden’s Tomorrow series, which is one of the best and most iconic Australian young adult series of all time. I was a huge fan of the Tomorrow series when I was younger (I still am, to be honest; it is a pretty epic series) and I had just finished the final book when I had to write a review for class, so it seemed the logical choice. I cannot remember too many details about the review, but it got me a good mark, so it must have been alright. This is one of those series I have read numerous times, and I will have to review it on my blog at some point.

2 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – Reviewed in 2006

To Kill a Mockingbird Cover.jpg

I reviewed this classic American novel from acclaimed author Harper Lee in an English class in year 10. We were starting to learn a lot about analysis and essay writing at the time and To Kill a Mockingbird was a major focus of our class. I wrote a bunch of reviews and essays for this book, and I found it to be quite a powerful and moving novel that is still relevant in this day and age.

3 – Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurst – Reviewed in 2007

Daughter of the Empire Cover
In the latter half of 2007 I was still in school, and we got a choice of which English classes we wanted to attend. Due to my love of the genre, I chose to do a fantasy fiction course, which was unfortunately taught by the very worst English teacher in our school, whose bad teaching still haunts me to this day. While the class as a whole was pretty shocking, we did get to read and review Daughter of the Empire. I was already a huge fan of Raymond E. Feist and his Riftwar series, so this was the perfect book to read in class. We did a number of reviews and essays for this book, and I loved it so much I have re-read Daughter of the Empire and its sequels several times in the last 12 years, even doing a review of the Empire trilogy on my blog last year.

4 – The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett – Reviewed in 2007

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The same fantasy course also required us to read and give an in-depth presentation on a fantasy book of our choice. I chose one of my favourite books in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, The Last Continent. The Last Continent is the 22^nd book in the Discworld series, and follows one of Pratchett’s most entertaining protagonists as he adventures around a continent on the Discworld that is definitely not Australia. I gave quite a good presentation on this book, if I do say so myself, and it was a great book to round out the class on. A review of The Last Continent will probably show up on this blog in the future, as it is quite a funny read.

5 – Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell – Reviewed in 2008

Postmortem Cover.jpg
Another book reviewed as part of an English class. Postmortem was the book we had to read and review as our main assessment in a pretty good crime fiction course. It was an interesting book to analyse, and we did a pretty detailed examination and discussion of the book throughout the length of the course. I have never really gone out of my way to read any other Cornwell books, but I am glad we got the chance to review Postmortem, and it was quite an intriguing piece of crime fiction.

6 – Outlaw by Angus Donald – Reviewed 26 September 2009

Outlaw Cover.jpg

Back in 2009, while I was in my first year of university, I got an opportunity to review some books for The Canberra Times. They were in need of someone to review historical fiction, and as that was the genre I was mostly reading at the time, I managed to secure a position as The Canberra Times’s historical fiction reviewer for a few years. For my first review, they gave me a couple of books publishers had sent them and told me to have a go at writing an article. The first book I read for this was Outlaw, the first book in Angus Donald’s The Outlaw Chronicle series. I really enjoyed this book and thought that it was a great reimagining of the classic Robin Hood story, and it proved to be an excellent book to do a proper, professional review for. Despite enjoying this book, I never got the chance to read any of the other books in The Outlaw Chronicles, which I see managed eight books in the end. I might have to see what Donald has been writing lately.

7 – Pieces of Eight by John Drake – Reviewed 26 September 2009

Pieces of Eight Cover.jpg
In addition to Outlaw, my first article in The Canberra Times also featured a review of Pieces of Eight by John Drake. Pieces of Eight was another reimagining of a classic tale, as Drake created his own version of Treasure Island in this series. Pieces of Eight is the sequel to Drake’s first book, Flint and Silver, and featured a compelling adventure on the high seas. This was another great book to read, and I had a lot of fun reviewing Pieces of Eight.

8 – King of Kings by Harry Sidebottom – Reviewed 21 November 2009

King of Kings Cover.jpg

This was the second book in Sidebottom’s Warrior of Rome series, which continued the story started in his amazing debut, Fire in the East. Sidebottom is one of the top authors of Roman historical fiction, and back in 2009 I was very excited to check King of Kings out after enjoying his first book so much. This was another great historical adventure, with an epic twist at the end. Sidebottom is still going quite strong; The Last Hour was released last year, and his latest book, The Lost Ten, has just come out.

