Laurence O'Bryan

When I was given the chance to receive a review copy of this book I jumped at the chance because I loved the Puzzle Series written by the author, which by the way I can fully recommend! At the time I didn’t know this was the third book in this trilogy, however by that stage I had already committed to writing a review so on I went!

This book takes place 20 years after Emperor Constantine came to power. It covers him moving the seat of power from Rome to New Rome (what was to become show more Constantinople) the early years of Christianity and some interesting and challenging times within his own family.

I have to say that despite it being the third book in the series it is written very well and stands up well as a standalone. I quickly got to grips with the characters, and what a great and interesting group of characters they are. It is particularly good to see some strong female characters. The book is very character driven and moves along at pace taking in the many challenges in Constantine’s life at this point.

I have to say the book hooked me and I read the book in a day! The events in the book are very believable and there are one or two shocks along the way. Great rivalries come to life in the book and there are certainly some characters you would not want to turn your back on. I loved the events at the end of the book.

I really enjoyed the book and am now eager to pick up the first two books in the series to find out what lead up to these events. Emperor Constantine is not someone I know much about and this book did what any historical fiction book should do, it make me want to go out and find about more about the Emperor and the events in the story. As soon as I finished the book I was straight onto Google.

I gave this book 4 1/2 stars overall, and would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book to me for an open and honest review. I would recommend this book to you but if you are after a deep and meaningful review of Constantine’s life this may not be the book for you. I, however, loved reading this. show less

I am a fan of conspiracies! I love them. This book doesn't disappoint. In a way it's quite frightening to think of the possibilities O'Bryan introduces!

There is something for everyone in this book - murder, mystery, thriller, love, prejudice, shady dealings and politics. You'll come away wondering if this is fiction or could there actually be another wave of Nazi genocide.

Because of the subject matter some readers may take issue with topics dealt with in this book. The story as fiction is show more interesting and compelling whether you agree with it or not and, in my opinion, worthy of five stars. show less

This is an interesting book! While I didn’t feel the need to abandon it, I did find the plots disjointed. Three stories were going on, the announcement of an architectural discovery in Egypt, an architectural dig searching for the Ark of the Covenant in Ireland, and a military accident in America causing a world apocalyptic event. Neither story was adequately developed. Two of the three stories had a common character and another two had a different common character. The only commonality to show more the three stories is that they were all subject to the global environmental hazards caused by a US Military experiment gone wrong.

I see this book as the start of a series. But, while it kept me interested enough to keep reading, I don’t see myself picking up a sequel in the future. show less

Storytelling—where the past comes alive.

O’Bryan paints memorable scenes, with authentic characters, historical relevance, and thrilling plots. A must read for those who enjoy historical fiction, but truly it is a thrilling book for all. As a reader I became involved with the people, cultures, and of course the mystery of the adventure. Great novel— looking forward to reading books 2&3.