Warrior of Rome: Fire in the East

There are many people who are experts on a subject but who cannot turn the knowledge into a readable novel also there are many good writers whose efforts at research are presented in a manner that irritates rather than informs and spoils an otherwise good story. In Dr Harry Sidebottom we are fortunate to have someone who is not only an expert but also a vastly entertaining storyteller. In his first novel Fire in the East he tells the story of Dernhelm, son of Isongrim, Warleader of the Angles who is sent as a hostage to the Court of Rome. At the age of sixteen he is forced into a plot to assassinate the Emporer Maximinus Thrax at the seige of Aquilea. It is he who kills the Emporer by stabbing him in the throat with a stylus. After this the ghost of Maximinus appears to him at moments of stress. Years spent in a successful military career see Balista, as he has come to be known, a member of the Equestrian Order, a Knight of Rome and married to the daughter of a Senatorial familly. In AD255 he is commissioned by the joint Emporers Valerian and Galienus to travel to the province of Syria and organise the defence of the city of Arete, threatened by the forces of the Persian Sassenid King. He is given the title of Dux Ripae, Commander of all Roman forces on the banks of the rivers Euphretes and Tigris and all the lands in between but nothing in the way of manpower. He is promised that the Emporer Valerian will raise a Field Army and come to his aid the following year. On the way to his new command he has to fight a sea battle against pirates and when he arrives he finds his Roman born subordinates less than happy to take orders from a barbarian and the allies who were supposed to provide reinforcements refuse to comply. To add to his troubles there is a traitor in the camp. To tell more would be to spoil a wonderful story for the reader. Finishing this excellent novel could leave one downcast were it not for the fact that we are promised more to come.

Pack Animals

Pack Animals by Peter Anghelides is a novel based on the popular TV series Torchwood and features all the characters in it and the city of Cardiff where it is set. If you are a fan of the programe and it's immortal leader Captain Handsome Jack Harkness and it's ability to fight swarms of aliens without the people of Cardiff noticing a thing then you will love this book. The Torchwood organisation was set up by Queen Victoria after Handsome Jack saved her from an alien assassin and he has been fighting aliens and keeping their technology out of the hands of the rest of us ever since. In this book, however, a piece of powerful technology has fallen into the hands of a youth who uses it to revenge himself for real or imagined slights suffered in childhood with devastating results. If this kind of thing is your idea of a good read OK, if not don't touch it. Love it or hate it there is no middle way with this kind of book.

The Exodus Quest

Last year I read Will Adams first novel The Alexander Cipher and wondered if he could possibly keep up the standard he had set himself in a second novel. In The Exodus Quest he has answered in a most affirmative manner. The setting again is Egypt, the hero is Daniel Knox and his aides Gaille Bonnard and Augustin Pascal who all featured in the Alexander Cipher. Archeologist Knox has his "little grey cells" stirred by discovering the lid of an ancient scroll jar for sale in a street market. This puts him on the trail of an ancient sect and brings him into conflict with the Rev. Peterson, an American Hell Fire evangelist operating an illegal dig near Lake Mariut. Meanwhile Gaille finds herself entangled with Charles Stafford a writer of popular history books full of speculation and outlandish theories. After penetrating Peterson's dig Knox crashes his jeep while being chased by his security men. His friend Omar, an Antiquities Inspector is killed. Knox is concussed and loses his memory allowing Peterson to accuse him of murder. Escaping from the hospital he is chased by both the police and the murderous Reverend. Gaille is held hostage by a corrupt policeman, and together with Stafford and his assistant are held in a cave which is rapidly flooding during a torrential downpour. Will Knox arrive in time to rescue Gaille? Will he discover the hidden tomb? I never knew that archeology was so exhausting. Equally enthralling for me were the conversation pieces where speculation on the origin of the Exodus story and the heretic Pharoah Ahkenaten were explored. Could Judaism really have developed from the monotheism of this iconoclastic ruler. Somehow I do not think that this book will be a bestseller in Israel. However, taken as the entertainment it is intended to be it is first class. It gallops along at a cracking pace and kept this reader turning the pages all day. Fortunately it was raining and I could not be called on for gardening duties.

