Empire I: Wounds of Honour

by Anthony Riches

Book Overview

'A master of the genre' The Times

Marcus Valerius Aquila has scarcely landed in Britannia when he has to run for his life - condemned to dishonorable death by power-crazed emperor Commodus. The plan is to take a new name, serve in an obscure regiment on Hadrian's Wall and lie low until he can hope for justice. Then a rebel army sweeps down from the wastes north of the Wall, and Marcus has to prove he's hard enough to lead a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0340920327
• ISBN13: 9780340920329
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

JimG Newcastle upon Tyne England

I thought the story was exciting from start to finish, and the leading romans in the story were put over by the author as though they were people who really existed. As I live near Hadrians wall I could gauge where the battle events and forts are in book, even though the author uses names of these which are not what they are called now. I hope there are plans for the hero of the book to be in other campaigns in a series.I would certainly read anything about young Marcus and I,am in my fifties.

SET SOME TIME ASIDE

Set some time aside because you won't want to put it down. I don't usually read a book over the weekend but it was hard to stop. I do have a bias as to historical fiction but I think anyone who loves action and an author who is not in love with his own verbose prose will love this story. I'm over 50 and I don't agree with the previous reviewers who feel it has a juvenile read. I suggested to my son to read it (teenager) and he loved it also. I think the book simply has a wide audience appeal. Don't hesitate to enjoy it.

In the Footsteps of Hornblower and Sharpe?

A previous review noted that the book might appeal more to younger readers. I admit it: I've been addicted to historical military fiction/series since becoming hooked on C.S. Forester as a youngster in the late '50's and I can see how that comment makes sense. I don't yet know what Mr. Riches plans for his books and, even assuming he hopes to create a long series, it is obviously far too soon to mention him alongside Cornwell, et. al. But that was what I was thinking as I was reading and enjoying Wounds of Honour. Mr. Riches has chosen to plow in the same fields as Simon Scarrow and, to my mind, he is already a bit better in some ways and can be expected to improve as his writing career proceeds. Anyway, the distinguishing features of the genre are: some effort at an accurate feel for the historical period; a central figure who starts at or near the bottom of his service and rises with age and experience; and stories that are often set around real events. The drama of combat is a universally central element of this genre, but there is also often an emphasis on the exemplary behavior and code of personal honor that earns the respect of a ship's crew or, in this case, a century of Roman auxiliaries. For some reason, British authors have a virtual lock on this latter feature of military series. Mr. Riches seems to have a nice feel for the period and is especially good at describing the tools of war, their use and their effects. He charts military strategies that are convincing in their detail and seem to make sense. In these areas, I would say that he already surpasses most of the rest of the field, which is not meant to criticize any other author but only to praise Mr. Riches' strengths. In terms of plot, admittedly a lesser part of writing in the genre, I found Mr. Riches' story to depend overly on certain complications that I won't describe lest I spoil it for others, but they were the author's choices and were entertaining and credible enough to serve. The romantic element was negligible and presumably will be developed in later books. This volume was all about male bonding. The setting of Hadrian's Wall is not all that common, but it does evoke the film King Arthur (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] and the fine single volume by Gillian Bradshaw, Island of Ghosts: A Novel of Roman Britain. In conclusion, I very much enjoyed this first volume and look forward to reading the next when it becomes available.

An Hnour To Read

This was a book that I will read again. Characters believable as well as plot settings. The action started from the beginning and went through to the end. I am looking forward to the next installment and if it is comparable to the first then we are on a winning series. The plot flowed well with the last chapters not rushing to a conclusion.

Exciting reading

Set along Hadrian's wall in England during the 180s AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Commodus, this vivid and exciting historical novel is the perfect late-summer vacation reading or the book you want to have when the pilot announces that your plane is sixteenth in line for take off! Enjoy!