Tuesday 21 September 2010

HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: The Road to Rome - Ben Kane

Release Date: 12/08/10

BOOK BLURB:

Having survived the perils of a journey across half the world, Romulus and Tarquinius are press-ganged into the legions, which are under imminent threat of annihilation by the Egyptians. Meanwhile in Rome, Romulus' twin sister Fabiola lives in fear for her life, loved by Brutus, but wooed by Marcus Antonius, his deadly enemy. Soon after, Romulus fights at Zela, the vicious battle where Caesar famously said, 'Veni, vidi, vici'. Tarquinius, separated from Romulus in the chaos of war, hides in Alexandria, searching for guidance. But mortal danger awaits them both. From the battlefields of Asia Minor and North Africa, to the lawless streets of Rome and the gladiator arena, they face death daily, until on the Ides of March, the twins are reunited and must decide either to back or to betray Caesar on his day of destiny.


REVIEW:

As a reader of this series from the beginning, I’d hate to think how new readers would react to trying to start from here. Not that they couldn't but they really will have a large number of problems putting things together alongside having missed a lot of development for the characters concerned. It is a great overall arc and whilst this tale is just a small snippet of the story of the twins Romulus and Fabriola along with their companions you know that it’s a key part of their development. Beautifully written and with enough action to keep the blood thirsty happy its definitely a tale that will impress those who’ve followed from the beginning as Ben keeps developing alongside improving his weaker area’s of writing. A great overall offering and one that will definitely have me baying for the next title sooner rather than later.

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