Fire & Sword
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
Blending heart-pounding action and historical accuracy, Harry Sidebottom’s bestselling Warrior of Rome series took readers from the shouts of the battlefield to the whisperings of the emperor’s inner circle. In this second book of his new Throne of the Caesars series, Sidebottom continues his retelling of one of the bloodiest periods of Roman history—the Year of the Six Emperors.
In Rome in the year 238 AD, Emperor Maximinus’s reign hangs in the balance. The empire is bleeding manpower and money in order to sustain its wars in the north, and rebellions flare in the far reaches of its territories. Meanwhile in Africa, Gordian the Elder and Younger are proclaimed as the new Augusti. A family descending from the Imperial bloodline, they represent a chance for the establishment to take back the empire. The first blood of the revolt is shed in Rome when an assassin murders the emperor’s prefect, announcing to Rome that the Gordians have taken the throne; still bitter at Maximinus’s rise from the barracks to power, the Senate endorses the rebellion, and chaos descends on the capitol. But in his heart, Maximinus is a man of war: when he hears of the betrayal, he acts with decisive brutality and violence. On the dusty plains outside Carthage, blood and steel will determine the fate of the Roman Empire . . .
Praise for Blood & Steel
“Swashbuckling as well as bloody, yet curiously plausible . . . Best of all [Sidebottom] has a real gift for summoning up a sense of place, and conveying the sheer vastness of the Roman empire and its implications.” —Times Literary Supplement
“Sidebottom continues his “Throne of the Caesars” series . . . with his new novel, Blood & Steel, and reading the intense drama he crafts out of the tumultuous events of the Roman Empire in AD 238 is a reminder that we’re lucky to have these books. . . . This is an era of Roman history for which we have less reliable primary source histories than we’d like; it’s the perfect playground for a novelist, and it’s found a superb dramatist.” —Open Letters Monthly
Harry Sidebottom
Dr Harry Sidebottom teaches classical history at the University of Oxford, where he is a lecturer at Lincoln College. He has an international reputation as a scholar, having published widely on the cultural history of the Roman Empire. Fire and Sword is the third book in the acclaimed series, Throne of the Caesars, and follows his bestselling series, Warrior of Rome. He divides his time between Oxford and Newmarket in Suffolk, where he lives which his wife and two sons.
Read more from Harry Sidebottom
King of Kings: Warrior of Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire in the East Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlood & Steel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mad Emperor: Heliogabalus and the Decadence of Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIron & Rust Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLion of the Sun: Warrior of Rome Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Amber Road: Warrior of Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Caspian Gates: Warrior of Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWolves of the North: Warrior of Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Fire & Sword
Related ebooks
The Dust of Cannae Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSwords Around the Throne Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wolves of the North: Warrior of Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Amber Road: Warrior of Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnder the Knout Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Edge of the Blade Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Leader of Men Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Caspian Gates: Warrior of Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlood and Sand Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Modern & Medieval Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe City of Refuge: The Memphis Cycle, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Gods Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUrbain Grandier Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMagnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Greville Memoirs A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV, Vol. II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLion of the Sun: Warrior of Rome Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Triple-headed Serpent: A Story of Theodora, Empress of Byzantium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tale Of The Indian Mutiny [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Splintered Kingdom: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Battle For Rome: Twilight of Empire III Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crown of a King, Book Three of The Carolingian Chronicles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarbarians Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lost Children: A gripping crime thriller that will have you hooked! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Senator's Assignment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReckoning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen of Swords Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wobbly Kings of England Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeart Of The World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edward I and Wales, 1254–1307 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Ancient Fiction For You
Stone Blind: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When the World was Black Part One: Prehistoric Cultures Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Poems of Sappho Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Viking: The Viking Series, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aztec Mythology: The Gods and Myths of Ancient Mexico Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5African Mythology: Gods and Mythical Legends of Ancient Africa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Blood Throne of Caria Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Harrowing of Hell Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHekate's Return: A Deep History of Witchcraft Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Quest for Eternal Life: The Last Librarian, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMother of the Believers: A Novel of the Birth of Islam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excavation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Thousand Ships: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dog Who Was There: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amazonia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of Sparta: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Murder in the Place of Anubis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Animal Wife: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ides of March: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Nephilim: The Testament of Cush Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sword of Attila: A Novel of the Last Years of Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anticipation: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLavinia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Boat of a Million Years Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Protector: A Novel of Ancient Greece Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Horse Goddess Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ilium Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Fire & Sword
8 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From a speech in the Senate to rouse its members in April 238: "Make no mistake. Open your eyes. Maximinus is on his way. In battle-order, with camps pitched everywhere, he is coming with fire and sword. He is at Aquileia already. His hired killers are already in this very chamber. They are intent on massacre."This is an enthralling sweep of the tumultuous events from March-June 238 AD and the third exciting installment of Sidebottoms's tetralogy: Throne of the Caesars. It begins with the deaths of the Gordians [both father and son], election of the senators Pupienus and Balbinus as co-Emperors; their spurious reasoning: one can take care of military matters and the other control the city. The centerpiece and most of the book is taken up with the Siege of Aquileia, from each antagonist's standpoint--both defenders and attackers. Riots ensue in Rome from the start; the sybaritic Balbinus is unable to put them down. There are more minor subplots involving battles against the Persians and encroaching Goths and one involving an abused wife fleeing from her cruel husband, the son of Maximinus. After murders of Maximinus and the two rebels, the youngster Gordian III is proclaimed emperor.All through I was confused, not by the names per se, but by who identified with each faction. The List of Characters in the back was a big help! This was perhaps our first introduction to Ballista, the young barbarian about whom the author has written a whole different series. There was not much to admire in any of these venal and ghastly characters. The wily and ambitious Greek Timesithius and his even more ambitious wife were especially repulsive. She pushes him to become the power behind the throne. The only ones I had any sympathy for were the prostitute Caenis [no, the name does not mean "bitch" but is that of a mythological figure] and the die-cutter--both denizens of the Subura. Style was often dry but I could easily picture the scenes and the violence. I liked that sometimes the same scene was told from different viewpoints. Highly recommended.