9 – Raiders from the North by Alex Rutherford – Reviewed 21 November 2009

Raiders from the North Cover.jpg

Raiders from the North is the first book in Rutherford’s Empire of the Moghul series, which charted the rise and fall of one of history’s most powerful and self-destructive dynasties. This was a very good book that looked at a very unique period of history that is quite under-represented in fiction. I ended up reading and reviewing nearly every book in the Empire of the Moghul series over the next couple of years, and I really enjoyed this very intriguing series.

10 – The Gladiator by Simon Scarrow – Reviewed 19 December 2009

The Gladiator Cover.jpg

This is a good place to end my list. I am a huge fan of the Scarrow’s The Eagles of the Empire series, and it was one of the main historical fiction series that got me into the genre. As a result, I was very happy that I got a chance to review the ninth book in The Eagles of the Empire series, The Gladiator, so early in my reviewing career. The Gladiator is an excellent addition to the series which pitted its protagonist against a new type of opponent. This series is still going strong, with its 17^th book coming, The Blood of Rome, coming out last year.

I hope you enjoy my list; I had a good time putting it together. I will have to try and scan a few of these earlier columns onto my blog in the future. It was fun going back and seeing what some of my earliest reviews were.

The Blood of Rome by Simon Scarrow

On January 8, 2019June 19, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction26 Comments

the blood of rome cover

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date – 13 November 2018

Amazon

One of the best and most prolific writers of Roman historical fiction, Simon Scarrow, returns with another outstanding adventure of his two Roman protagonists, Cato and Marco.

In AD 55, Nero has recently ascended to the throne, and the Roman Empire prepares itself for war with its great rival, the Parthian Empire, which sits to the east of Rome’s territories. This recent conflict is centred on the neutral border kingdom of Armenia, which sits between the two great empires. Years earlier, the brash Iberian prince Rhadamistus conquered Armenia and declared himself king, ruling as a terrible tyrant. In response, a recent Parthian backed invasion routed Rhadamistus from Armenia and placed a Parthian prince on the throne. Unwilling to let this strategic territory fall into Parthian hands, Rome sends its greatest general, Corbulo, to the east to reclaim Armenia for Rhadamistus and meet any subsequent hostilities from the Parthians.

The recently promoted Tribune Cato and his long-time companion, Centurion Marco, desperate to escape the deadly politics of Rome, lead the escort for General Corbulo. When an early opportunity to take Armenia with minimal interference from the Parthians presents itself, the only forces that Corbulo can rely on are Cato and Marco’s elite cohort of Praetorian Guards. Placed in command of an advance force, Cato must lead a mixed column of Romans and King Rhadamistus’s troops through unknown and hostile terrain towards Armenia’s capital. Forced to balance his orders against the desires of the unstable Rhadamistus, Cato struggles to maintain the strength of himself and his men. With traitors and enemies all around them, can Cato and Marco succeed, or will they find themselves killed in a strange land?

Scarrow is one of the leading authors of the historical fiction genre, whose work over the last 18 years is comparable to such established authors of the genre as Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane or Conn Iggulden. The Eagles of the Empire series, which started in 2000 with Scarrow’s debut, Under the Eagle, is the author’s most distinctive work, and features some superb description of Roman military action. In addition to his main series, Scarrow has also written several other great pieces of historical fiction. He co-wrote the Roman Arena and Invader novella series with T. J. Andrews, which are set in the same universe as the Eagles of the Empire series. He also wrote the epic Wellington and Napoleon Quartet, also known as the Revolution Quartet, which provided an impressive examination of the opposing lives of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington. In addition to his series work, Scarrow has also written two standalone novels, The Sword and the Scimitar, which covers the siege of Malta, and Hearts of Stone, a dramatic novel set in Greece during World War II. All of Scarrow’s novels are amazing pieces of historical fiction, and are really worth checking out if you are a fan of the genre.

