Fire in the East

Warrior of Rome, Book 1

A.D. 255. The Roman imperium is stretched to the breaking point, its authority and might challenged throughout the territories and along every border. One man is sent to marshal the defenses of a lonely city and to shore up the crumbling walls of a once indomitable symbol of Roman power, a man whose very name means war: a man called Ballista.

So unfolds an epic drama - a story of empire, heroes, treachery, courage, and most of all, of brutal, bloody warfare.

The spectacular flair for explosive action and depth of literary and geographic knowledge, as well as the psychological complexity of the characters, makes Fire in the East the most authoritative historical adventure novel this year.

©2008 Harry Sidebottom (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Sidebottom's prose blazes with searing scholarship." ( The Times, London)

Was going to give 3 stars and yet....

I am reconnecting after a few decades long hiatus from Roman historical fiction. Initial disappointments in this book are a lack of detailed descriptions the what and why, so important ( I think) in this genre. Sudden changes in narrative with no transitions made me wonder if I missed a paragraph or so. BUT.. the story line is good, riveting at times. Extra star! Don’t get me wrong, even at a 3 star rating this would be a fun read. My own expectations were different, that’s all.

I'll Admit That I Wasn't Sure At First...But

I ended up absolutely loving this. So much so that I moved right on to the second one in the series. This was one where I listened to the first chapter and thought sort of 'meh'. Then, about a week later, I was between books and driving somewhere, so started it again from the beginning - and was really glad I did. I've been listening to a lot of Ancient Rome recently - not really sure Why - and this holds up really well. It's well written, well developed, and engaging. There's quite a lot of battling, but Ballista is a soldier. I ended up loving it. And I also really liked the setting, and even learned a thing or two in the bargain. Give it a try. You won't be sorry.

Good story read brilliantly

Good story, but it takes some effort to listen to because of all the unusual names and titles. If I listen to Book 2, I’ll start by writing down the names of apparently key characters and the role they have. The reading is brilliant…and that from a guy who spent 50-years in broadcast news.

Tough Listen

The author of this book used a lot of language that was tough to follow and understand. Once I got passed the jargon of Roman soliders, the story was intriguing.

Excellent

Really good book. Excellent narrator. On to the next in the series, more to come.