Fire in the East - Warrior of Rome

By: Harry Sidebottom

Narrated by: Nick Boulton

AD 255; the Roman Imperium is stretched to breaking point, its authority and might challenged throughout the territories and along every border. Yet the most lethal threat lurks far to the east in Persia, where the massing forces of the Sassanid Empire loom with fiery menace.

The far-flung and isolated citadel of Arete faces out across the wasteland, awaiting the inevitable invasion. One man is sent to marshal the defences of this lonely city; one man to shore up the crumbling walls of a once indomitable symbol of Roman power; a man whose name itself means war, a man called Ballista.

Alone, Ballista is called to muster the forces and the courage to stand first and to stand hard against the greatest enemy ever to confront the Imperium.

©2008 Dr Harry Sidebottom (P)2008 WF Howes Ltd

Excellent

Historic knowledge and suspense - tragic hero - very well written and read! Some of the best in the genre I've ever come across.

Lots of action and holds your attention

What did you love best about Fire in the East - Warrior of Rome?

I love this era and the fact it has so much action. I wasn't bored at all

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

yes, there's a lot of action and progression in the book to keep you hooked

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't recall my favorite

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Packed With Action

This is a great read or listen. If you like ancient warfare with plenty of action, download this. You will not be dissapointed.

Fire in the East

Excellent listen. Nick Boulton's character accents and dramatic reading are topnotch. I felt like I was listening to an ancient recording. I love historical fiction and although this book was no Pressfield novel it was still an outstanding first novel for Sidebottom. I am looking forward to King of Kings. You can't go wrong with a main character that is a German-Roman General and believes in the Norse Gods. Awesome! Where's my gladius, or better yet, my war axe?!

Maps and appendix please

This book apparently contains a helpful appendix supplementing the characters, history, with maps. This is not the only audio book that would be enhanced significantly if Audible would make such supplementary info available with a pdf. In the past, I've usually been able to find some of this stuff at authors web pages, but not this time. So rather than review the incomplete book (which I really haven't finished), let me just warn others that it is challenging to keep all of the characters and locales herein straight without a program. I nevertheless found the main character engaging, and the plot lines including a cadre of spies and the prospect of religious war on the part of the Persians in the 3rd century interesting.