Manda Scott

Manda Scott; the Emperor Nero; chariot-racing; mystery cults; a love triangle; and an imperial spy fighting against time to prevent disaster: it’s a formidably tempting combination. Needless to say, I’ve been itching to read this ever since I finished the last of the Boudica novels and was finally able to wait no longer. And it thoroughly lived up to expectations, as I tore breathlessly through an audacious, fast-paced story, plotted with an almost Dunnettian dexterity.

However, one thing show more is worth making clear right from the off. Although one could, in theory, read this as a standalone novel, its full richness and meaning will only become clear if you have already read the Boudica books. From that point of view, the Rome series must be regarded – at least in this opening instalment – as a sequel, rather than an independent story. But it’s a sequel that turns the story in a completely new direction, with new characters and a new mission: taut, daring and extremely well-crafted...

For the rest of the review, please visit my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/01/26/rome-the-emperors-spy-m-c-scott/ show less

I first came across this book in 2003 or so when I was an employee at Crapters. In August 2004, the store sent a bunch of us to Montreal on a Random House field trip to a fall preview, and at that event, they gave away a ton of books, and one I snapped up was Dreaming the Eagle. But when I tried reading I, I just couldn't get into it, even though I have read several historical accounts of Boudica and new the basics of the story.

Fast forward to March 2010, when Lana over at A Hoyden's Look at show more Literature reviewed the book (here), inspiring me to try it again.

And boy am I glad I did. Right from the beginning, I was gripped. I was also blown away by the writing and detail.

Starting out with Breaca's (her "real" name in this book; she was called Boudica by her people after the Roman invasion according to this version of the story) first kill at the age of 12, when her village was attacked by a rival tribe that killed her mother. She kills an enemy warrior and from then on everyone in the village believes she is destined to be warrior. But Breaca doesn't want this; what she does want, more than anything, is to be a dreamer, a much-revered visionary and mystic with power not only amongst the people but also the power to invoke very real experiences for others using the forces of nature. But it's not meant to be; when she does go on her "long nights" to try to acquire her dream, she is given a warrior's dream instead, and Breaca is frustrated. Eventually, however, she comes around and journey's off to the sacred island of Mona, where dreamers and warriors are trained for all the tribes, and becomes Mona's lead warrior, otherwise known as The Warrior.

Breaca is also her mother's heir as Eceni leader, though while she is under age and then pledged to Mona, her aunt Macha, who is a dreamer, fulfills the role. Macha is not only Breaca's aunt; she is also the mother of Breaca's half brother Ban, who wants to be a warrior very badly, but is ironically marked out as a dreamer - and his dreams haunt him, and at one point, get him into a lot of trouble.

This book is epic in scope. Covering about 11 years from AD 32 to AD 43, we see Breaca's development from child to teen to woman, but also from child to diplomat to war leader. We see Ban grow from a fairly happy child to a hardened warrior with a tortured soul. And, most fascinatingly, we are treated to the author's vastly detailed imagining of life in Celtic Britain before the Romans showed up and imposed their rule on what they thought were a bunch of savages. Additionally, we get some great insight into life as a Roman slave and life as a Roman legionary. Caligula even makes an appearance, which is creepy to say the least, and over all, the Romans do not come off as a very nice lot at all.

The end of Dreaming the Eagle, which covers the Roman invasion into Britain in 43AD, was devastating for me. It left me shocked and hollow - and wanting more! The brutality, the betrayal, the irony...It was intense!

The character development in this book was superb. Not only are Breaca and Ban very compelling, dynamic characters, but many of the secondary characters were so memorable, too: Corvus, the Roman legionary who gets shipwrecked in Eceni lands, was very interesting; Caradoc, the warrior of three tribes and brother to a traitor and set up to be Breaca's love interest, was mysterious and you never know where his loyalties really lie; Airmid, Breaca's..."companion" and Eceni dreamer had a very powerful presence in the book, and the elder grandmother was a crusty, decrepit old woman who you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. And then there were the animals, like Hail, Ban's hound, and the various horses used by Ban and Breaca that were given such prominent roles as forces to be reckoned with.

On top of this, there were several twists to Breaca and Ban's characters that completely took me by surprise. I won't give anything away, but they made me go "holy shit, I wasn't expecting that!" and that was quite cool, too.

This is the first book in a four-book series; next up is Dreaming the Bull, and I hope my favourite second hand store has a copy the next time I get there.

This is one exemplary work of historical fiction. This is how it should be done, not like that POS novel Mistress of Rome!

Posted here: http://coyotewandering.wordpress.com show less

To me, this is historical fiction done to an extremely high standard. These detail-rich tales of resistance to imperial oppression are always timely but in these times especially so. And for me Scott has a unique talent in capturing a plausible view of what our ancestors' heathen (and I count myself proudly as a heathen as well) spirituality may have looked like as a lived experience; for that alone these books would be worth a look. In all, I'd say if you like historical fiction and are show more interested in the interplay between Rome and the peoples she did and wished to subjugate, an interplay that shows the nuances of value and meaning that run across all sides, you'd do well to read these books. I will move on to the next, when I have had some time to let this one settle . show less

Third in M.C. Scott's four novels in her Rome series with Pantera the spy as protagonist. In this departure from the others, in the hero is the young unwilling conscript, Demalion of Macedon, telling us his story of the last five years in the unlucky XII Legion : his basic training, bonding with the others in his contubernium, winter survival exercises against another legion to toughen the men. There are exciting heart-stopping battles and skirmishes against Parthians and against Jewish show more rebels in Judaea. The rebels steal the Eagle and Demalion, along with Pantera and others are charged to recover it. We see Demalion grow from raw recruit into experienced, blooded veteran and leader. The legion regains its honor.

Out of the whole series, I consider this volume easily the best. I could not relate to Pantera; he seemed like an unbelievable superhero, often unpleasant and I feel he was present only to further the action. The well-drawn Demalion touched me with his emotions and deep feelings. Writing was superb. The small amount of m/m romance was tastefully done. Especially poignant was the incident of one soldier's death and his comrades parceling out his possessions, thereby each man remembering him.

Highly recommended. show less