Vindolanda

By: Adrian Goldsworthy

Narrated by: Peter Noble

Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

AD 98. The bustling army base at Vindolanda lies on the northern frontier of Britannia and the entire Roman world. In just over 20 years' time, the Emperor Hadrian will build his famous wall. But for now, defences are weak as tribes rebel against Rome.

It falls to Flavius Ferox, Briton and Roman centurion, to keep the peace. But it will take more than just a soldier's courage to survive life in Roman Britain.

©2017 Adrian Goldsworthy (P)2017 W.F. Howes Ltd

Great!

An intriguing historical novel that takes you on a journey into northern where rebellion is brewing against the Roman Empire.

Action, Adventure, Mystery

Enjoyed the story, which is complete with action, adventure, and mystery. Very compelling plot and I did not want to stop listening. The historical context was vivid and I felt like I was there. Recommended!

If only all historical novels were this accurate!

An impeccable historical novel by someone who coincidentally happens to be an authority in the field. Not academic at all though, quite dramatic and enjoyable.

Much like Bernard Cornwell in style

I really enjoyed this and already bought the 2nd in the series (only two so far) on kindle -- 2nd not out in audio at the time of this writing. It's very much like Cornwell's books (The Last Kingdom series, Sharpe's Rifles, etc). The author has written many histories of the Roman era and so his fiction is very authentic. Five stars for those who like rugged historical fiction.
Note I gave only 3 stars for performance. The narrator would not maintain volume when he was in the various characters, and sometimes basically whispered when a character whispered. Sometimes he would trail off the end of sentences, for effect. The problem is that I had to turn up the volume, then BAM he's at full volume again, I turn down, he goes soft, I turn up, then BAM. I am not sure if this is narrator or the sound engineer not compensating but I don't normally have to do continually adjust my volume like this.

Very, very good

Mr Goldsworthy is a historian and I have several of those histories, so I knew he could write, but I was not sure he could also write gripping and interesting novels and purchasing this book was an act of faith on my part. What I found is that he not only can write novels, he can write very, very good novels.

Vindolana is the first book in a series about the Roman army in Britain at the end of the first century AD. The legions are mostly made up of auxiliary units from Britain and the Germanic areas of what is now Europe and the way the officers and soldiers dealt with uprisings by the native British people. The story itself involves both a mystery and the beginnings of what appears to be a love story and Mr Goldsworthy creates a world that was probably very much like the existing British world at the time. The characters are interesting and feel real, the problems very much like those I would think would exist with a foreign army occupying a land where they were not wanted.

The narration is very good, but some of the terms and quotes are in Latin and thus were hard for me to understand and translate. Fortunately the book is also available in eBook form on the Kindle and I had both versions so I was able to read those sections I could not understand and do the proper translation. Both versions have an "Historical Note" at the end, and this is very interesting and worth listening to, but only the eBook version seems to have the glossary. It is unfortunate that the glossary only exists in the Kindle version but also unfortunate that it is at the end and not even listed as part of the book so readers are not even likely to know that it exists and can be referenced until they reach the end of the book when it is no longer necessary. I thought about reducing the rating by a star due to the missing glossary but decided that it would be petty to do so, given how well written and gripping the book itself is.

Great Story that Builds Well on Itself

I found this novel when searching for books on Celtic gods. Not exactly related, but what I found was a compelling fictional story that had the detailed approach of a history. Goldsworthy has academic research on the Roman military to his name, and this expertise is clear from the outset. The world of Vindolanda is rich with both historical context and narrative flare.

The plot started at a snail's pace, but I was too interested in the subject matter to stop listening. Ferox becomes quite a fascinating character, and I loved learning about this world through his eyes. Other characters like Vindex and Crispinus (not sure on the spellings) became familiar companions with distinct voices.

Some of the Latin phrases were lost on me, but these weren't prevalent or out of place. Great story overall. I will definitely be following this series.

Goldsworthy wrote a great first novel

my favorite historian of Rome penned a great novel centering on a brewing war with religious extremists opposing the Roman occupation of Britain. Great characters, economically sharp prose and a terrific plot.

Who to those who know nothing of Ancient Rome

The book is great, but the character names get confusing to keep straight through the first half of the book. Also, unless you are familiar with the ancient Roman army, its weapons, and its tactics, you might be a bit lost.

Easier To Follow on Kindle Than Audible

My first historical fiction on audible & my first Roman HF on kindle. I found the book on audible hard to follow at first, it required my sole concentration. Not the book to listen to whilst doing any task. I would have done better to read the glossary in the kindle book first to understand many unfamiliar Roman terms. I went back & reread some chapters on kindle & then I understood where the protagonist had reached his current point in the story. I found the Roman names easier to follow along to & figure out who was who in the kindle book. The story really hots up about half way or so in when the mystery of the traitor plot thickens. Then I found the book increasingly exciting & by the end I was really hooked but it took a while for me.
I have to say on a personal note I didn't care the strong military battle gruesome descriptions, easier to skip forward in a kindle book than on audible. But the story does really put up back in time to AD 98 on the edge of the Roman Empire in Britannia. I learned quite a lot about the state of Northern Roman Britannia at this time.

Historical Fiction written by an Historian!

What a concept. Fiction written by an actual scholar of the times. Probably as plausible a narrative of the times as any. It's worth a second read.