The Gods of War

The Gods of War is the third volume of Jack Ludlow's Republic saga. It is set in the long running Roman campaign to subdue the Celtic tribes of the Iberian peninsula, a campaign motivated both for a desire for territory and the memory of their support for the Carthaginians. Centre stage again are the main protaganists of the previous two volumes, Aquila Terrentius and Marcellus Falerius still at each others throats and kept in check only by their commander Titus Cornelius. Jack Ludlow has written a very good adventure story which rattles along at a good pace and if one bears in mind that this is an historical novel and not an academic history one can overlook the minor factual blunders. However, one thing puzzles me mightily. Jack Ludlow is a pen name for the well known writer of Nelsonian sea adventures David Donachie. Now I quite understand that if a writer wishes to step outside the style for which he is famous he may well decide to do this under another name and this is a common practice. What I cannot understand is that having done so he gives the game away by revealing this on the book jacket and in a paragraph of personal details inserted before the narrative. It seems to me that this completely undermines the object of having the pen name.