Fortress of Spears (Empire) [Hardcover]

 

 

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In the third book of the series, I think Anthony Riches has surpassed the previous books with the story and the first two were fantastic. The action comes thick, fast and quickly, as soon as you open the book and that's fast and there's little let up throughout in an intriguing story that gets better with each page. The bone crunching, blood letting and all out fury of ancient warfare is brought to life so vividly that you almost have to check yourself to make sure you haven't been splashed with blood or wounded whilst reading.

It isn't all smash and gore however, as Mr Riches combines those elements with a story that splits into different arcs where he introduces new characters, kills some off and has laugh out loud humour in certain things the characters say to each other or 'at each other'. Ultimately the story brings all tribal elements and Romans together for the final battle and a few issues that need to be dealt with at The Fortress of Spears.

Central to all this is Marcus Aquila, aka Centurion Corvus who has been taken refuge with the Tungrians after the murder of his father in Rome. As the Hyenas of the Praetorian Guard close in on Aquila and his allies on their mission to destroy him and those who have given him shelter, the book takes you way beyond Hadrian's Wall and deep into enemy territory where the hostile environment wears the soldiers down and those with Calgus are on home soil and work to eliminate those who are not indigenous to the region and some who are.

I won't spoil the story for those who want to read it with specific details but suffice to say, if you like a fascinating story that's authentic, action packed, full of humour, a torrid journey in a horrible environment and descriptive scenes that may make you wince, Fortress of Spears is a book for you as it was for me. Anthony Riches has without doubt ramped up every element in this book, buy it, you will not be disappointed.

"Fortress of Spears" marks the third outing for Antony Riches' erstwhile hero, Marcus Aquila - aka Centurion Corvus - of the 2nd Tungrian Auxiliaries, set in 2nd Century Roman Britain.

Fresh from the climatic battle of "Arrows of Fury", Riches wastes no time in throwing young Marcus back into the fight and the opening of `Fortress' is a bloody mosaic of shield crunching action. What sets Riches apart from many of his peers is his ability to write the big set-piece piece battle, the one-to-one fight scene or the dirty little skirmish with equal aplomb. Anyone who has read the author's previous two works will know that his brand of action comes with a healthy dose of realism. In Riches' world, war is a stinking, filthy business - and a dangerous one to boot.

Riches is heartless with his readers in this aspect: characters - well loved characters in some cases - are killed. Sometimes with drama, but more often than not, with little ceremony in the prose. Someone falls in battle scene, we're not sure who, only that it's a centurion or a tribune (for instance)... only later do we discover who has died and the impact it has on the men that have lived with, worked with and fought alongside him for long.

For me, this is one of Riches' greatest strength as a writer: his merciless pragmatism about the horror warfare. The reality he brings to these action sequences, the confusion, the fear and indeed the heroism of the men - on both sides - is brought into stark relief in a way I've not read since Pressfield's "Gates of Fire."

All that said, it would be wrong to think that this novel (and the others in the "Empire" sequence) survive on action alone. Each of the characters are well drawn and fully realised. The hunted Marcus Aquila, the indefatigable Dubnus, the grizzled Frontinius and more, each has their own motivations and raison d'etre that go far beyond simple plot mechanics.

In this latest outing, Riches throws some new faces into the mix, the nominal villains Rapax and Tiberius Varius Excingus. I say nominal, because in Riches' brutally real Britannia, these men are only serving their emperor and doing what it takes to get their job done.

In this case, their job is to hunt down and kill Marcus Aquila. And they're fully prepared to do what it takes to get it done.

It's rare that so much care is lavished over the antagonists, and I can't help but think that the author was particularly gleeful in his execution of these two `frumentarii' (translated literally as `corn collectors' but this was a nom de voyage for the emperor's secret service). Rapax and Excingus blaze a bloody and ruthless trail through Britannia, using every advantage available to them to bring their quarry down - up to and including the kidnapping of his pregnant wife-to-be. Nice guys these are not, but as depicted by Riches, you understand why they do what they do. Except, perhaps, these chaps enjoy their jobs a little too much for you warm to them!