The Watersplash

Since I started writing this blog I have reviewed eight of the Maud Silver mysteries by Patricia Wentworth and have run out of new ways to praise her work. In The Watersplash we have murder tied to an inheritance in a small country village in the Home Counties. Yes I know that most of her plots follow this kind of theme but Wentworth scores by her skill as a storyteller. The characters are well drawn and their are the requisite number of red herrings in a narrative that carries the reader along with style and old world charm.

Alexandria

I have been a firm fan of historical detective stories since I first read Ellis Peter's A Morbid Taste for Bones thirty years ago and of all the many excellent writers who have followed since Lindsey Davis is one of the best. Her Roman sleuth Marcus Didius Falco is an engaging and resourcful character and over the course of her nineteen books she has introduced us to his aristocratic wife Helena and the rest of his familly which provides background and depth to the stories. Her latest, Alexandria, is well up to her very high standard. Falco has taken his familly on a well earned holiday to Egypt to see the Pyramids, the Sphinx and all the rest of the tourist sites that all well-bred Romans should visit. Falco is offered accomodation by his uncle Fulvius who with his boyfriend Cassius are businessmen of a decidedly dodgy stripe. When his reprobate father, a pillar of the fake antiques trade, turns up Falco suspects the worst. However, thoughts of familly problems are thrust aside when the Prefect of Alexandria asks him to investigate the murder, in a locked room no less, of Theron the Chief of the Library. The investigation leads him into devious plots and quite a lot of personal danger. Could members of his own familly be involved in nefarious activities? Perish the thought! Falco not only solves the crime and saves the Library but manages to take the fair Helena to see the Pyramids. As we say in these intellectual realms this is a bostin' good book.

The Last Gospel

David Gibbins has obviously done massive amounts of research for his new novel The Last Gospel and has used it to produce an intriguing story of a search for a papyrus on which the words of Jesus Christ as dictated to the Roman Emporer Claudius are writen. As in his previous two novels his main characters are archeologist Jack Howard and his friend and technical wizard Costas. The action starts as they dive on a wreck off the coast of Sicily attempting to track the journey of St Paul to Rome. Called to Herculaneum where an earthquake has opened up part of the buried city and provided a unique chance to explore a previously inaccesible villa or it would be if someone was not trying to keep the site closed. Enter the villains and once again it is the Vatican now the organisation of choice for thriller writers since the KGB packed up. Why writers feel that they can portray this collection of elderly priests as a dynamic international power organisation is beyond me. Surely there must be some more convincing power brokers around who could fulfill this role but perhaps it is the powerlessness of the Church compared to other groups that makes them such an easy target. Gibbins plot is backed up by historical facts and sometimes it is difficult for a non-historian to tell where fact ends and fiction starts but it is all very enjoyable nonsense.

Viking: Odinn's Child

Viking: Odinn's Child by Tim Severin is the first volume of a trilogy following the life of Thorgils Leifsson. Born in 999 on the threshold of the millenium year that many thought would bring the end of the world and the second coming of Christ he spends his childhood and youth in Iceland and Greenland his fate always in the hands of others. He reaches Vinland (Nova Scotia) in the train of his malevolent step sister and from there back to Iceland and on to Orkney were he is swept up into the service of the flamboyant Norse King of Dublin. Captured and enslaved by an Irish Chieftain he is presented to a monastery where he learns to read and write. Then he ...... well he goes from adventure to adventure. Never a dull moment in the company of Thorgils Leifsson and when this volume ends he is still only nineteen. Will he survive to old age? Will he survive to reach twenty? There are still two volumes to come so the prospects are good.

The Book of Lies

The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer is another Dan Brownesque romp through Biblical antiquity lead by the obligatory macho American. This time the fact that the weapon that Cain used to murder Abel is not specified in the Biblical texts is supposed to assume some significance (to whom apart from Abel?) and, of course, there is a book that contains the answer to life, the universe and everything. I admit that I gave up the chase after about one hundred pages but this is just my personal opinion and I am sure that there will be many people out there who will derive many hours of pleasure from this book.