The Blood of Rome is the 17^th book in The Eagles of the Empire series, and follows the two protagonists’ return to Rome’s Eastern provinces for the first time since the eighth book in the series, Centurion. I have always been a massive fan of this series and consider it to be one of the best pieces of Roman military fiction series on the market today. After reading all of the previous books in The Eagles of the Empire series, I was particularly keen to get a copy of The Blood of Rome and eager to see where the protagonist’s latest adventure would take them. After powering through it in a day, the result was pretty much what I expected: I loved Scarrow’s latest literary offering. This latest book contains another fantastic historical fiction story, as the protagonists embark on an exciting campaign into an interesting new historical setting and it was great to see how the characters continue to evolve and progress in their lives.

Scarrow’s The Eagles of the Empire series has always boasted some incredible depictions of ancient Roman military combat, with most books containing several battles of varying size used to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the Roman tactics and techniques. This is continued in the Blood of Rome, with several battles featured throughout the book. While most of these battles are small and quick skirmishes that differ from the traditional Roman battle sequences, the Roman soldier’s tactics and training and the effectiveness of their equipment are on full display, creating some amazing scenes. In addition to the classic Roman legionnaires, which make up the bulk of Cato and Marco’s forces, Scarrow also focuses on the more unusual forces that the Roman’s used in combat, in the form of a cohort of auxiliary slingers, as well as a detachment of Roman siege equipment. Both of these distinctive units get a good showing throughout the book, and both are fascinating to see in action. The author also contains an interesting portrayal of Roman soldiers fighting side-by-side with allied troops, and it is intriguing to see the issues and advantages involved with such allies. Overall, The Blood of Rome is another excellent example of Scarrow’s skill at portraying Roman military action sequences, and is one of the best parts of this book.

This book is also set in an extremely fascinating historical period and focuses on the rivalry between Rome and Parthia. The continuous conflict between Rome and Parthia has always been a great literary background for many pieces of Roman historical fiction, and Scarrow has already examined it in some of his earlier books. The conflict within The Blood of Rome continues to explore this legendary rivalry, and is an opening book in what appears to be a sequence of novels that will focus on an expanded war between the two rival nations. This first book in this sequence looks at a rather minor opening conflict, played out as a proxy war within Armenia, but it contains a great examination of the politics at the time and the differences in battle style and tactics of the two nation’s militaries. I really enjoyed the examination of the role of border kingdoms and provinces, such as Armenia, stuck in the middle of these two proud and ambitious empires. The main story of The Blood of Rome, the invasion of Armenia and Rhadamistus’s attempts to claim the throne, are real pieces of history, and it was really interesting to see them utilised in this story. All of the historical background for this book is incredibly fascinating and I had a great time reading about an amazing period of history.

The character of Rhadamistus was another intriguing addition to the book that added a whole new element to story. Rhadamistus is a well-known historical tyrant and brutal man of ambition, and Scarrow did a good job showcasing the character’s casual cruelty and arrogance. He was a pretty despicable character as a result, and watching the protagonists attempt to placate and counter his more ruthless actions added some dramatic twists to the story. Scarrow examines certain parts of Rhadamistus’s life, and it was very fascinating to see his eventual fate and the role his reign as king had on the rival empires of Rome and Parthia.

I really liked Scarrow’s depiction of one of his main characters, Cato, throughout this novel. Cato has never had an easy life, having been forced into the army at an early age, but the events of the last few books have been particularly hard on him. As a result, certain incidents within The Blood of Rome finally push him over the edge, and it was a refreshing change of pace to see one of these usually indomitable characters show some real vulnerability. This was a very realistic inclusion, and I thought it added some much-needed character growth to Cato. It also served an essential story element, as his condition resulted in Cato being open to Rhadamistus’s manipulation. This was a great part of The Blood of Rome that represents some intriguing adaptation within this long-running series.

Simon Scarrow once again produces an epic piece of historical fiction as he continues his outstanding The Eagles of the Empire series. His long-running protagonists, Cato and Marco, are once again thrust into a fantastic historical military fiction adventure, and there are a ton of great elements for the readers to enjoy. Another amazing outing from Scarrow, this is a highly recommended read for all fans of the historical fiction genre, as the author continues to produce some of the best Roman military fiction in the business.