The plot of Fortress of Spears is multi-faceted, taking us with Marcus on his journey to the titular stronghold, the quest of the frumentarii to bring him down, the newly made Centurion Dubnus and his mission to retrain a failed squad into effective soldiers and much more besides. By focusing on the auxillaries rather than the legions, Riches affords himself - and us - a broader range of military action than would otherwise be feasible. Anyone that has read the first two novels in the series will realise that Riches is taking us through the various arms of the Roman military. "Wounds of Honour" is primarily an infantry novel, "Arrows of Fury" focuses on the archers and here, in "Fortress of Spears" we get a grunt's eye view of the cavalry unequalled since Breem's "Eagle in the Snow."

I think that with "Fortress of Spears", Riches has come of age. The Empire series as a whole are amongst the finest historical fiction novels I've ever read, but "Fortress of Spears" is the best to date. A good sign, as the author is getting better and better, book by book.

Riches writes with an effortless style but his works are anything but light-touch. Sumptuously researched, action-packed and containing plot lines that twist, turn and surprise, these novels are a must for any reader of historical fiction. No longer a new voice in the genre, Riches is setting a new benchmark in quality for the action-historical.

I'll not paraphrase the praise that has been heaped on A. Riches for Fortress of Spears but will only make a few comments. First, it is relatively rare for the third installement in a series to be as good as the first two. For me at least, only Scarrow, Cornwell and Cameron have managed to do this. Second, one of the author's forte - which he almost overdoes at times - is his very realistic descriptions of the horrors of war. Somebody has compared him to the lamented Pressfield and there is something to it, although Gates of Fire - for me at least - is still a notch above. Nevertheless, it is superbly written but with a few cliches (the blue-eyed hero fighting gladiator-style with the two swords etc...), although these may be difficult to avoid. As another commentator mentioned, the frumentarii (a mix of secret service and imperial assassins) are depicted as having little choice than to carry out their orders and do their job. However, this is not entirely true since they also seem to take great pleasure in it...

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2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed.
Having read Richard Spears prievous books I found Fortress of Spears disappointing.The first 2 books were feasible and real but Fortress was bordering on fantasy with a weak story... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Mrs. M. R. Green

2.0 out of 5 stars The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
What a great concept, a great setting and a great set of characters! Unfortunately Fortress of Spears suffers from the same deep flaws as Anthony Rich's previous two books. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Mrs. C. Elliott

2.0 out of 5 stars Great concept, a great setting and a great set of characters - BUT...
What a great concept, a great setting and a great set of characters! Unfortunately Fortress of Spears suffers from the same deep flaws as Anthony Rich's previous two books. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Mrs. C. L. Elliott

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong Fortress
Having read Tony Riches' first two books and thoroughly enjoyed them, Fortress Of Spears lived up to the same expectation. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mike Reed

2.0 out of 5 stars A Classicist's View
Anthony Riches obviously has a very rigid idea of Rome's northern frontier, but unfortunately it is flawed. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Dignitas

5.0 out of 5 stars garrygat
Big Big fan of this author.Superb plot memorable characters. The whole read flows brilliantly.definitely a difficult book to put down.

Published 6 months ago by Gary Gatenby-taylor

2.0 out of 5 stars Why the filthy language!
Why do we have to spoil a good read with such disgusting language. The great authors don't do it so why do the new boys. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Jeffrey Moss

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Read
Mr Riches' writing has definitely improved with each of these three books and I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Mr A A Collingridge

1.0 out of 5 stars A degenerating genre
If you like simple minded action novels with plot lines that stretch all credibility, characters who are walking cliches, and endless descriptions of chopped off arms and legs and... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, Great writer
This latest and long awaited...(a whole year Anthony...come on speed it up).. book in the fantastic Empire series of books about our hero Marcus Aquila. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Parm

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