The Suns of Caresh

On the subject of Dr Who there appears to be no half measures, one is either for or against. I have been a fan ever since the series began on TV and I insisted in watching with my children in case they were frightened, of course. That being said I must admit that I have not always been impressed by the efforts of those who write Dr Who books. Often what would be a good idea for an half hour TV episode stretches too thin when pushed to novel length. The Suns of Caresh by Paul Saint runs to 282 pages but it would, in my opinion, have been a better book with fifty pages less. Neverthless it is a very creditable effort and in the hands of a stricter editor would have been among the best.
Memo to all Dr Who writers: Aim for 200 pages that is all most scenarios will take.

Lonesome Road

Lonesome Road is another of Patricia Wentworth's vastly entertaining Miss Silver murder mysteries except that on this occasion it is a case of attempted murder. Miss Silver is approached by Rachel Treherne who has received a series of threatening letters. Miss Treherne was the sole beneficiary of her wealthy father's will and has since been surrounded by a collection of impecunious relatives all of whom are using Rachels sensitivity to her position to obtain money from her. Despite the series of murderous traps laid for her the fact that only a member of her household could be responsible makes her refuse to involve the police or even to name a suspect. Notwithstanding these obstacles placed in her path by her client Miss Silver sorts things out to everyone's satisfaction but the would-be muderer and without calling on her friends from Scotland Yard. Another good'un.

The Bellini Card

It is a very brave writer that chooses for his hero a Eunuch of the Ottoman Court considering the contempt and indeed revulsion with which these unfortunate men have been viewed in the West. However, with his creation Yashim Jason Goodwin has successfully overcome this and given us a sympathetic and intriguing character. In this, his third story, he provides us with a satisfyingly complex tale set against a well researched and illustrated background. The story opens when the newly enthroned Sultan Abdulmecid orders his Vizier, Resid Pasha, to find a portrait of his ancestor Sultan Mehmet , the conqueror of Constantinople, which was painted by the Venetian Bellini but later removed from the palace by the Sultan Beyazid. In some interpretations of Islam the production of images of God's work is considered blasphemy and therefore a portrait would be anathema to many devout Muslims and Resid Pasha stalls hoping that the Sultan will forget about it. He does not and sends for the Court's number one problem solver Yashim and gives him the task of locating the painting. Resid Pasha makes it clear that any such move on Yashim's part will earn his enmity which the eunuch cannot afford. To try to satisfy both masters Yashim recruits his friend Stanislaw Palewski, Ambassador to the Sublime Porte of a Poland that no longer exists. Palewski travels to Venice to track down the portrait and finds himself up to his neck in plots and danger. The Venice of this story is a sad shadow of the glory days of the Serene Republic. Invaded and looted by Napoleon's army then taken into the Austrian Empire following the defeat of the French the despair and cynicism of the Venetian people is wonderfully portrayed in this excellent book whose twists and turns kept this writer glued to the page.

The Coronation

Erast Fandorin, the hero of the detective novels of Boris Akunin, is in my opinion the nearest any writer has come to creating a Russian Sherlock Holmes. His latest adventure, The Coronation, is a truly fascinating book even by the high standards that Akunin has set for himself. He has chosen to present his story in the form of a memoir by one ofthe characters centraly involved in the action with Fandorin appearing on the periphery of the main narrative. The story is set during the coronation of Tsar Nicholas, the last of the Romanovs. Although the Capital was moved to St Petersburg by Peter the Great the coronation must by tradition be held in Moscow and so all the Court and it's principal members have moved there for the ceremony. The story is told through the words of Afanasii Stepanovich butler to the Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich, uncle of the Tsar and a prominent member of the familly council that advises His Imperial Majesty. Shortly after their arrival it is decided that Afanasii should take the Grand Duke's two children, Prince Mikhail and Princess Xenia, for a walk in the park surrounding the palace that the familly and it's entourage have been allocated.During the walk Prince Mikhail is kidnapped by agents of the fiendish master criminal Dr Lind. Shades of Moriarty! That is as much of the story as I will put down here as the narrative of the pursuit of the evil Doctor in the words of a servant obviously out of his depth but anxious to fulfill his obligation to the familly that has his total loyalty is as fascinating a tale as this writer has read in a long while. I began by comparing Erast Fandorin to Sherlock Holmes, a comparison that may provoke disagreement from some readers but having read all but one of the previous Fandorin stories of Boris Akunin I believe that mu assertion stands. It is, of course, for other readers to reach their own conclusions.

