Sacrovir Revolt by James Mace: Book Spotlight & Review

I am geared up for this post today because as a lover of historical fiction (or anything closely related to it) I was excited to read this book! Many thanks to Pump Up Your Book for allowing me a spot on the tour.

About the Book:

A Shadow Rising
It has been three years since the wars against Arminius and the Cherusci. Gaius Silius, Legate of the Twentieth Legion, is concerned that the barbarians-though shattered by the war-may be stirring once again. He also seeks to confirm the rumors regarding Arminius’ death. What Silius does not realize is that there is a new threat to the Empire, but it does not come from beyond the frontier; it is coming from within the Empire’s borders in Gaul.

Legionary Artorius has greatly matured during his five years in the legions. He has become stronger in mind; his body growing even more powerful. Like the rest of the Legion, he is unaware of the shadow growing well within the Empire’s borders, where a disaffected nobleman is stirring rebellion to betray the Emperor Tiberius. A shadow looms; one that looks to envelope the province of Gaul as well as the Rhine legions. The year is 20 A.D. 

About the Author:

Since I can remember I have always had a passion for history. My love of Roman history started when I first watched the series “I, Claudius”. I then proceeded to read every Roman book I could get my hands on.

I got my start writing bodybuilding and physical fitness articles for Bodybuilding.com, as well as a lesser-know magazine, HardCore Muscle. I turned to writing historical novels when I was in Iraq. My intent was to write the stories that I wanted to read, but could not find. While we may hear stories about the Emperors and Generals of antiquity, we almost never hear the stories of the men who did the actual fighting under them. Sadly, most historical data is lost, the individual soldiers being long since forgotten by history. My attempt with The Artorian Chronicles is to tell the story of a common legionary and what could have happened throughout his career.

More recently I have turned to other periods in history and have started work on a pair of historical novels about the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The working title for the first book is “Brutal Valour”. I’m tentatively planning for it to be released sometime in 2012, along with the fifth book in The Artorian Chronicles, “Soldier of Rome: Judea”.

You can visit James at http://legionarybooks.net 

My Thoughts:

Well I knew I would love this book...I could tell from the cover and then the description, and I was right.  I was wondering how I would fare being that I had not read the first book but I don't think it plagued my experience with this book in the least.

I am not usually a fan of Roman history or world history for that matter but I find myself more and more drawn to books that cover that time period and this book was a great example of that.  The author does a spectacular job of combining an amazing storyline with a bit of history that most readers would be interested in.

The story of a threat within the empire, not outside is fascinating.  In addition to the setting, which is described perfectly so that readers get a real feel for where this story is taking place, Mace does a great job developing his characters throughout the novel.  There isn't a character in the book that readers don't really get to know, and that is a central part of the novel.

Kudos to Mace...this is a real winner, one that won't leave readers disappointed.