Gordon Doherty

4.5/5. I'm quite enthusiastic about this latest adventure of Pavo and his comrades of the XI Claudia. 378 AD: contention between Goths under Fritigern and the Roman Empire. The whole story engendered much excitement ranging from the escape of Tribunus Gallus from the dungeons of the Western Emperor, Gratian and his making his way through horrendous obstacles back to the forces of Valens, the Eastern Emperor to delaying tactics of Gratian and the final conflict at Adrianople between Goths and show more Romans, where Romans are betrayed by a subterfuge. Pavo personally discovers the evil of a person he has held dear but rises above it, though I'm sure it will always hurt him.

I enjoyed the battle sequences--Gratian against a Goth invasion that takes him off the road to the East, and the debacle that was Adrianople; the banter and interplay between Pavo and his friends; Pavo's recurring nightmare sequences, which might portend the future. They remind me of a similar prophetic dream shared by several people in [book:The End of Sparta|11215777] but I liked Gordon's better, because of his including symbolism. I enjoyed reading Tribunus Gallus's Near Death Experiences, in which he sees his dead wife and son. Gordon's style has improved since his last novel; it was action-packed and tightly paced. He can convey the crudity of soldiers without being offensive. I wonder why a regular publisher has not snapped him up--unless there might be a greater amount of independence in self-publishing.

Very highly recommended. show less

Another exciting adventure of now-Tribunus Pavo and the XI Claudia, this time fighting Goths. In the aftermath of Adrianople, the huge defeat of the Eastern Roman Army and the deaths of Pavo's comrades and superior officer, Pavo is promoted to that position and now must learn leadership. The lads do defeat a warlord, an easy task as this Ortwin is no comparison to Fritigern, the Gothic leader. More excitement comes in the form of a botched assassination attempt on Gratian, Western Emperor, show more and the efforts of a Speculator [high-level Agens in Rebus??] to discover the culprit. Pavo and his men are tasked with bringing a rag-tag group of Goths from beyond the Danubius to the Western Empire, not out of compassion, but because the men can swell Gratian's army. Gratian is painted in this novel as a complete villain. We follow them and witness a group of Gothic malcontents and extremists among them roiling the waters, both figuratively and literally. Finally, Pavo and his men are a reserve force, swooping in when the battle is nearly lost against the so-called "Black Horde", a breakaway group of Goths led by two men who had been cheated by Gratian after Adrianople. Gratian had reneged on a solemn promise.

I can see the author's improvement in writing style and I feel if he keeps on this trajectory, he's on to triumph after triumph. This novel was filled with his same trademark gory battles and skirmishes, without neglecting character development, even that of minor figures. The novel brimmed with betrayal, double crosses, treachery, comradeship, even plausible love interest made poignant. I personally see the author's need for injecting some bawdiness to bring out certain individuals' personality traits and as being part of soldiers' lives, but that doesn't mean it didn't make me uneasy. At least it was rather mild. The bragging of Sura got old fast. "Off" as a verb was used several times; to me that is too modern a term for this setting and jarred my ear; why didn't the author use the synonyms "finish off", "murder", or even "kill"? I did like the author's use of the Aesop-like fable of the goose and wolf and how it fit into the novel.

Highly recommended. show less

Mr. Doherty is improving his storytelling, characterization, and writing style with every novel he writes. This was a solid, thrilling novel with well-rounded characters. Pavo and a vexillatio [detachment] from the XI Claudia are given the mission to infiltrate Persia and to return with a certain scroll, a copy of a treaty made by Emperor Jovian and Persia years before. This treaty may possibly save the Roman Empire from invasion. Pavo and his group enter Persia, undergoing hardships, trek show more across a hostile desert, skirmishes, treachery, slavery. After a remarkable escape from slavery, the men are poised to recover the scroll. Will it be as valuable as made out? And will the men return safely to Antioch and put it in the hands of Emperor Valens?

The Sassanid Persian setting gave a different flavor to the story. I enjoyed learning a bit about this culture and Zoroastrianism. I like that Pavo does note in one place: although there are evil people bent on destruction of the Romans, there are good, kind Persians he meets, also, to balance out. The archvillain does get his well-deserved comeuppance, and how! I was very impressed with the episode of the whole trek through the desert, with the vivid description of the sandstorm and of the privations the men suffered. The Persian adventures were really exciting. Description of life in the salt mine was well done. The escape from the salt mine was almost miraculous, but the later ones were a bit incredible. I enjoyed the vivid description of the Persian 'Blood Games'.

I wasn't able to put this book down once I started reading. Historical research was impeccable. One thing niggled at me somewhat. I felt choice of expressions sometimes were strange and repeated too often, e.g., someone downing his helmet; someone was grappled by his throat; someone spoke in jagged Greek.... Maybe these were British usage or colloquial in the area in the U.K. the author comes from and I'm not used to them. Perhaps the author could have consulted a thesaurus more often. Other than that, the novel is a fine addition to Roman military fiction in the later Empire. show less

Book 2 in this series of the epic battle between Constantine and Maxentius for supremacy in Rome continues where Sons of Rome left off - 308AD and continues up to 312AD. Each man's story is again narrated by a single author, with an alternating overall narrative so that we get a sense of what is happening to both concurrently.

No spoilers here as events are well known - however the journey taken to get there is as thrilling and fresh as if it happened yesterday. It is not an easy journey for show more either man - both face the constant struggle to maintain their positions, both within and without the Roman Empire as territories are won and lost; there is personal tragedy and a deterioration of their fragile friendship; and religious dissent is on the rise as the supporters of Christ demand more freedom of worship; and add into the mix, the rise of rival contenders.

Though the more I read - and for me Constantine was ever present in my mind - the more I felt an empathy towards Maxentius. I was more drawn to his plight than his nemesis, for many of his deeds and achievements have latterly gone unrecognised. Maybe it has something to do with the way we like to support the underdog against an obviously stronger, experienced opponent. Maybe, it is just my knowing the outcome that has drawn me closer to getting to know this man more.

The final showdown take's place in book 3 for ".... it is in battle that this will end for one ..."

read more here @ Melisende's Library show less