The Bow of Heaven: Book I: The Other Alexander (original 2011; edition 2012)

Solid upstairs/downstairs family saga of a Roman citizen-soldier and eventual counsel, associate of Sulla and Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Crassus, and ultimately patriarch to his family as told by Alexander of Aetreia, his Greek slave and later factotum.

Roman life, Roman ambition, and the brutality as well as the generosity of that era are well illustrated by the characters of Marcus, his wife, Alexander, and that of the healing woman whose daughter Alexander loves all his life but never truly wins.

Well written, fully realized characters and plenty of Latin on the fly. For me, a fan of Greek history and novels set in ancient times there, this is an enjoyable fictional "study" of the extension of a succeeding dominant civilization (Roman) over another (Greek). Readers who like Lindsey Davis. Falco series set in the days of Imperial Rome, will enjoy and be refreshed by Levkoff's work. ( )