The writing is at times heavily descriptive and full of flaky metaphors, while at other times is written very simply and plainly without excessive descriptors. It is a very simple book with a simple premise and story. While engaging and interesting, this book is written in a very amateur way. But I was as engaged by this story as I have been by Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davis. I can't compare this to them on exact levels, as I've not read their debut books. I am a fan of Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davis so this genre is to my liking. This is a good historical read if you like Roman historical fiction. Since this is a debut novel my guess is that this author will learn subtlety as time and editing go on. The author's religious beliefs do bleed into the novel, at times in obvious ways, this is not necessarily a bad thing. As the story develops everyone has to try to survive the brutality of nature and each other. They are made to live and work together deep within the earth and try to survive the brutality of the mines, the greed of the Romans in charge, and each other. Some are political prisoners, some sentenced to the mines for their religious (Christain) beliefs, some are criminals. The plot involves slaves during the Roman era and the salt mines. This seems disjointed but it is woven together as the characters lives are woven together within the plot. The book begins, and the first few chapters continues, by introducing different characters histories. I was drawn into the story and cared about the characters. This is an intriguing book with characters that are interesting and keeps the reader engaged.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |