Customer Reviews

Soldier of Rome: Heir to Rebellion: Book Three of The Artorian Chronicles

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of the three books in the Antorian Chronicles, this is by far the best one. The writing is far more polished than in his earlier books and overall the story is much better paced with a heavy portion of battles, comradely bond between the legionaries as brothers, sex, and gore. Antorius has definitely become the hero of the series and he lives up to our expectations with amazing heroic feats that no other can match. The characterization throughout the book is also superb with the support Legionary characters Magnus, Felix, and Patroculus in particular adding real depth to the story. The love fixation on Diana, a noble who is unattainable due to her social status, also drives the story nicely as Antorius vows to save her from the rebels.

This book also has a memorablem villain in the character Heracles, who played a minor character in the second book, and is truly diabolical in his motives. Aided by his minions, Heracles brings terror and sadistic cruely upon Graul in order to bring vengeance upon Rome and all those who ally with Rome.

I do put a disclaimer on this review that this book is definitely not meant for kids because it has a lot of adult content: graphic killings, sex, rape, and murder. If this was a movie, it would definitely get an 'R' rating for content.

I do look forward to the next book in the series.

All three books are a great read. This is the third in the series and one of the best historical novels that I have read. THe historical detail is very complex and the story action packed. I would urge any one interested in Roman History as well as well written novels to read all three books in this series. The tone of the third book is a little darker but it works well to progress the story of this young legionary.

I really enjoyed this book except for the editing errors.Artorius and Magnus are back and facing the remnants of Sacrovirs revolt in the form of arch villain Heracles.The arch villain and his men are murdering in a most brutal fashion anyone who betrayed them in Sacrovirs Revolt.
You can see how the author is growing into a better writer and how he has done a better job on fleshing out his characters.I throughly enjoyed all three of his books.I look forward to the fourth.

This is an excellent, and well written novel on Roman history of the 1st century AD. This is the author's third book about this group of legionaries and their experiences and it is by far the best.

Why is that? In my opinion, the first two books were good, but were tied to a historical event that the author tried to follow. This constrained his freedom to write a good story line. In this book, the story line prevails although character development is also good.

The story line follows a Roman legion in their responsibility to police a Roman city, Lugdunum (actually the French city of Lyons). When an individual who survived the Sacrovir revolt (book 2 which should be read prior to this one) decides to continue the fight in a guerrilla warfare, underground fashion, the legion cohort policing the city has the responsibility of finding and stopping him.

In order to stop him, the legionaries are required to be brutal and cruel, much more brutal and cruel than we would accept today, but this was what was required during that time, if they wanted to survive. In one instance, a centurion demands that a legionary kill a week old baby and he refuses, getting a cuff on the side of the head a couple of times, however, he proceeds to keep the baby and give him to a slave who was also saved by this legionary.

The book is full of these anecdotes of man's inhumanity to man and also to man's treating others with dignity and decency. From that perspective, the book is somewhat of a dichotomy but the times were also a dichotomy. Either you were in - the patrician class, or out - the slaves, etc. In some instances, you were trying to get in the top class, this is what the legionaries were about - serving their empire so that they could retire to a good life.

I highly recommend this book because it is an excellent story and provides good insight on what we think living in Rome was like.

James Mace is one of the more talented historical fiction writers out there. Being an ancient history buff, I have read many, many books on various wars, battles, and what have you. The Soldier of Rome Series is by far my favorite. Well written, historically correct, and just damn good. I cannot wait until the next book. If you are a historical fiction fan, buy this series. You will be very entertained.

I settled in with a Bourban and Water and started reading. When I got to the Epilog I realized two things. First, I had not touched my drink. Second, this was even better than Mace' first two books in this series! The character development has definately reached it's full potential. Also, I was left with an "I could have been there" feeling!

Through each of the three books in this series I have witnessed the development of a great author. I truely can't wait to read the next book in this series. I won't even bother with the drink this time!

The author really did a great job fleshing out the characters in this book. This is a continuation from the last book. James Mace uses some of the minor characters from the last book for the villians in this book. I really enjoy the writing style and with every book I like the characters even more. This is the third book in the series and I have read them all and look forward to book 4.

This is by far my favorite book of the series. Character development was amazing. The author pulled lots of little things from the first two books to really tie the storys together. Though this is the darkest of the novels that Mr. Mace has written, I think that it's a very natural progression for the character. This is a must read.

James Mace has made Rome alive again in :Soldier of Rome;Heir to Rebellion.It keeps you on the edge of your seat with action.I look forward to the next phase of Artorius story.Any one that loves Roman history will love these books.Keep it up James.

James Mace comes through with yet another great book. I love the way the story continues to keep you interested from front to back and seeing the soldiers develop as the saga continues. I really like the fact that Hercales played a bigger part in this book and his drive and hatred towards the Romans is really seen in this book. Cant wait for the fourth book to come out!