The Caspian Gates, by Harry Sidebottom. Book review

Penguin, 2012. ISBN 978-0-141-04616-7. 366 pages.

Fourth in the Warrior of Rome series, The Caspian Gates is set in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Caucasus in 259-262 AD. Emperor Gallienus is a historical figure and a secondary character.  Ballista is based on a historical figure about whom little is known.  The other main characters are fictional.

After his part in the fall of the usurper Macrianus and his sons (recounted in Lion of the Sun, reviewed here earlier), Ballista is waiting in Ephesus for Emperor Gallienus to decide his fate. When an earthquake devastates the city, the barbarian Goths take the opportunity for looting and piracy – and to pursue their blood feud against Ballista.  If he survives the Gothic attack, Ballista will face a yet more perilous mission, to the savage tribes of the Caucasus and his old enemies, the Persians.

Like its predecessors, The Caspian Gates has no shortage of action and adventure.  An earthquake, several fights with Gothic raiders, an extended sea-chase from Gothic pirates, a tumultuous storm in the Black Sea, a sabotage attempt, more than one murder and a gruelling chase across the mountains all feature, before reaching the climactic battle scene in the wild mountain pass of the Caspian Gates.  The sea chase and the storm were especially gripping, with a real sense of tension and menace.

Now that the political plotting of the Macriani has been resolved, Ballista is no longer at the centre of events in the Empire.  Indeed, Emperor Gallienus is actively looking for somewhere to park him out of the way.  This may explain why I felt that The Caspian Gates was rather episodic, as if recounting a series of incidents that happened to occur one after the other but with little connection between them. In the first half of the book Ballista is essentially kicking his heels waiting for Gallienus to make a decision, and apart from the decision itself, the first half of the book has very little bearing on the events of the second half. Previous instalments in the series also contained a fair helping of travelogues and digressions to explain background detail about culture, religion and myth, but the court intrigues and Ballista’s conflict with the Macriani helped to pull the narrative together into a coherent whole.  With that gone, The Caspian Gates seemed to have lost a lot of narrative drive.  This is compounded by Ballista himself, who seemed rather directionless in this novel.  To be fair, Ballista has no control over where Emperor Gallienus will choose to post him, and as a newcomer and an outsider he has little influence over the established rival factions when he gets there. However, he also seems to have lost direction in his personal life; there are several comments that ‘things are not good’ between Ballista and his wife Julia, yet he seems content to let matters drift without apparently making any attempt to find out what is wrong from Julia’s side (readers of Lion of the Sun will be able to hazard a guess). A certain amount of aimless uncertainty may well be highly appropriate for the chaotic period of the Third-Century Crisis, but it made for a somewhat disappointing narrative.  However, given the philosophical musings on the nature of exile in The Caspian Gates, perhaps it is setting up for something important in the next book.

Many of the core characters from the previous books reappear in The Caspian Gates, including Ballista’s Irish bodyguard the no-nonsense ex-gladiator Maximus, and the gloomy Caledonian Calgacus.  Ballista’s young Greek secretary Demetrius makes a fleeting appearance, now with Emperor Gallienus.  His place in Ballista’s entourage is now taken by another Greek, Hippothous, who fulfils the same role as a recounter of Greek philosophy and legend, but who is an altogether tougher and more violent character, an ex-bandit who enjoys killing for its own sake. Rather to my disappointment, Ballista’s intelligent Roman wife Julia appears only briefly.

As with its predecessors, The Caspian Gates does not so much end as take a brief pause for breath before Ballista is despatched on his next adventure.  It will be interesting to see how this develops, as Ballista is clearly feeling his age in The Caspian Gates despite, or perhaps because of, his encounter with a gorgeous Amazonian princess.  I wonder how many more adventures he can expect before (or indeed if) he is allowed to retire to Sicily with his family.

The writing style is straightforward modern prose, liberally sprinkled with modern expletives (readers who find f--- and c--- offensive should consider themselves warned). There are also a lot of Latin, Greek and Persian terms scattered through the text, and it is worth bookmarking the glossary at the back as they are not always immediately clear from context. A list of characters at the back is helpful for keeping track of who is who, especially minor characters or figures from history or legend. Maps of the Caucasus and the cities of Ephesus and Miletus at the front are useful for following the action.  There is a comprehensive Historical Afterword at the back, with sources and suggestions for further reading.

Episodic action-adventure set against the background of Rome’s third-century crisis.

