- Jubilee offer: spend £10 or more on any product sold by Amazon.co.uk on or before June 6 and you can buy The Diamond Jubilee A Classical Celebration Album for just £2.50 Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Libertas
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Product details
|
Product Description
Review
Forrest has the gift of the true story-teller the ability to engage his readers interest from the very first sentence. --Sir Patrick Cormack FSA, MP Alistair Forrest's Libertas is a fast-moving tale of fortitude, survival and eventual retribution told against the background of Rome's bloody civil war. In the mountains of southern Spain Melqart grows up unaware of the unseen forces which are drawing the armies of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great's sons towards an explosive collision in a valley close to his beloved village of Munda. As the action sweeps dramatically between Spain, Sicily and the shores of Africa Melqart is drawn ever deeper into the conspiracy by his friendship with Sextus. The young Spaniard must fight for his life and his family's freedom and Forrest vividly recreates the epic battle that gave Caesar the prize he sought so avidly. --Doug Jackson, best-selling author of Caligula
Product Description
Set in southern Spain in the First Century BC, Libertas introduces the people who live in the idyllic mountain community of Munda and the ancient Kemeletoi people who thrive in the surrounding countryside. But the world is ruled by Rome, whose generals have a score to settle - Julius Caesar has force-marched eight crack legions from Italy to subdue the sons of Pompey, and two huge armies will clash in the wide upland valley that stretches before Munda. The final, savage battle of a remorseless struggle for world dominance. A battle that will leave 30,000 dead and a community devastated. But there's an unlikely hero who refuses to give in to the despair and horror of war, who believes his family can be rescued from slavery, who refuses to accept that Roman cruelty and greed has changed his beloved Munda forever. This is a story of bravery, love, invention and hope. 'Forrest has the gift of the true story-teller the ability to engage his readers interest from the very first sentence.' --Sir Patrick Cormack FSA, MP 'Alistair Forrest's Libertas is a fast-moving tale of fortitude, survival and eventual retribution told against the background of Rome's bloody civil war. In the mountains of southern Spain Melqart grows up unaware of the unseen forces which are drawing the armies of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great's sons towards an explosive collision in a valley close to his beloved village of Munda. As the action sweeps dramatically between Spain, Sicily and the shores of Africa Melqart is drawn ever deeper into the conspiracy by his friendship with Sextus. The young Spaniard must fight for his life and his family's freedom and Forrest vividly recreates the epic battle that gave Caesar the prize he sought so avidly.' --Doug Jackson, best-selling author of Caligula
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This great book has taken me on a journey into the Andalucian mountains in
Southern Spain. I was expecting the usual roman battle scenes, but
these had a different take on the norm. There is a more spiritual
story going on in the background that I think will appeal to women
readers who might usually give these sort of books a wide berth. The
characters managed to get under my skin and I found myself catching my
breath at certain points when things happened that were unexpected. It
has left me wanting to learn more about the mountains and its ancient
tribal people. I would like to know what happens to the main character
Melqart. I would highly recommend.
Southern Spain. I was expecting the usual roman battle scenes, but
these had a different take on the norm. There is a more spiritual
story going on in the background that I think will appeal to women
readers who might usually give these sort of books a wide berth. The
characters managed to get under my skin and I found myself catching my
breath at certain points when things happened that were unexpected. It
has left me wanting to learn more about the mountains and its ancient
tribal people. I would like to know what happens to the main character
Melqart. I would highly recommend.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cruelty and torture is rife and horribly convincing, and the details of early mechanical weaponry - the scorpio, for example - are painted in with precision. Sexual excesses too, of course. But neither Caesar nor his army is demonized - there are marauding tribes and pirates who are just as bad - and there is plenty of room for the other side of things. Some of the heart-rending farewells and reunions make you think Forrest has one eye on the screenplay. Most interesting for me was the ingenuity of the central character, Melqart. His shortcomings as a warrior are exposed throughout, but greatness is thrust upon him anyway because of his wit and imagination. There's a wonderful lighter scene involving Games in Sicily where he invents the centre-board in order to win the sailing race. Every kind of adventure is in this book: massed battles in Spain, hair's breadth escapes at sea, attacks on the Berbers in northern Africa - what more do you want? For me it's more a question of what less do you want. There's a little too much mysticism for my taste, and the style is heavily adjectival at times, but after a while you don't care about such things as you're swept along by the sheer narrative power. Great read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A beautifully written account of a major time in the history of Rome and Southern Spain. It has been well researched and held together by a fascinating duel between good and evil. You will warm to the main characters and I for one am looking forward to the follow up.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Libertas
I really enjoyed reading this book, there was a genuine sense of time and place. I enjoyed the descriptive detail and the recurring theme of the eagle giving it an almost... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Caroline
Libertas Lustrum
Libertas is set in the same period of Roman history as Robert Harris's Lustrum, but gives an utterly different perspective on the rivalry between Caesar and Pompey. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Rassendyl
Libertas, a mesmerising début by Alistair Forrest
Libertas was an unusual choice for this reader who prefers historical tales based on modern history, which makes my enjoyment of this novel all the more remarkable. Read more
Published on 29 May 2010 by Mr. S. Jackson
A truly engrossing journey..
I am a big big fan of the historical fiction , especially that set in the roman era, and i have to say that this book captured me right from the very first couple of pages.. Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2010 by Durotriges
Where fact and fiction blend in perfect harmony
Anyone who likes historical novels will find this offering by Alistair Forrest a literary delight. Not only I defy anyone to separate history from fiction, but the story has such... Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2009 by Konrad
Accomplished and impressive historical adventure
Alistair Forrest is surely a name to conjure with in the future. It's almost as if he's got himself present at the battles he so vividly re-creates and one is struck by an... Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2009 by Richard
Spain and Rome in the times of Julius Caesar
The author of the book Libertas was new to me, hence hesitancy at purchasing a product to keep me entertained on a couple of long flights. Read more
Published on 8 May 2009 by S. Bradley
Enthralling tale of adventure and survival
A slightly different take on the "classic" historical novel which is very well written and contains some lovely descriptive passages and metaphors. Read more
Published on 25 April 2009 by M. Connelly
A promising first book in the spirit of Scarrow, Iggulden & Cornwell
I was hoping for shades of David Ball (Sword & Scimitar). But the beat of the book reminded me of early work of Bernard Cornwell (Sharpe's Rifles). Read more
Published on 18 April 2009 by Peets
Rivetting
Forrest had me rivetted from the first chapter. I'm not one for historical novels normally but love stories about Spain and the Med, which is why I read the book. Read more
Published on 3 April 2009 by Indi A Jones
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
