While Rome Burned

A Novel of the Roman Republic (The Sertorius Scrolls, Book 6)

De: Vincent B. Davis II

Narrado por: Joshua Saxon

Rome is burning.
88 B.C. After years of service to Rome, Quintus Sertorius has exchanged the bloodshed of the battlefield for the tranquility of his farm. He dedicates himself to his pregnant wife with the same vigor he displayed in the legion. But soon the bells of war toll again, and there is nowhere in Italy safe from its destruction. As rebel armies close in, Sertorius realizes his wife and child are in danger. The fate of his homeland is at stake, and he cannot ignore the call to arms.

But while the Republic unravels, politicians exploit the chaos to bolster their power. As tensions spiral toward collision, the enigmatic general Lucius Cornelius Sulla orchestrates his rise to ultimate power. Men like Gaius Marius are determined to take supremacy for themselves.

The horizon darkens with the threat of Rome’s first civil war.

Sertorius finds himself torn between the need to protect his wife and child and his duty to save Rome from consuming itself. Is it too late?

For fans of Colleen McCullough, Conn Iggulden, and Ben Kane, While Rome Burned is the sixth book in the riveting Sertorius Scrolls historical fiction series. Whether listened to as a standalone or with the rest of the series, While Rome Burned will remain in listeners’ hearts and minds long after they finish listening.

Grab your gladius and join Sertorius on his quest to save Rome!

©2024 Vincent B. Davis II (P)2024 Vincent B. Davis II

This was maybe the best one so far!

Cannot wait for book vii. Have read the accounts of Sulla but Sertorious was unknown to me until this series. Understandably historical fiction, but still I have loved this series‘ take on a real roman figure.

Not bad. A good series overall but some missed opportunities in this one.

Not bad but I liked the earlier books in the series more. The last three books feel a bit dragged-out and more formulaic. Still, this is one of the best historical fiction series I’ve found so far about the Roman Republic.

The first two books were very captivating, as they described Sertorius’ early political career in Rome and early military career under Gaius Marius. The storyline about avenging his brother Titus was particularly compelling. The third book took a strange detour to fighting an international secret society bent on destroying Rome. I noticed in that book that a formula began to emerge: Sertorius goes to war, the commander is either incompetent or malicious, Sertorius saves the day in the battle, the commander appreciates this but shows a villainous streak, Sertorius is disgusted and disassociates from them, and so on… The historical Sertorius was probably a very political person who understood how to make political and personal alliances. It’s very unlikely that he would have burnt bridges with everyone - even his old comrade Gaius Marius. The tension between a highly-principled Sertorius and the more ambitious Marius could have been more nuanced than simply Marian populares thugs chasing Sertorius around Rome with murderous intentions. That part seemed particularly unbelievable. We know that Sertorius in Spain led the supporters of Marius for many years after these events - outliving even Sulla - but we are meant to believe that Marius wanted Sertorius dead? Can we really believe that they were such enemies?

Sulla’s first march on Rome comes at the very end of the book and we are left with a cliffhanger that irritated me. So much of the book was spent on Italic rebels which seemed to not matter. Most of the book emphasizes that these rebels are already fighting a losing battle (defeated in the last book), but the war with these poor rebels is drawn out continually. The author has a great style in writing battles, but weak, sympathetic enemies do not make for the most exciting fiction. If I were the author writing this book, I would have put Sulla’s first march on Rome earlier, given it more weight, and included something of the war with Mithridates while following buildup to civil war in Rome. That would have been a much more acceptable ending and cliffhanger for the next novel. This first march and mini-battle at Rome in the last hour of the book seemed to come out of the blue despite the fact that Sulla’s historical first march on Rome started in Brundisium (which is quite a way from Rome, it’s all the way down south in the heel of Italy in the Roman province of Magna Graecia).

Despite the teleportation fantasy that fantasy TV shows propose, medieval and ancient armies took weeks if not months to march across countries even on good roads. Neither Sulla nor Caesar had motorized vehicles or tanks to blitzkrieg into Rome. There would have been ample time for Sulla’s enemies and the whole city of Rome alike to find out roughly what was happening. Many people today are aware of the historical episode of Caesar crossing the Rubicon river in northern Italy. Many people are aware vaguely of the tremendous significance this act held in shaking the established order of the Roman Republic. It is seen as an unprecedented act that there was no coming back from, and in many ways it was. However, Caesar’s march was not unprecedented because of Sulla. The Republic would have been just as alarmed and shaken in Sulla’s day by an army crossing out of provincial southern Italy into the lands of central Italy which were supposed to be sacrosanct as core territory of Rome. Sulla was not given a triumph or any authorization to march on Rome. Even Consuls were not allowed to march armies into Rome at will. Anyways enough with my history lesson. The author probably knows all this but for some reason he wanted to squeeze in Sulla’s first march at the very end, where its potential was squandered. I might add more to this review to make it more comprehensive, but those are the issues that stuck out the most.

Explosions???

The author needs to read about Rome.
This episode had explosives used in a siege and a patrician running as tribune of the plebs.
Never mind the fact that gladiator deaths were rare.