The Tribune: A Novel of Ancient Rome [Paperback]

Patrick Larkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2003

Promoted to a tribune of the Sixth Legion, Lucius Aurelius's task is to quell a war in Galilee that has already claimed the lives of the Emperor's foot soldiers. But the scene of the alleged slaughter turns up only a peaceful settlement of farmers, leaving the suspicious Lucius to question why has he been sent on sucha futile mission...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Being a whistleblower is risky business, especially in ancient Rome. Lucius Aurelius Valens, a foot soldier in the Sixth Legion, witnesses a brutal act of carnage and soon becomes convinced that his superior officer is not only looking the other way, but is complicit in the massacre. A man who prizes his honor above all else, Lucius takes matters into his own hands and leads a small band of troops against the marauders, in the process making bitter enemies of virtually every powerful officer in the Roman army. A just and compassionate high-ranking official transfers Lucius to a patrol in Galilee as a means to escape his situation, but Galilee provides problems of its own. There Lucius collides not only with a complex political situation that threatens to bring King Herod's fury down on an entire city, but also with one of the most pivotal people in human history (yes, that Galilean). Larkin's story is ambitious and well plotted, but it moves at a snail's pace and is nearly twice as long as it ought to be. Though the "surprise ending" is no surprise at all, it still manages to wrap up a story that, unfortunately, fails to live up to its fascinating premise.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451209044
• ISBN-13: 978-0451209047
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unfocused and unreal, August 18, 2003

By 

John Carr (Swampscott, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tribune: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Paperback)

The best part of The Tribune is the military detail on the responsibilities of a tribune commanding a regiment of light cavalry in the Roman Near East. The author, Patrick Larkin, also knows how to keep a plot moving. Aside from that I found little of interest in the book. Although the characters wear armor and kill each other with swords and javelins and so on, their mind set and values are almost completely modern. One of the chief pleasures of historical fiction -- a sense that the past was another world, inhabited by people with different morals, assumptions and ways of seeing and thinking -- is totally lacking.
The narrator, Lucius, is stodgy to the point of being wooden. He is also so unconvincingly high-minded as to seem a Christian saint before Christianity. Lucius agonizes endlessly over moral dilemmas, few of which seem likely to have preoccupied a real Roman tribune of cavalry circa 30 A.D.
The most interesting character, the Emperor Tiberius's adopted son Germanicus, disappears in the second half of the novel and dies off stage, and although he has been Lucius's protector and hero his death has next to no impact on the young tribune. None of the issues and people that dominate the first part of the book are at all important by the ending.
The prose is no better than serviceable; the dialogue (here comes that word again) wooden. Larkin's characters are types, not individuals. Lucius, for example, is given a wise older doctor as traveling companion, becomes best buddies with his second-in-command, a stalwart young Gaul, and is aided by a precocious youth, whose role is spoiled brat with a heart of gold.
Worse, characters are divided into good guys and bad guys, with the bad guys really bad and the good guys uncompromisingly good. Readers will not have to strain to decide in which camp the various characters belong. Look in vain for human ambiguity or complexity. One character in particular, the twelve year old, Paulus, is simply unbelievable. His speech and behavior would be far more plausible as a touchy and rather narrow but also highly intelligent and basically decent adult. That, of course, woul ruin the irritating one-to-one Biblical analogy Larkin is at such obvious pains to set up.
The Tribune can't decide what kind of book it wants to be. It starts as a historical novel and ends as rather clumsy propaganda for Christianity. Lucius, for example, is run through by a sword thrust but has his life saved by, no kidding, an actual miracle right out of the New Testament. We are also supposed to believe that God twice speaks directly to Lucius in dreams, influencing the plot. I prefer my historical novels straight, thank you.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! Historical fiction at its finest., June 3, 2003

By 

John Atkins (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tribune: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Paperback)

I read this book in its entirety on a trans-pacific flight to Tokyo. I didn't want to put it down. Pat Larkin does a brilliant job crafting a suspenseful historical novel. This book is made for the movies. If you enjoy history, or mystery novels, this one is for you.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pick this one up!, June 26, 2003

By 

Kevin French (Fayetteville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tribune: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Paperback)

I have never read anything by Patrick Larkin before, but one of my friends told me about this book and I really enjoyed it. It captured my imagination, kept me guessing until the end, and made me want to read more about this time period since I do not know much about Roman history. This book would also make an excellent movie. I am on the hunt for more books by Patrick Larkin. I really like his writing style.