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    No Roads Lead to Rome
    No Roads Lead to Rome
    No Roads Lead to Rome
    Ebook332 pages7 hours

    No Roads Lead to Rome

    By R.S. Gompertz

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    From Publishers Weekly:

    The Roman Empire is at a crossroads, and Emperor Hadrian, realizing that continued expansion will make the empire's borders indefensible, decrees consolidation to a size the legions can better guard. That story is told here in a confusion of the historical, the comical, the metaphorical, and the adventurous that mostly (and surprisingly) holds together fairly well. In the province of Hispania, the governor, Festus Rufius, has just taken over for his murdered predecessor, veteran Centurion Marcus Valerius. Surviving on graft, plots, kickbacks and bribery, the Empire lurches on while Hispania is beset by slave revolts, food riots, uncollected taxes, and bad wine. And so the province's leadership must resort to a series of desperate illusions to disguise its failings. All this is recounted swiftly, with verve, panache, and a light tread that makes for a delightful, well told tale.

    Publisher's Description:

    Semi-Finalist in Amazon's 2011 Breakthrough Novel Competition!

    It's 123 A.D. On the edge of the Roman Empire, a murdered governor leaves behind the opportunity of a lifetime for his successor to overthrow the emperor.

    Mysteriously promoted, a senator's son finds himself in an ancient world of trouble. Within days of taking office, Hispania's taxpayers are in open revolt, the legionaries head north to build Hadrian's Wall, and the once-sleepy province is rocked by slave revolts, bread riots, and fad religions.

    A quixotic saga steeped in humor and history, "No Roads Lead to Rome" chronicles the clumsy schemes of the inept new governor and the machinations of his shadowy adviser. Discovering that no empire ever went broke paying pensions to old soldiers, a superstitious centurion struggles to save his faith in the faded ideals of the Republic while accidentally helping a young rebel attempt to change history.

    All are pitted against the gods, the emperor, and the decline and fall of damn near everything.

    It's 123 A.D.--a time not unlike the present--and No Roads Lead to Rome.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherR.S. Gompertz
    Release dateNov 26, 2009
    ISBN9781452437996
    No Roads Lead to Rome
    Author

    R.S. Gompertz

    It's 123 A.D. On the edge of the Roman Empire, a dead governor leaves behind the opportunity of a lifetime. Mysteriously promoted, a senator’s son finds himself in an ancient world of trouble. Within days of taking office, Hispania’s taxpayers are in open revolt, the legionaries depart to build Hadrian's Wall, and the once-sleepy province is rocked by slave revolts, bread riots, and fad religions. A quixotic saga steeped in humor and history, "No Roads Lead to Rome" chronicles the clumsy schemes of the new governor and his shadowy advisor, a superstitious centurion's struggle to save his faith in the faded ideals of the Republic, and a Jewish rebel's reluctant vow to change the course of history. All are pitted against the Gods, the Emperor, and the decline and fall of damn near everything. It's 123 A.D.-a time not unlike the present-and No Roads Lead to Rome.

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    3/5

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    • 2/5
      I really wanted to like this book. The premise is strong: In the reign of Hadrian, an aging Roman warrior seeks an end to his army career; an uncaring and cantankerous governor of a Roman outpost takes control of his new post; a mysterious box contains a secret and politically explosive document. This self-published book was also attempting to take a novel approach to the sand-and-sandal epic by introducing a light and more humorous voice and approach.Author R.S. Gompertz writing is, at times, very strong. He does a wonderful job with exposition, and his powers of description bely the fact that this is his first novel. An example as Centurion Valerius walks through the Roman province of Hispania: "The misty silhouettes of trees reached over the path like bony arms of death...The gray gloom infiltrated every wet breath that Valerius suck through his teeth." I truly enjoyed Gompertz' mood and scenery setting.Where Gompertz fails is in the cohesiveness of the story, the dialogue and an ability to draw the reader into his characters. The story doesn't have the strong connective component from chapter to chapter, or as one transitions between scenes, that one finds in more polished work. The dialogue is stilted and I found myself re-reading conversations to try and get a comprehensive grasp of motivation and understand the base meaning of an exchange between characters (let alone trying to identify what deeper meaning there may have been).In the end, I suspect the novel would move from a 2-star rating to a high 3 or 4 with some professional editing. Gompertz is a genuinely good writer and has a fine sense of humor. Those components alone aren't able to make up for a fractured and disconnected story.I look forward to Gompertz securing a publishing contract and the services of a strong editor.

    Book preview

    No Roads Lead to Rome - R.S. Gompertz

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