Scan barcode
tansy's review
Too long and too dense with world-building. I just wasn't feeling it from the opening pages.
nick_harwitt's review
4.0
This is the first fiction I have read in aaaaages. I liked it because there was much chasing around and adventures, and no hard-to-follow political intrigue as I had thought at first.
The Roman feel was subtle enough, as the world mostly looks like the one we have today: for example, most real world inventions seem to exist in the fictive world as well, sometimes with latinised names (such as telephone becoming longdictor). While I felt at first that the effect was too subtle, I ended up really appreciating the fact that it didn't feel like reading a story set around 50BC (or 703 AUC) but with people having guns and telephones. The part of the Roman feel that wasn't subtle, being the point of the plot I suppose, was that slavery is still a banal and common thing in the novel.
Finally I liked that the text wasn't structured as "odd chapters for character X, even chapters for character Y" (I'm not sure how to describe it), a format tends to tire me a bit. And I liked that, despite being Part 1 in a trilogy, the novel didn't end up in a bunch of gripping cliffhangers, as most of everything was solved.
The Roman feel was subtle enough, as the world mostly looks like the one we have today: for example, most real world inventions seem to exist in the fictive world as well, sometimes with latinised names (such as telephone becoming longdictor). While I felt at first that the effect was too subtle, I ended up really appreciating the fact that it didn't feel like reading a story set around 50BC (or 703 AUC) but with people having guns and telephones. The part of the Roman feel that wasn't subtle, being the point of the plot I suppose, was that slavery is still a banal and common thing in the novel.
Finally I liked that the text wasn't structured as "odd chapters for character X, even chapters for character Y" (I'm not sure how to describe it), a format tends to tire me a bit. And I liked that, despite being Part 1 in a trilogy, the novel didn't end up in a bunch of gripping cliffhangers, as most of everything was solved.
thesofa's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mw2k's review
2.0
"Missed opportunity" are the two words that come to mind with this book. The novel's central idea is inherently intriguing - the Roman Empire never ended - but alas, the author does little with it. And it lacks plausibility. The Rome of this book has never evolved socially, even if it has taken a few extra steps technologically. It's still the same SPQR, warts and slaves and all. The other negative with this story is the low-key characters. They're a gaggle of quietly-spoken mumblers in a tale that cries out for decisiveness and cogent action. They're interesting, make no mistake, but there needed to be a lot more beefiness here.
A chance to do something amazing with this captivating setting has fled the coop. It went astray.
A chance to do something amazing with this captivating setting has fled the coop. It went astray.
venaticflipper's review
Unbelievably slow and dull. I found it a chore to pick up every time. Eventually I gave up and read the plot summary, which just seemed to make the first 200 pages completely pointless. I had really high hopes for this book, and the blurb ticked all the boxes for the kind of stuff I like, but it wasn't to be sadly.
justabean_reads's review
3.0
I liked a lot of things about this book. The descriptions and characterisation were clear and sharp, and the general tone, the feeling of anxiety and desperation, a sort of looming hopelessness came through very clearly. The characters were intensely drawn and compelling. I've never run into a better writer for showing people uncomfortable in their own skin.
The world building felt a little underplayed though. The author seemed to have done the work to make this massive alternate history, but then we spend the whole book so focused on small parts of people's lives that we don't see the scope of it. It seems like a pity not to show off such a grand creation.
It took me forever to finish because it felt like the plot wasn't moving at all for the middle two thirds or so of the book. I know it was, but the book could have easily been much shorter. I hope the next book will be more politics and less French countryside.
The world building felt a little underplayed though. The author seemed to have done the work to make this massive alternate history, but then we spend the whole book so focused on small parts of people's lives that we don't see the scope of it. It seems like a pity not to show off such a grand creation.
It took me forever to finish because it felt like the plot wasn't moving at all for the middle two thirds or so of the book. I know it was, but the book could have easily been much shorter. I hope the next book will be more politics and less French countryside.
joesilverfox's review
3.0
not really sure about this, very slow to get going. At about page 150 I was ready to bail, but I hung in there and was rewarded. Even so I have the second book in the series so will eventually give it a go. But for now I need a rest from her writing
nigellicus's review
5.0
Set in a world where the Roman Empire persevered through to the modern day and now owns most of the world, built through military conquest and an (increasingly unsustainable) slave economy. Marcus, the nominated heir to the Empire goes on the run after the deaths of his parents, his only hope of safety a hidden refuge for runaway slaves. Two unusually gifted slaves, brother and sister, escape from London and flee to the European mainland. Thrown together with the fugitive heir, they flee to the refuge, but the Empire is close behind.
So what should be an adventurous tale of danger and intrigue and struggling on in the face of impossible odds in a distorted reality turns out to be something meatier and more substantial due to the author's total commitment to her characters. Everyone in Romanitas is damaged, whether it's Marcus by loss and betrayal, or Una by her enslavement, Sulien by injustice or any of the other characters wrestling with their hurts and their angers and their insecurities. They represent an emotional and psychological palimpsest of the Empire itself, a repressive, highly controlled military oligarchy full of splendours built on human suffering. More demanding than you might expect from a slipstream political thriller, but well worth it.
So what should be an adventurous tale of danger and intrigue and struggling on in the face of impossible odds in a distorted reality turns out to be something meatier and more substantial due to the author's total commitment to her characters. Everyone in Romanitas is damaged, whether it's Marcus by loss and betrayal, or Una by her enslavement, Sulien by injustice or any of the other characters wrestling with their hurts and their angers and their insecurities. They represent an emotional and psychological palimpsest of the Empire itself, a repressive, highly controlled military oligarchy full of splendours built on human suffering. More demanding than you might expect from a slipstream political thriller, but well worth it.
More...