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Warrior of Rome: Fire in the East Pt. 1 (Warrior of Rome 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Harry Sidebottom
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Category: Book
List Price: £12.99
Buy New: £7.52
You Save: £5.47 (42%)
New (12) Used (5) Collectible (2) from £7.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 18682
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6 x 1.7
ISBN: 0718153294
EAN: 9780718153298
ASIN: 0718153294
Publication Date: July 3, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW - ***Delivery usually * 2 - 3 * working days - From Aphrohead of SOUTHPORT, Lancs, UK *** . Priority Airmail used Worldwide on International orders. Thanks from all at Aphrohead.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 A Fiery If Not Ballistic First Book! January 4, 2009
A real page-turner, based on the best scholarship imagineable as the author is also a lecturer on the Classics at Oxford. Therefore, the book is both entertaining and informative. The glossary on classical terms is very useful but I did find it ironic that the author also uses the most complicated of English nautical terms but refuses any explanation to us landlubbers, which, presumably, for a member of the British Establishment, would be an unthinkable admission that the British are not all a sea-faring nation!
The Historical Afterword is also a very good idea. However, I do not like the fact that the author has tinkered slightly with history, Hollywood-style but unlike Hollywood, at least, he admits it and points out where he has digressed. One also feels that the book has been written with film-rights in mind with several cliffhangers and love-interest, a sprinkling of sex, etc. but this is inevitable with a novel of this nature, I suppose.
Ther are few mistakes in the novel but the author does seem to have a poor sense of direction, confusing east and west on several occasions but the inclusion of two maps more than made up for this.
I found the anachronistic Anglo-centrism of the author quite unintentionally funny in that three of the main characters were an Englishman (Angle), a Scotsman (Pict) and an Irishman (Hibernian) despite the novel being set on the extreme Eastern Frontier of the Roman Empire. It sounds like the start of an old musical hall joke. As a Welshman, I feel particularly aggrieved that there is no Romano-British character in the novel - the Romano-Britons were the ancestors of the Welsh, who occupied most of Britain during the Roman Empire. However, we Welsh are used to being ignored by the English by now! In addition, the portrayal of the Hibernian as a drunken, pugnacious womanizer is particularly stereotypical.
Having said this, I most certainly will read the remaining two novels in the trilogy, 'King of Kings' and 'Lion in the Sun' when they appear.
 Great- although quite technical December 11, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I loved this book; i thought that the plot was gripping and encaptivating and the charectors believable. I would recomend this book if you've read books like the Emprour series or Simon Scarrow's Roman Legoin (all of which i've read).
Another thing that i love about this book it is that Harry Sidebottom uses a few Latin words instead of long discriptions in English, he says what they are in the text when he first uses them but then in the back of the book there is a glossary of the words that he uses and their descriptions- although i could see that this may ruin the book for some readers and break the flow of the story.
Detailled December 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book is written with a more `in-depth' educated way than other popular books in this genre. I loved the fact that this book had a glossary of Latin, Greek and Persian words that were used in the text at the back of the book. However, I can see that for some people this will be annoying as you have to flick to the back of the book quite regularly - perhaps breaking the flow of the story.
This book was very well researched and felt more authentic than some of the others in this Genre. By this I mean the author does not use many modern expressions or slang terminology for his characters.
I wouldn't recommend this book for those wanting a faster paced lighter read. However, for those interested in siege warfare, or for those wanting a more in-depth read its ideal.
I am certainly looking forward to Part Two!
An Education November 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book, which for a first novel was well executed and lively. I acknowledge that it is over learned for some, but I personally like to read about history that has its basis in fact rather than a sumptuous piece that leads you into falsities that can be embarrassing.
The prose and plot are unceromoniously 'blokish', a nice counterbalance to some over romanticised fiction, and the characters are created from scratch or on a vague mention in history, rather than well-known historical figures. This makes their creation and believability somehow more commendable.
I will certainly be reading the next installment because this book, together with a trip to Southern France, has increased my understanding of Roman history enormously.
 Everything you ever wanted to know about sieges October 11, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Ballista is a British barbarian of the 3rd Century AD who has climbed the Roman social ladder, married a noblewoman, and is now being sent off to his first major post, to defend a city on the far Eastern border of the Empire. After a lengthy and adventurous journey from Rome (storm, pirates, spies), he arrives at the city on the Euphrates, and begins to prepare for a siege. Trenches are dug, walls strengthened, grain stored, boats commandeered. In the early Spring, the Sassanids (a Persian empire fired with religious fervour) duly arrive and attempt to take the city with siege towers, a ram, a ramp, a mine and tunnel, and good old-fashioned stormings of the walls. Meanwhile, as the siege drags on, the defenders are rent with conflicts and worries about traitors that threaten the city equally from inside. The characters are a bit thin and the ending's weak, but the immense detail about ancient siege warfare is fascinating, and there are some very exciting scenes. This is a first novel, and I reckon that as the author's narrative skills improve, they'll combine with his thorough historical knowledge to produce something really terrific next time.
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