Author picture
6 Works 11 Members 4 Reviews

Series

Works by Preston Holtry

Tagged

Common Knowledge

There is no Common Knowledge data for this author yet. You can help.

Members

Reviews

This first volume of Mr. Holtry's new Roman series set in the days of Caesar in Gaul promises to be a worthy successor to his Arrius trilogy. Marcellus Strabo, the son of a Roman genral and a Gaulish noblewoman is a wastrel and womanizer. His father has him "conscripted" [I'd rather prefer the terms pressed or shanghaied if he were a sailor, because of the violence involved] into the Roman Army as a legionary. Marcellus proves his worth, rising to command a group of cavalrymen and to be Caesar's translator and that of Caesar's right-hand man, Tribune Sertarius. He plays a large part in both Caesar's Helvetian and Suebian campaigns. Let's not forget a romance with a young Gaulish woman he has known from childhood when he had visited his mother's village. Although finally reconciled with his father, Marcellus still feels suspended between two worlds, Roman and Gaulish, because of his mixed heritages and really neither wholly either. I noticed first off, on the cover, the author used the term legionnaire instead of legionary, which I thought was the preferred term for a Roman infantryman. He did use the word legionary in his Arrius trilogy from early on.… (more)
 
Flagged
janerawoof | Jun 25, 2022 |
Quite an impressive finish to the author's Arrius trilogy! I consider the three novels all together a probable genre classic. In the conclusion, the Roman officer Arrius is disgusted with war. What finally decides him to leave the Roman army and to live among the people of his wife, Ilya, is the decision of Rome to move from the Wall and build one further north, the so-called Antonine Wall [after Antoninus Pius, the emperor] and in so doing "pacify" the natives, kill them, or force them North. He also wants to reconcile with Ilya and his baby son. Arrius is mistrusted at first but proves himself and helps the tribesmen fight a defensive war. His knowledge of Roman tactics is invaluable. He knows Roman weaknesses. He aids in securing an uneasy alliance among several tribes. With a price on his head, he is betrayed into Roman hands and faces death. In an escape attempt, he faces down his nemesis, the cowardly, evil, and self-serving Tribune Querinius, for a final reckoning. The tribe finally takes the third option rather than submit or die.

We got a taste of native life. The fighting was exciting. I liked the two duels to the death. Many characters were sympathetic and I rooted for them. The ending was fitting and very satisfactory. Once a man caught between two worlds, Arrius finally finds his home.

Most highly recommended.
… (more)
 
Flagged
janerawoof | Mar 2, 2019 |
For a second book in a trilogy, this novel was as strong as the first. Further gripping adventures of Marcus Junius Arrius. Now the praefectus of two auxiliary forts, one south of and one north of the Wall, Arrius sets about successfully to raise morale in the two forts, and to undo the damage to mens' spirits by his predecessor, the draconian Matias Betto. Arrius is still plagued by his old nemesis, who had been with him at the same battle in Judaea, the cowardly Tribune Querinius. Querinius had also been reassigned to Britannia. More and more Arrius comes to the realization the indiscriminate slaughter of innocent civilians is wrong; his conscience had first begun to bother him at the wholesale brutality of the Roman Army towards all indigenous people in Judaea. He feels the same during a battle with one of the Britannian tribes, not wanting to kill a woman and her simple son; he lets them go. Ilya, a Selgovan woman, and he develop deep feelings for each other. After an assassination attempt on his life in which he is forced on horseback over a steep cliff, a Selgovan rescues him for his own purposes and then in their settlement he is restored to health. High Chief Beldorach wants him to arrange a treaty between Rome and the Selgovans--[so the opportunistic Beldorach can unite the tribes to fight the Romans.] After Arrius returns he has to undo the evil Betto, temporarily in charge during his absence, has done. From the indiscreet words of Arrius' second-in-command and from Ilya herself, Betto learns of her background and that Beldorach is Ilya's cousin. Arrius is subjected to a treason inquiry as to if he's a spy using Ilya as a conduit to get information to her cousin. The situation certainly looks suspicious. Acquitted, he finds out another wall is to be built north of the one already there and that the tribes living between them will be forced to flee north or be wiped out completely; he then has to decide something that will affect the rest of his life.

I considered this book, beside the adventurous side, very thoughtful in exploring Arrius' feelings as to the way Rome waged war and its attitude towards "collateral damage". He can no longer accept this thinking. I liked the author's giving us a taste of how one of the native tribes might have lived. On the back outside cover, the name of Tribune Querinius was misspelt.

Highly recommended.
… (more)
 
Flagged
janerawoof | Jun 30, 2018 |
Most promising trilogy, although all volumes have not yet been written. This is the story of Marcus Junius Arrius, who rises from aquilifer to praefectus [i.e., commander] of two auxiliary units on Hadrians's Wall. He fights in the Bar Kokhba Rebellion in Judaea against Roman rule, and comes away with a hatred of warfare. He has seen too much blood, killing, and destruction in his 20+ years in the Roman Army. Also, with the suicide of a Jewish prisoner, he sees where the enemy are willing to fight for an ideology, not for personal glory. This is a most unusual and sympathetic main character and I am eager to see where the story leads. Each character is given a human face. I liked the fact the hero was not a dashing, handsome young man, but middle aged and scarred. I learned a lot about this Rebellion. I feel the author did impeccable research.

Highly recommended.
… (more)
 
Flagged
janerawoof | Feb 9, 2018 |

Lists

Statistics

Works
6
Members
11
Popularity
#857,862
Rating
4.8
Reviews
4
ISBNs
6