- Paperback: 360 pages
- Publisher: Bookline and Thinker Ltd (12 Feb 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0955563062
- ISBN-13: 978-0955563065
- Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 819,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Half-Slave
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Review
The realism in the characters, situations, and deftly woven plot strands made this a gripping story. --Historical Novels Review, May 2010, UK
Trevor Bloom's research is impeccable. He works hard to avoid the clichés. The Saxons are not bellowing, mead-swilling berserkers, the Romans are neither hard-bitten legionnaires nor are they effete patricians, and the Franks are not barbarian clods pretending to be Romans. Each character is fresh and vivid. We experience the squalor of Fifth Century life, the uncertainty of the food supply, and the very first clashes of Christianity against the Germanic gods. A theme is that civilization is a hard won ideal, and that there were times in history when the forces that drove us apart were stronger than the forces that kept us together. I would heartily recommend this book to people who love a good adventure and those trying to understand that critical period in western history when the old Roman ways were supplanted by newer, rawer forms of government. --Historical Novel Review, USA
This is a compelling read, with flawless characterization. Ascha is a beautifully tormented hero. His lack of status makes him vulnerable, even as he picks up his first weapon. He falls clumsily in love, betraying his youth, and stumbles between factions, through violence and bloodshed, and we are beside him the whole time. Allies and foes materialize out of the marsh fog and seemingly change shape, the most notable being the villain Overlord, Clovis: deliciously sinuous in `soft, doeskin boots. --Level 4 Arts & Culture Magazine
I found the story gripping and avidly read on late into the night. I thoroughly recommend it as a good read in its own right and as background to anyone with an interest in this period. --Slingshot, journal of the Society of Ancients
Trevor Bloom's research is impeccable. He works hard to avoid the clichés. The Saxons are not bellowing, mead-swilling berserkers, the Romans are neither hard-bitten legionnaires nor are they effete patricians, and the Franks are not barbarian clods pretending to be Romans. Each character is fresh and vivid. We experience the squalor of Fifth Century life, the uncertainty of the food supply, and the very first clashes of Christianity against the Germanic gods. A theme is that civilization is a hard won ideal, and that there were times in history when the forces that drove us apart were stronger than the forces that kept us together. I would heartily recommend this book to people who love a good adventure and those trying to understand that critical period in western history when the old Roman ways were supplanted by newer, rawer forms of government. --Historical Novel Review, USA
This is a compelling read, with flawless characterization. Ascha is a beautifully tormented hero. His lack of status makes him vulnerable, even as he picks up his first weapon. He falls clumsily in love, betraying his youth, and stumbles between factions, through violence and bloodshed, and we are beside him the whole time. Allies and foes materialize out of the marsh fog and seemingly change shape, the most notable being the villain Overlord, Clovis: deliciously sinuous in `soft, doeskin boots. --Level 4 Arts & Culture Magazine
I found the story gripping and avidly read on late into the night. I thoroughly recommend it as a good read in its own right and as background to anyone with an interest in this period. --Slingshot, journal of the Society of Ancients
Product Description
The year is 476 AD - the Roman Empire is disintegrating and Germanic tribes are moving south to stake a claim in Roman Gallia. Among them are the Franks under their ruthless young Overlord, Clovis. He plans to build a new empire that will eclipse Rome's fading power, but his hope is jeopardized by a Saxon uprising. One young man is sent to find out where the Saxons will strike. Born the son of a Saxon warlord and a Roman slave mother, Ascha is a half-slave. When the Overlord offers to make him a free man if he will spy on his own people Ascha must summon all his resources and his courage to discover where his true loyalties lie. In a journey riven by hope, betrayal and brutal war, Ascha is caught in a clash that will decide the future of Gallia.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
converted a sceptic,
By
This review is from: The Half-Slave (Paperback)
I'm not usually a reader of historical adventure novels, but a friend recommended this and I really was converted. Proper character development, intense adventure and clearly excellent research. I'll be looking out for more from this author.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thrilling debut Novel!,
By
This review is from: The Half-Slave (Paperback)
This is a tremendous read. Politics and intrigue, love and death, all set in fifth century Europe. Trevor Bloom paints a vivid picture of the confusion and violence of the last days of the Roman Empire in this enthralling thriller.
The warring Northern tribes are massing to move into the vacuum left by the disintegrating Roman Empire. Ascha, the son of a Saxon warlord and a British slave mother, is forced to spy on both Saxon and Frankish leaders in pursuit of his own freedom. I've never been particularly drawn to historical fiction, but devoured this story with excitement. Recommended!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gritty historical adventure,
By Ben Powell (Bristol, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Half-Slave (Paperback)
The Half-Slave is unusual for Dark Ages fiction in that it doesn't try to add yet another take to the Arthurian legend or wallow in nostalgia for some long-forgotten Celtic era. Bloom focuses on the clash between the Franks and the Saxons and for once the Romans are shown not as arrogant world-conquerors, but as weak and uncertain, desperately trying to hold onto a rapidly-disintegrating power.
We see the struggle between the Germanic tribes as the Roman empire stutters to an end, and between the Franks, led by a nervy and calculating young Clovis (a real historical figure), and the Saxons who Bloom depicts plausibly as the terrorists of the day. Clovis himself is wonderful, a terrific mix of edgy neuroticism and brutal ambition. The half-slave is Ascha, son of a Saxon warlord and a Romano-British mother, a reluctant hero, torn by divided loyalties and ambivalent feelings towards his clan. He makes mistakes and is forced to live by his wits, despised by Romans, Franks and Saxons alike, but deep down he is determined to do what is right and that in my view is what a real hero is all about. Essentially a quest novel, Ascha faces many enemies but he also has friends - Octha the wily Frisian merchant; Herrad the love-interest; Tchenguiz the Hun; Lucullus, an enslaved Roman aristocrat; Basinia, queen of the Franks; - a diverse band which Bloom uses deftly to illuminate the conflicting interests of the time. An intelligent and well-researched historical adventure written in a gritty and pacy style. Well worth a look.
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