The Ghosts of Athens (Aelric) [Paperback]

Review

I have I believe been fortunate to read all of Richard Blake's novels, since the release of The Column of Phocas, later re-released as Conspiracies of Rome in 2008.

Every novel has been a delight for a reader of Historical fiction and also those who love conspiracies with twists and turns and deep intrigue. I wont say that you come to love the hero of this series Aleric, but you learn to follow him and his adventures and his growth through the roman world.

The Author Richard Blake (AKA Sean Gabb) is a Historian, his depth of knowledge come across clearly in the books, his attention to detail is to a level that breathes life into the Roman world (for some it may seem too much, but stick with it, this sin some dusty history lesson, this is history come to life).

Our Hero (Aleric) is a complex man, part cultured Roman, part ass kicking semi sociopathic barbarian, just as capable of delivering a fine oration as he is of stabbing you in the groin and watching you bleed out. There is however no gratuitous violence, only the violence that fits the plot and the period, this is not the PC modern world. A man lived by his wits, brains, skill with weapons and reputation, as well as his perceived station on the Roman world.

This is not the world of Caesar, this is the decline of the Empire, Just as Rome descended into a mire of corruption and ineffective aloof leaders who cared nothing for the commons, the east , the last bastion of the roman world is heading the same way, the chaos and confusion of Byzantine politics abounds, corruption is the watchword of politics. Add in religion and you have an explosive world teetering on the edge of collapse.

Aleric fresh from a bloodbath in Egypt has a reputation to salve, many blaming him for the bloodbath, find himself diverted to Athens, no reasons are not shared with him and the City of Athens is not the glorious capital of antiquity, now a provincial city under threat from a rabble that only size can call an army. Its not a situation that any would relish lacking a true order from his emperor he doesn't even know if he is on a true mission or being set up by his rivals / enemies.

Can he survive this latest mission?

Buy the book at less than £6.50 it's a bargain for all contained in the pages

Highly Recommended

(Parm)

There is something fascinating about the fortune of western Europe during those years of mystery that lay between the Roman and Carolingian empires. Centuries of decline and decay, caused and aggravated by abandonment by the Roman authorities, now based in Constantinople, and attack by the northern tribes. Arguably, the one hope for those living amongst the ruins lay in the new Christian order which flourished in the West, just as it did in the East. Unfortunately, with the bishops not able to agree about even the nature of Christ, union seemed impossible and even undesirable.

It's in this 7th-century world that we meet Aelric - senator and advisor to the emperor in Constantinople, troubleshooter and troublemaker, handy with fist and pen, with one eye open for attractive female company and the other for enlightening literary or theological texts. Having failed to keep the peace in Alexandria, Aelric is sent with Priscus, a deeply unsavoury general, to Athens. They are there to be either executed (or at least have their eyes burnt out) for having failed their master or to rule over an unhappy meeting of bishops and prelates designed to bring the western and eastern churches together. The fact that the novel is over 400 pages long indicates the latter.

The historical setting of The Ghosts of Athens is superb. The descriptions of Athens are compelling. The remains of the glory days can still be seen, admired and visited while the decayed city streets are filled with an ugly, diseased and impoverished population, as far removed as is possible to be from those famously godlike Athenians of antiquity. You can almost taste the rot. This is compounded by a description of a garden frog stew that put me off food for a week. And when a headless corpse turns up, pulled out from under an ancient tomb, and is subjected to the kind of treatment that only the despicable Priscus could summon up, I was reaching for a bucket.

There is an issue, though. This extraordinary historical colour is let down by a rambling and incoherent story that loses direction and point at every turn. Aelric has similar colour and is entertaining and shocking in equal measure. But he is not enough. The other characters came across to me as either cartoon grotesques or cardboard cutouts. Nobody seemed `normal'. The story could have been about the murder, it could have been about religious argument and debate, it could have been about a city on the point of violent collapse. I didn't really know. It was a bit of all of these with Aelric's own private agendas added in. Also, the early chapters are set at a future date in a fantastically-realised decrepit London but there was little to join it with the bulk of the novel.

The first third is excellent and pulled me in. The remaining two thirds did their best to spit me out. It is a shame because Rome's death throes provide such a setting and Blake clearly enjoyed putting them to paper. The beginning is so much fun to read. However, a novel needs to give more to its reader, at least this reader.

The Ghosts of Athens is the fifth book in a series and it's possible that if I had read the others I might have enjoyed it more. It's unlikely, though, that I'll read the next. This is a 2.5 star book. I'm grateful for the review copy.

This book is very good. Well written, good plot,great fun to read! My only criticism is the lack of paragraph/in-chapter dividers. In a genuine paper book, you would have an asterisk or a symbol to indicate that the scene has changed. As this is an electronic version, you have to guess. Pedantic, yes but nonetheless annoying. Other than that, enjoy!