Customer Reviews

Hero of Rome (Roman Trilogy 1)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This historical novel is based upon the Boudicca rebellion in Roman Britain in 60AD. The focus of the novel is on Valerius, a Roman Tribune who has been given orders right before he is to leave for Rome (after his commitment to serve was supposed to be over) to defend a Roman colony (called Colonia but probably Roman Colchester) from the attack of Boudicca's rebellious horde of Celts.

What happens next is the stuff of legends: the stand of a group of Roman militia (ex legionnaires who are in the late forties and fifties and have businesses and families in town), the stand in a Roman temple (made mostly of marble), etc.

The brutality of warfare of the Roman period is highlighted almost to a fault espcially on the depredations that occurred to the Romans who were captured (won't go through that but want to alert the reader) providing gruesome details.

If you are interested in Roman history, this book is worth the read and the purchase. It provides details based upon the historical writings of Tacitus of this rebellion. It also provides a good reason for why the rebellion occurred (brutal Roman soldiers and administrators overreacting to their responsibilities).

I'm an avid reader of all books Roman, action, mysteries, etc and I have to say this grabbed my attention from the start. The author managed to skillfully build characters and insert them into the beginnings of the Iceni rebellion. His take on this bit of history revolves around Tribune Valerius, whom finds himself wintering with a cohort from the XXth Legion at Camulodunum, known as The Colony due to the large number of retired legionaries who participated in the original invasion 16 years earlier. His involvement with the local populace and the consequences set the tone for the entire story. In some cases I found I could anticipate the direction the plot would take, especially with specific characters; however, this did not detract from the story. Having some background of the history of Roman Britain did have me wondering how the author would end the story and I have to say I was caught off guard. Admittedly the last crushing battle against the Iceni did seem rushed; but, if you consider Valerius's role in this compared to his other direct "in the front line" view, it makes sense it would come across this way. The price Valerius paid in the end for the title Hero of Rome, puts an interesting twist for the rest of the forthcoming trilogy and I'm VERY eager to see how the author pulls it off. A final comment about the characters, although exposure to some of the supporting characters were brief I have to admit I enjoyed the authors depiction of the veterans miltia of The Colony, especially Flavo and Corvinus. The ability to bring out what are ordinarily single dimensional types in an action novel speaks well for any author. Thanks and Have A Great Day!

Have been plowing through a lot of Roman historical fiction lately and loved Hero of Rome. While the battles were not as engaging and real for me as Jackson's "Claudius" was, the overall storyline was much more engaging. The way the author balanced the veteran legionnaires duties to their unity and to their families at Colonia felt very sincere to me causing them to be one of my favorite groups of characters. I can't say enough about this book and am looking forward to seeing how the author transforms what felt like a stand-alone novel into a series.

This is my third Douglas Jackson book. Doesn't sound like a big deal... until I tell you that I've read his books almost back-to-back-to-back. And would have read the next one except it has yet to be released. (On a side note, I just checked Amazon tonight and the Kindle e-book version IS available now, HA!). You need not have read `Caligula' or `Claudius' in order to enjoy `Hero of Rome', but it was a nice surprise to see mentions of the previous two sprinkled in this one. It was like finding a golden nugget in an already full pot of gold.

I was enjoying this book from jump street but I REALLY got into it at the end. Oh yeah... if you love Roman battles then you'll love the one in here. How they get to that point is fascinating but the ending is `bloody' awesome. As others have stated, we get to read about Rome's favorite Celtic bitch, Boudicca. The stunning red head with the temper and means to shove a good one straight up Rome's arse.

Gaius Valerius Verrens is the main character in this one, however, I must say that my favorite was Crespo. Now once you read it you'll wonder what kind of medication I'm on because Crespo is just bad news. No wait... he's the bad news that bad news reads while waiting on bad news. He does things in this story that would make Satan blush, but I liked him because of that very reason. This is a great Rome book through and through. From the legionaries, to the prissy Tribunes, to the gore/blood/bone, to the endless paradox of her politics and allies; `Hero of Rome' is what you look for in a historical-fiction story. To say I'm looking forward to reading `Defender of Rome' would be the dumbest understatement of the year, so I won't say it. Sed pro Romanis.

A slightly familiar path here, but I suppose it is hard to find freshness in the well-trod area of a Roman actioner.

This one is set in Britain AD60/61 where the resentful locals have been subdued and Nero is the Emperor. Young Valerius is a Tribune in the legions and is sent with a small force to protect the town of Colonia where the locals are causing some unrest. In reality this is the Boudicca uprising and Valerius, his troops and the local auxiliaries are vastly outnumbered......

It's not bad. I mention a well-trod path, and what can lift a story above the norm is the depth and interest in the characters and sadly Valerius is a little bland. But the story has pace and is set in an interesting period of Roman/British history and is certainly engaging enough if not spectacular. Author Douglas Jackson certainly knows his history and places his story and characters within a pivotal timeframe and, to his credit, avoids "and with one bound they were free" resolutions, there are consequences here and not everyone makes it.

So not bad and I will pick up the next one in the series.

I love Fiction set in ancient Rome and found this an interesting read. Overall it kept my interest but it did have some parts that were slow to develop. It does have something of a surprise ending or development for the "Hero of Rome" at the end which I did not like and gives me some pause to buy book two. I also found it hard to believe that his lover would actually allow or accept what happens despite what was keeping them apart.