HISTORICAL FICTION: The Gladiator - Simon Scarrow

BOOK BLURB:

While centurions Macro and Cato are returning to Rome from a harrowing campaign against the Parthians, their transport ship is almost capsized by a tidal wave. They barely make it to the port of Matala in Crete where they are stunned to find a devastated town. An earthquake has struck the island, destroying its cities and killing thousands. In the chaotic aftermath, large bands of the island's slaves begin to revolt and the local bandits, taking advantage of the slave rebellion, urge the Cretans to overthrow the Roman administration. When the local governor of the province hears that Macro and Cato have arrived on the island, he summons them at once. With many of the island's troops either killed or wounded during the earthquake, the governor calls on these experienced Roman officers for help. Can Macro and Cato move swiftly enough to counter the rebellion before it sweeps the Romans from the island?


REVIEW:

In the Historical Fiction genre, there’s a select few authors whose names means that their titles are put to the top of the my TBR pile. Of those, Simon Scarrow is definitely one of the few who makes it an absolute must have and will be grabbed straight away. So when this latest offering landed you can pretty much guarantee what happened.

What I received for my devotion (and not in the original Roman sense of the word) was an adventure that brought old enemies of Rome’s Centurion duo back to the fore as well as tossing them into a catastrophic scenario the likes of which they’ve never faced before. It’s a solid offering from Simon, however, to be honest I really don’t like Cato’s love interest, she seems forced, she seems to be there just to add the obligatory screaming girl and to throw them into situation that felt forced and unnatural. I’m hoping that something’s done to rectify this in future novels or to make her more likeable at least, perhaps even giving her some rudimentary combat training so she can do something in case the situation arises again. At least the next novel so far promises to be back to Simon’s winning formula and will give the reader exactly what they want with no compromises.