Roma Eterna

From multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Robert Silverberg, Roma Eterna takes an in-depth look at an alternative history in which the Roman Empire survives into the twenty-first century and beyond.

What would happen if Imperial Rome never fell? Roma Eterna, spanning fifteen hundred years of global history, follows the reign of the Roman Empire from its inception to the present day. Empire continues to expand, creeping across the globe and through the annals of history from the conquest of the Mayans to the first circumnavigational voyage, and finally the attempt of the Hebrews to flee Rome’s tyranny by escaping to another planet.

Originally published as a series of short stories, Roma Eterna presents a powerful new world written by an endlessly imaginative writer.

©2003 Agberg, Ltd. (P)2025 Blackstone Publishing

Terrific writing

Such colorful language. Well conceived characters. Clever linkages stringing the individual stories together. And a fun concept. A wonderful alternative history!

An Inspiring Alternate History

As a staunch atheist, I was surprised by the probability of an immortal ancient empire which could have emerged and developed under a global polytheistic but tolerant society despite its multitude of disparate, contradictory mythological creeds... Indeed, notwithstanding some occasional brutality, such a relatively peaceful, united world might have subsisted without global wars and countless genocides.
As such, this intriguing plot confirmed my life-long belief that humans should not have evolved whilst enslaved by the shackles of merciless monotheistic "One-True-God's" of distinct persuasions and rituals, the intolerance of which have been plaguing our known universe with monstrous divisions, mass murder, rape, and destruction for millennia.

Interesting set of stories

The idea of the book is interesting and most of individual stories were good. I enjoyed the pace of the storyteller.