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Ship of Rome (Masters of the Sea) (Hardcover)

by John Stack (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (5 Jan 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 000728523X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007285235
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 19,771 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #15 in  Books > Fiction > Genre > Historical Adventure Stories
    #60 in  Books > Fiction > Genre > War

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Product Description

Review

'This is a seriously entertaining book for anyone who enjoys stirring descriptions of ancient warfare. You can almost taste the salt, see the blood and hear the shouts and screams...John Stack is to be welcomed into the ranks of first-rate historical writers' Tuam Herald 'Crank up the testosterone, this one's a fighter!' U Magazine Ireland


Product Description

Against a backdrop of the clash of the Roman and Carthaginian empires, the battle for sovereignty takes place on the high seas Atticus, captain of one of the ships of Rome's small, coastal fleet, is from a Greek fishing family. Septimus, legionary commander, reluctantly ordered aboard ship, is from Rome, born into a traditionally army family. It could never be an easy alliance. But the arrival of a hostile fleet, larger, far more skilful and more powerful than any Atticus has encountered before, forces them to act together. So Atticus, one of Rome's few experienced sailors, finds himself propelled into the middle of a political struggle that is completely foreign to him. Rome need to build a navy fast but the obstacles are many; political animosities, legions adamant that they will only use their traditional methods; Roman prejudice even from friends, that all those not born in Rome are inferior citizens. The enemy are first class, experienced and determined to control the seas. Can Atticus, and the fledgling Roman navy, staffed with inexperienced sailors and unwilling legionaries, out-wit and out-fight his opponents? SHIP OF ROME, full of magnificent sea-battles, packed with strong characters, torn between two powerful empires, is the first book in a new series, MASTERS OF THE SEA, by a brilliant new author.
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Customer Reviews

57 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (22)
3 star:
 (13)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (57 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great new historical fiction author, 14 April 2009
By chuckles "barnie884" (Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
As a huge fan of historical fiction, with Iggulden, Scarrow, Cornwell and Manfredi amongst my favourites, I am always on the lookout for new authors. For me, I think Stack may just be a new one for the list. It must be hard at the moment to jump on the bandwagon without doing the same as everyone else, but I think he has managed it. Stack has gone for an earlier period in Roman history in the first Punic war, where Rome was in its infancy rather than the typical Caesar onwards tradition that most people are familiar with. This for me is especially fascinating as they are not the all conquering power in Europe, but just an up and coming force. In addition to this, he goes for the sea angle instead of the legions that most other do. This gives a whole new direction that feels fresh. Mix the facts with the usual fictional characters, battles & love interests and you have a sure fire winner. The fact that his writing is excellent and you really immerse yourself into the book adds to the experience. Shame I am going to have to wait quite some time for the follow up I guess. Highly recommended!
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Rise of Rome, 16 Jan 2009
By Sam "samueltyler" (Reading, Berkshire) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
As most people know - Rome was not built in a day. However, this does not stop fiction about the Roman Empire concentrating on the time of Emperors and power. Before the Caesars could rise to power the Empire had to be built. This is the time in history that John Stack concentrates on and for that reason is a different take on Rome than most. Atticus is a Captain of a moderate sized war ship in the under strength Roman navy. On board he has hundreds of rowing slaves and around 60 marines, including their centurion Septimus. Unlike Julius Caesar's day this is a Rome surrounded by enemies they are not confident in defeating including the powerful Carthagins, whose navy is seemingly insurmountable. Stack tells the story of Rome's first tentative steps into naval warfare and Atticus' role in it.

By concentrating on a slightly less mined area of Roman history I found Stack's first book very interesting. There are many similarities to Rome here and later Rome, but the relative weakness make Atticus and his marine friend Septimus a far more vulnerable target. The battles that take place throughout the book on both land and water are well researched and exciting to read. I also liked the main characters and the way that several potential enemies were made for later novels. The areas that the book falls down on are all due to Stack trying to cram too much into one book. The various relationships that are hinted in the book are never fully realised and it felt like character development was sacrificed to make the story faster. It's clear that as part of a series this will come in time.

I will certainly read the other books in the series as John Stack is a good addition to the likes of Igguldun, Scarrow and Cornwell. The action and excitement is of a high standard; the characters will grow with time. This is a book ideal for historic fiction fans looking for a new author for their collection.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Lacks Depth , 30 Jan 2009
By David McGregor (Penn, Bucks United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The work is not upto the standard of Cornwell's Sharpe novels. It is a light read with little technical depth. The characters should be developed in greater detail. They are annoying factual errors in the book such as tides in the Med! The action scenes could have been developed more. There is for example no sense of the weather or state of the sea in the battle scenes. A major lapse for a novel about war at sea. Roman cavalry play a major part in one battle scene which is out of proportion to the actual numbers of cavalry (300) attached to a legion of around 5500 men. The cavalry were not typically Roman either, usually being native auxillaries.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Not all at sea....
I must admit at first I was a little sceptical at reading 'yet another Roman history novel'. I hasten to add that I was pleasantly surprised. Read more
Published 25 days ago by R. Shaikh

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent
A decent read which follows a clash of arms between the Roman and Carthaginian Empires - the Mediterranean was obviously not big enough for the both of them! Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Cooper

1.0 out of 5 stars Missed Opportunity
First the positives; This book is about the Roman Navy rather than the Legions. It was this fact that made me buy it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Beneficarius

5.0 out of 5 stars RTL
Very enjoyable read. Great characters & story line. Looking forward to next book by John.
Published 3 months ago by RTL

4.0 out of 5 stars Action packed but a bit flaky on historical facts
This has been an excellent read, a period of Roman history long ignored. But there is no evidence that Roman galleys were rowed by slaves and the reference to segmented armour... Read more
Published 3 months ago by novelreader

3.0 out of 5 stars Derring-do for the not too serious
This is one for those who have not done too much previous non-fiction reading on this period, and who are thus not going to be irritated by its technical inaccuracies. Read more
Published 4 months ago by KalteStern

4.0 out of 5 stars Good solid offering
As a general fan of books about Rome it would probably come as no surprise to people that the vast majority centre around a protagonist who is either a major name (such as Julius... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Gareth Wilson

2.0 out of 5 stars cardboard characters and historical errors
The characters are stereo typical and not persuasive; there is little complexity about them. The work is littered with historical inaccuracies eg legion as 10,000, not 5,000;... Read more
Published 4 months ago by DH

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
I love historical fiction. For example I am a big fan of Bernard Cornwell. Ship of Rome does not quite come up to the standard of Bernard's works, but it was still an enjoyable... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dr. W. E. Allen

4.0 out of 5 stars A good yarn
There's no shortage of entries in the market for popular fiction based on the Roman Empire, but John Stack's novel - the first of a planned series - manages to carve a unique... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Trevor Willsmer

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