Lion of the Sun, by Harry Sidebottom. Book review

Penguin 2011. ISBN 978-0-141-03231-3. 409 pages

Set in 260-261 AD, mainly in modern Turkey and Syria with a couple of short interludes in northern Italy and the Alps, Lion of the Sun is the third in the Ballista series, following Fire in the East (reviewed here earlier) and King of Kings (reviewed here earlier). Historical figures include Emperor Valerian, Shapur of Persia, Odenathus of Palmyra, Macrianus the Lame and his sons Macrianus and Quietus. Ballista is based on a historical figure about whom little is known. Other main characters are fictional.

Captured along with Emperor Valerian and many senior Imperial officials after betrayal led to a disastrous defeat (recounted in King of Kings), Ballista is a prisoner of the Persians. He has two desires: to return to his beloved wife and sons, and to take vengeance on the Roman usurpers who betrayed Valerian’s army to the Persians, Macrianus the Lame and his two sons. Far away to the west in Italy, Valerian’s son Emperor Gallienus has his hands full dealing with a barbarian invasion and another crop of would-be emperors, and cannot come to the rescue. Closer at hand, Odenathus Lord of Tadmor (Palmyra), known as the Lion of the Sun, holds the balance of power in the East. Will he declare for Persia, for the tyrants Macrianus and Quietus, or for the Romans who remain loyal to Gallienus? As war, murder and destruction stalk the East, the fate of the Roman Empire hangs in the balance – and Ballista, bound by oaths to all three sides, faces a terrible choice.

Lion of the Sun picks up immediately after the end of the previous book, King of Kings, with Ballista in captivity and his freedmen Maximus, Demetrius and Calgacus in the middle of a desperate flight through enemy territory back to Ballista’s family in Antioch. The action starts immediately, and barely pauses for breath for the next 400 pages. Like its predecessors, Lion of the Sun is primarily a military adventure, full of battle, chase, skirmishes, hair’s-breadth escapes (or not, for some unlucky characters) and graphic violence. Also like its predecessors, particularly King of Kings, it has a firm depth of politics and intrigue underpinning the violence, so the reader gets an impression of how Ballista’s adventures fit into the wider picture. The political element seems to be getting stronger as the series develops, perhaps because Ballista’s position in high command places him at the centre of political events as well as on the military front line. There is a strong sense of the different cultures and religions of the time, giving the novel a feeling of authenticity.

Ballista’s character remains an attractive feature of the series. An outsider in the Imperial court, he knows he is also now a stranger to his childhood homeland in Angeln in the far north. His devotion to his beloved wife and two young sons is both a source of strength and a vulnerability, as his reaction when he believes a broken oath has brought disaster on his family shows. Julia, Ballista’s wife, is another clearly defined character, intelligent, calm and capable. She plays more of a role in Lion of the Sun than in the previous book, and I look forward to seeing more of her. Most of the secondary characters are also developed as individuals, especially Ballista’s freedmen Maximus, Calgacus and Demetrius. Bathshiba and Haddudad from Fire in the East also make a welcome reappearance. The villains have a cartoon-like quality, particularly Quietus, a deranged tyrant in the mould of Caligula or Nero but without the style.

The writing style is mainly straightforward modern prose, liberally sprinkled with modern expletives (readers who find four-letter words offensive should consider themselves warned), and with archaic Latin terms. There is a glossary at the back explaining the Latin terms, though I found most of them could be worked out at least approximately from context. Two maps at the front show the Roman Empire and the Roman Near/Middle East, and are very useful for following the action. A list of characters at the back may be useful for keeping track of who is who, though I never needed to refer to it and only found it after I finished reading. A detailed Historical Afterword at the back summarises some of the underlying history (what there is of it; the Third-Century Crisis is poorly documented) and suggests further reading. Continuing the tradition of the previous books in the series, Lion of the Sun does not end so much as pause briefly before Ballista’s adventures continue in the next instalment.

Action-packed military adventure with political depth and a strong sense of authenticity, set against the turmoil of the Third-Century Crisis in the east of the Roman Empire.

King of Kings, by Harry Sidebottom. Book review

Penguin, 2010, ISBN 978-0-141-03230-6. 469 pages.

Second in the Warrior of Rome series, King of Kings follows on from Fire in the East (reviewed here earlier). Emperor Valerian, the Imperial officials Macrianus the Lame and his two sons, and the Persian ruler Shapur are historical figures. Ballista, the central character, is based on a historical figure about whom little is known. Other major characters are fictional. King of Kings is set in 256–260 AD, in the Eastern Mediterranean and what is now Syria.

