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5.0 out of 5 stars
Pugnax the Gladiator,
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This review is from: Pugnax the Gladiator (Hardcover)
This book, "Pugnax the Gladiator", was a great source of inspiration when I first read it in 1951 at the age of 13. We were an impoverished family, but I did pretty well in school and my Mom made sure my clothes were clean everyday. The book's hero, Pugnax, was a captured slave in Roman times who fought his was to the top of the gladiator world and was eventually bestowed all privileges due a "Free Man" by Caesar himself. This book inspired me to stay in school,work and pay my own way through college, and I eventually enjoyed a white collar career in a high management position. Through my lifetime of hard work I now am financially fortunate enough to be happily in early retirement. I am thrilled that I was able to find, on Amazon, an original mint condition first edition hard cover printed in 1939. The 73 year old book has a dust jacket indicating a price of $2. It amuses me that the price today was $185. I am very gratified that I now own this fine book whose message propelled me out of the ghetto and inspired me to achieve my successes.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Long live Pugnax!,
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This review is from: Pugnax the Gladiator (Paperback)
Pugnax the Gladiator, written in 1939, is part of a series of adventure books that take place in the Roman empire. Anderson's books were published by Biblio and Tannen, who also published Edgar Rice Burrough's "Warlord of Mars" series. All of Anderson's books are currently in print, but not available electronically.The prose is old-fashioned in a charming way. It reads well because the action takes place during ancient times. The expressions, speech patterns, and latin words and phrases complement the strong sense of place and historical ambience the author creates. These are the days of Cicero, before Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, in the years before the Roman Republic evolved into the Roman Empire. Cicero and other famous personages anchor the story in time but don't play a role in the tale, except in the distant background during elections and public holidays. The action starts when a young Gaul is sold into slavery after being captured during a battle between tribes. He's shipped to Rome and sold to a lanista who trains gladiators. The young man is given the name Pugnax, and trained as a swordsman in the rough and tumble camp full of dangerous and colorful characters. The gladiator camp is not a preppy boarding school -- this place has a lot of color, fighting, and, pardon the pun, backstabbing. It's the original school of hard knocks. The friends and enemies Pugnax acquires there are tough, stoic fellows who love a good brawl, a pretty girl, and pitcher of wine. Pugnax is quickly thrown into the arena and learns some important early lessons about survival. Most gladiators were slaves and I'm not sure if this is historically accurate, but the lanista allows Pugnax and his various sidekicks (fellows you would not want to meet in a dark alley) to wander the streets of Rome from time to time. As a reader, this provides an interesting tour of taverns, dark alleys, and less than upscale venues. Pugnax turns out to be very clever and finds himself in the service a rich and influential patrician who needs occaisional help with little problems like fixing elections and extracting a wayward daughter from an ill-conceived flirtation with a charioteer. Pugnax and his buddies also do a favor for a Vestal Virgin which serves them well later in the book. These books were originally targeted at young teenage readers, during more innocent times. Most of the violence is offstage and never graphic or upsetting. What makes this book such a fun read is that it is written as a series of distinct stories that might have been serialized. Each chapter is a complete adventure or tale of intrigue that stands on its own. Together, they work as an overall novel. Based on how well crafted, enjoyable, and often humorous I found Pugnax, I read and reviewed Anderson's other books.
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