Vincent B. Davis II

I think this was the author's best novel yet in this series. Just the right amount of excitement.

After eight years away fighting in Greece,
Sertorius returns home to his wife, Arrea, to find out he is tasked by the Senate to recruit new legionaries to fight other Italian tribes who are not citizens and as such lack their rights. He is made a quaestor [a junior magistrate.] He travels to the city of Mutina to fulfil his orders, along with Arrea and freedman and friend, Apollonius. Sulla is there and calls his legion "Sulla's Fist", hence the title. He becomes involved in what will be called the Social War. His son Gavius, has joined Sulla's legion and of course, the young man's parents are worried about him. His boyhood friend, Lucius, is in the same legion. Arrea lives with a couple in the city. There will be battles, skirmishes, ambushes, poisoned wine, burning grain, and betrayals. Finally, Sulla and Marius work together for victory. Sertorius identifies a traitor but instead of killing the man, has him go into exile from the Roman Republic, among the Lusitanians. I assume Hispania will loom large in Sertorius's further story.

I liked the different points of view of several of the characters--Sertorius himself, Gavius, Arrea, and Lucius, also the fact they revealed their thoughts and feelings, not merely the action happening to each one. I found the ending most satisfactory and fitting, with its note of hope.

I thank the author for sending me a copy of this book.… (más)

Very enjoyable. As soon as I opened the package from the mail, I read it straight through. Sertorius and Co. go to Greece on a peacekeeping mission, but it turns out to have its own problem. A conspiracy called Cerberus [after the three-headed dog-guardian of Hades] apparently is kidnapping Romans and enslaving them. This group has three leaders, hence their name. The proud Proconsul Titus Didius is just itching for people to kill, enough so he will be awarded a triumph when they return to Rome. The author's writing style has improved since his first Sertorius novel in spite of a few typos and other proofreading errors for example:
He should use either "legionary" or "legionnaire" all through the novel, not each term in different places.
At that time, there were no tomatoes in Europe, mentioned here as sold in the agora. They were found in the New World much later.
"Trounced around" should probably be "strutted around", said of the actors on p. 218.
"Worse": in the context the author uses it here [p.213] should probably be either "worse" or "their worst". [p.213]
There are two different characters with the same name: Patrobos, the beggar in the agora and Patrobos the Spartan. Maybe the author could have used a different name for each.
I was much impressed with the guileless legionary, Castor, who I suspect was based upon the author's dedicatee. Besides the big set-piece battle to foil Cerberus, Sertorius does rescue a little girl from a sea storm and does find his son's tutor's niece. He leaves them with a childless Greek couple, who are happy to welcome them. The battle scenes are becoming a blur to me in each Roman military novel I read, and it must be hard for each author to come up with details to differentiate them. I liked the most the character-driven aspects of this novel. I felt these people human. I thank the author for sending me a copy of his novel.… (más)

After participating in several battles, Sertorius, now the "Hero of the North", returns to Rome. This novel traces out his entry and political career as senator, as protégé of Marius. Disillusioned with Roman politics following an assassination and machinations concerning bills, especially the one concerning land grants to veterans, he breaks with Marius. He feels this is the beginning of the end of the Republic. He calls for reconciliation among aggrieved politicians, but is not listened to. The way is opened for further adventures. I wouldn't necessarily call this a "political thriller" but a further chapter in Sertorius' life. I enjoyed the novel and recommend it as a continuation of Sertorius' story and possible influence on him. Unfortunately, there were typos, which I took as the typesetters' fault. Several expressions did confuse me though. I thank the author for sending me an ARC.… (más)