Marcus Clodius Ballista, originally a noble hostage from the northern tribe of the Angles and now a senior Roman army officer, was one of the few survivors of the siege of Arete (recounted in Fire in the East). Bringing disastrous news to the Imperial court at Antioch, Ballista falls foul of the sinister official Macrianus the Lame and his slimy son Quietus, as well as the arrogant patrician Acilius Glabrio who blames Ballista for his brother’s death at Arete. The Empire is beset with difficulties, many of which are blamed on the cult of Christianity, and in the east the powerful Persian king Shapur is threatening war. But the greatest threat comes from within Rome itself...

King of Kings picks up at the moment where Fire in the East left off, with Ballista and his companions fleeing for their lives from the sack of Arete. The opening sequence gives a good idea of what to expect; there is no shortage of military adventure and gruesome battle scenes in King of Kings, from pirate raids to full-scale campaigns against the Persians. Political intrigue plays a larger role in King of Kings than in the earlier novel, as Ballista has to deal with fanatical Christians in Ephesus and the back-stabbing (literally as well as metaphorically) machinations of the Imperial court. A few quiet periods between assignments, when Ballista is out of Imperial favour, provide glimpses of Ballista’s home life, with his intelligent and politically astute upper-class Roman wife Julia and their two adored children.

Ballista’s position as an outsider to Imperial Rome comes over strongly in King of Kings. As well as the impenetrable etiquette and protocol of the court itself, he also finds Roman domestic customs alien and sometimes disturbing. Many among the Imperial court look down on Ballista as a barbarian, and even Julia insults him as such during a marital row. The closest members of Ballista’s household are also foreigners – Calgacus, the old Caledonian slave from Ballista’s northern homeland; Demetrius, the intellectual Greek secretary with a weakness for the occult; and Maximus, or Muirtagh of the Long Road, the tough Irish ex-gladiator bodyguard. For all that Ballista holds a senior position within Roman society as a high-ranking military officer, he is not part of it. As an outsider, he (and therefore the reader) is well placed to observe the flaws in the Imperial system, with power concentrated in the person of the increasingly infirm Valerian – a sympathetic, if rather pathetic, figure – and consequently vulnerable to misuse by corrupt officials who manipulate the Emperor for their own ends. Indeed, the main villain is so obviously evil that he is almost a cartoon caricature, cackling over the hero’s powerlessness while explaining the next step in his nefarious plan, which is all very well in a Bond film but I found it a bit disappointing here. If the portrayal bears any resemblance to reality, no wonder Rome managed to get itself into the mess of the ‘Third-Century Crisis’.

As with Fire in the East, King of Kings doesn’t so much reach an end as take a brief pause for breath before Ballista’s adventures continue in the next instalment. I am finding the series faintly reminiscent of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels, partly because of Ballista’s position as an outsider, partly because of the frequent and dramatic battle scenes, and partly something about the style (it’s a toss-up at present whether the no-nonsense Irish bodyguard Maximus reminds me more of Russell Crowe in Gladiator or Sergeant Patrick Harper). On reaching the Historical Afterword at the back, it turns out that one of the Sharpe echoes was intentional.

The narrative is told in third person, mainly by Ballista but also by other characters as occasion dictates, so the reader sometimes knows things that Ballista doesn’t know. The style is mostly straightforward modern prose, liberally sprinkled with archaic terms (explained in a glossary at the back, although I found most of them could be worked out from context), and with a fair helping of modern four-letter words. I found the pace rather uneven, speeding along during the fight sequences and then seeming to drag during the episode of persecuting Christians in Ephesus. This may be intentional, as Ballista himself is much more at home with military command than with a civilian governor’s job. I wonder if the Ephesus episode was covered at such length because it has some wider significance, perhaps setting up for something in a later book?

The Historical Afterword at the back outlines some of the history underlying the novel, and a map at the front is useful for following Ballista’s journeys. A list of characters at the back may also be helpful for keeping track of who is who, although I never needed to refer to it.

Military adventure, gruesome battles and political intrigue as the third-century Roman Empire clashes with the mighty Persian Empire in the Near and Middle East.

Fire in the East, by Harry Sidebottom. Book review

Penguin, 2009. ISBN 978-0-141-03229-0. 391 pages

Set in 255-256 AD, mainly in the Roman frontier city of Arete (Dura Europos) on the River Euphrates in modern Syria. The central character, Ballista, is based on a historical Roman officer, although little is known about the historical figure. The Roman Emperors Maximinus Thrax, Gallienus and Valaerian, and the Persian King Shapur, are historical figures who appear briefly or have an important off-stage presence. All the other main characters are fictional. The siege of Arete is a real event, known from some remarkable archaeological discoveries (see the Wikipedia page).

Originally sent to Rome as a diplomatic hostage for his father, chief of the Angles in what is now southern Denmark, Ballista has risen to high command in the Roman Army. His career has taken him to the frontiers of the Empire on the Danube and in the far west. Now he is on his way to face the Empire’s greatest threat of all, the Sassanid Persians in the east. Posted to the frontier city of Arete on the River Euphrates, last outpost of the Roman Empire, Ballista is given the title Dux Ripae (War-leader of the Riverbanks) and charged with defending the city against the expected Persian invasion. But Ballista has few troops to strengthen the city’s depleted garrison. Watching the Persians’ enormous army mass before the gates of Arete, Ballista knows that to hold the city with the limited resources at his command will take a feat of military genius – or a miracle. And to make matters worse, there is at least one murderous traitor at large in the city, intent on sabotage, assassination and betraying Arete to the Persians...

This is a military adventure with plenty of action – naval battles, desert ambush, assault and siege engineering – reflecting the author’s background as an academic expert on ancient warfare. At first, the pace is leisurely to slow, as Ballista and his staff travel across the Mediterranean in a trireme on the way to Syria to take up his appointment. This section felt like something of a travelogue, perhaps because it is so clearly a prelude to whatever is going to happen when Ballista takes up his command, although it gives the reader time to get to know the main characters and introduces some of the various religions and cultures. Once they reach Arete and begin the preparations for the city’s defence the pace picks up, and when the siege itself gets underway it becomes positively gripping. The last half of the book, as the Persians try various ingenious methods to take the city and Ballista’s defenders try equally ingenious methods to stop them, reminds me a little of Tolkien’s Battle of the Pelennor Fields in Lord of the Rings (and in case anyone is wondering, that’s a compliment). The mounting evidence of a traitor, or traitors, in the city adds to the growing menace of the Persian army outside to ratchet the tension ever higher. As the narrative is told in third person from a variety of points of view, the reader sometimes knows things that the main characters do not, which also helps to build suspense. Ballista is both intelligent and highly experienced, so he is always trying to out-think the Persians as well as out-fight them – and the Persians in turn are always trying to out-think him. If you have even the slightest interest in military engineering and have wondered how artillery, assault towers, siege ramps, battering rams and mines were used in practice, this is a book for you.

Contrasting cultures, opinions and religions are well drawn. Arete has a mix of classical paganism, various Eastern religions and Christianity, and a Persian slave boy provides a zealous description of the Persians’ religion. Ballista’s religious beliefs from his childhood among the Angles are based on Tacitus’ Germania and Norse mythology (in the total absence of any sources in between), so don’t be surprised to encounter the Viking gods in this novel; if anything, the slightly incongruous note helps to reinforce Ballista’s situation as an outsider to patrician Roman society. The prose style is straightforward modern English with a generous helping of modern four-letter words, sprinkled with archaic terminology for period colour and with an attractive line in sardonic humour.

The ‘end’ of the novel is clearly only a pause leading into further adventures, and the historical notes in the Appendix make it clear that at least two more novels will continue Ballista’s story. The half-century or so between 235 AD and about 285 AD is sometimes called the ‘Third-century crisis’, reflecting the many political and military upheavals that shook the Roman Empire as it got into a habit of losing battles and rattled through short-lived Emperors like a bored child through a toy box. It’s a period with plenty of scope for drama, and as it is also a poorly documented period – possibly because everyone was too busy trying to stay alive and on the right side of the chaotic politics to write anything down – very little is known about it so the scope for historical fiction is similarly immense. The author comments in his historical note that one of his academic colleagues congratulated him on his choice of setting because “...so little is known for sure that no-one could prove me wrong.”

Nevertheless, as the author says, he has taken care with the historical background. Even when events and people are not known with any certainty and have to be invented, something is often known in broad terms about the world in which the story takes place, such as technology, trade routes, material culture and so on. A detailed Appendix gives a brief introduction to the known history, people and places, together with suggestions for further reading. A list of characters may help to keep the cast straight, although I found the writing sufficiently clear that I did not need to refer to it, and a detailed glossary defines most of the period terminology for readers unfamiliar with the setting. Two maps at the front of the novel are invaluable for understanding the geography and the detailed progress of the siege.

Gripping military adventure set against the dramatic background of the Roman third-century crisis in the Near and Middle East.