The Samaritan's Secret

The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Rees explores the fractured and fascinating society thatexists on the West Bank of the River Jordan through the medium of a detective story. The main character is Omar Yussef a teacher at a UN school in a refugee camp who somehow finds himself involved in solving crimes. In this story he has travelled to Nablus to attend the wedding of his friend Sami, a police Lieutenant, who takes him to meet the Chief Rabii of the few remaining Samaritans, a small Jewish sect who keep themselves separate both from Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims. Their most sacred book has been stolen from their synagogue and it is upon this copy of the Torah, which differs fundamentaly from that used by other Jews, that their whole faith and community is based. Naturaly this is only the opening shot in a fusilade of interlocking episodes, some mysterious some violent, that make up this very readable book. Mr Rees manages to introduce his readers to many facets of a culture of which, I for one, knew little or nothing. He paints a vivid if depressing picture of the dangers and difficulties faced by ordinary Palestinians as they try to make a living and bring up their famillies. It is very sobering to read about people to whom life in Britain, with all it's problems, would seem like entry to the promised land.

Flesh House

On the front cover of Flesh House by Stuart MacBride it is described as "Fierce and unflinching" and for once it is not an exageration. This is not my usual style of reading matter but I read it through to the end as the narrative exerted an awful fascination rather as one is compelled to look at the result of a motor accident. The story concerns the hunt for a serial killer and the determination of a senior police officer to pin the blame on to one particular suspect regardless of the evidence. Twenty years before the action of this book a killer known as The Flesher had been sent down for life but new forensic evidence had thrown doubt on the conviction and he was released on appeal. Now a new spate of killings has started and the Detective Inspector in charge of the case was a young Detective Constable heavily involved in the original conviction and he is unshakable in his belief that the newly released man is responsible. MacBride writes an uncompromising narrative which is not for the faint hearted with blood chilling descriptions of violence and a cast of characters that one would make every effort to avoid. The hero, if that is the correct appellation, is Detective Serjeant Logan McRae a long suffering sidekick to Detective Inspector David Insch a blustering bully forever in danger of losing his hair trigger temper and exploding into violence. In addition he is also at the beck and call of D.I. Steel a foul mouthed, chain smoking lesbian and, as in all "police proceedurals" these days, the senior officers spend as much time working against each other as they do attempting to apprehend criminals. The police in general are portrayed as cynical, hard drinking jobsworths with little or no concern for the people they are paid to protect. Could this be an accurate portrayal of a modern police force? However, if ones taste is for a pacy "hard boiled" detective story full of violence and foul language the Flesh House will almost certainly fill the bill.

Eternity Ring

Eternity Ring is another first class detective story by Patricia Wentworth featuring Private Enquiry Agent Miss Maud Silver and Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Lamb and Detective Serjeant Frank Abbott. Serjeant Abbott is visiting relatives in the country when his rural idyll is shattered by a young woman who claims to have seen the body of a woman in the woods but when a search is made no trace can be found. Thus begins another complex and vastly entertaining Wentworth mystery with it's full supply of red herrings and intriguing characters. Much of the pleasure of Miss Wentworth's books for me is her ability to use the English language to convey all the tension of a thriller without reorting to gratuitous violence and obscenities. This may be an old fashioned view but one more widely held than some writers realise.