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David McK (3610 KP) rated Hearts of Stone in Books

Feb 9, 2022  
Hearts of Stone
Hearts of Stone
Simon Scarrow | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
6
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not quite what the blurb makes out
Whilst I do associate Simon Scarrow with the genre of historical fiction, these tend to be set further back in history: mainly around the time of the Roman Empire; there or thereabouts.

Until recently, I've tended to avoid his few works that are more contemporary in nature, only recently (towards the end of last year) reading Blackout as I felt they were 'too close' (if that makes sense) for comfort for me in that there are still people alive who lived through the setting.

I must admit, I did quite enjoy Blackout so thought I would also give this a go, due to the roughly the same (WW2) setting.

This novel flits back and forth between then and 'now' (of 2013), as the descendants of the main 1940s settings character start to discover more about their ancestors - in particular, as history teacher Anna uncovers the story of her maternal grandmother Eleni, who participated in the Greek resistance on the island of Lefkas during 1943.

The whole had-a-German-friend in 1939 thing almost seems incidental to the story (he's not), until roughly about the final third.

And yes, I did pick up on the arguments in favour of teaching history (a subject I did, mostly, enjoy in school) passages.
  
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David McK (3610 KP) rated Invictus in Books

Jan 30, 2019  
Invictus
Invictus
Simon Scarrow | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's hard to believe this is now book number 15 in [a:Simon Scarrow|60636|Simon Scarrow|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1240832197p2/60636.jpg]'s now-so-called 'Eagles of the Empire' series: a series that, originally, was set during the Roman invasion of Brittania (in [b:Under the Eagle|578428|Under the Eagle (Eagle, #1)|Simon Scarrow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1315349321s/578428.jpg|565359]) and that had Carto as being junior to Macro - a situatuion that, by this point in their ongoing adventures, has reversed itself with Cato now the more senior of the two.

As this starts, Macro and Cato are on their way back to Rome (after the events of [b:Britannia|25028364|Britannia (Eagle, #14)|Simon Scarrow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439580823s/25028364.jpg|44703249]: a novel in which, at the end, Cato received some unfortunate news. Distressibng news that, as the plot develops, becomes more and more only the tip of the iceberg (and that leads me to wonder if the author was letting his real-life experiences influence him when he was writing this? Or am I just reading too much into it? (as he has not been shy about sharing certain aspects on social media)), with this plot leading Cato and Macro to join a compny of the Praetorian Guard on an extended campaign, in which they have to defend a slave mine from a local uprising in Spain - an uprising that, to be fair, has a pretty valid reason behind it.

Once again, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
  
    Life Of Caesar

    Life Of Caesar

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    Podcast

    On the 19th August, 14 CE, 767 years after the founding of Rome, nearly exactly 2001 years ago, the...

    All My Gods HD

    All My Gods HD

    Games and Entertainment

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    App

    From the creators of Roads of Rome series Become a Roman god! Don't be shy! Epic game that topped...

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ClareR (5975 KP) rated The Last Hour in Books

Mar 28, 2018  
The Last Hour
The Last Hour
Harry Sidebottom | 2018 | Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Roman 24!!
That was one crazy ride from start to finish! The author has said that it's a historical take on 24 (the TV show with Jack Bauer/ Kiefer Sutherland), and he isn't wrong. But where I got fed up with the TV show, this kept my attention from start to finish. The attention to historical detail is so good (you can tell that the author is an academic - he knows how to do his research!), and sitting in my living room reading the book, I was transported to ancient Rome with all the sights and smells (my drains work just fine, thank you!).
The main character, Ballista is instantly likeable. A man with morals and honour, he discovers a plot to assassinate the Emperor that runs deep in the political and military world of Rome. He, and he alone, is the one to stop the assassination of his friend, the Emperor Gallienus. Rightly or wrongly, whether he agrees with the way that Gallienus runs the Empire or not, he is duty bound to save him - if only to save the lives of his wife and children.
I would love to be able to pick out and describe a favourite part of the book, but that comes well in to the second half (and I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone else!). I haven't read a book with quite so much action in a long time. There were some real 'heart in mouth' sections, and great character building (how Harry Sidebottom found the time and space to do that, well! I suppose that's why he writes and I don't!).
I will be on the look out for more of the authors books!
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this book!