Roman sci-fi novels ... - Printable Version

Roman sci-fi novels ... - Printable Version

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Roman sci-fi novels ... - Anonymous - 09-20-2002

Salve 
 
Just started reading a novel: 'Household gods' by Judith Tarr & Harry Turtledove: modern women gets chucked back in time to Carnuntum in 170AD and has to live in the identity of a tavern owner. Blurb says she has to face plague, siege and conquest, and apparently have a tooth drawn without anaesthetic! Just got to the point where she ends her first day. Will keep you informed how it goes, but so far looking very promising with lots of gritty realism. 
 
Another fun one: 'Killer' by David Drake - a venator has to hunt alien fiend from outer space while avoiding Domitian's anger. Much better than it sounds. 
 
Celer.

Hannibal\'s Children - John Maddox Roberts - 09-20-2002

Okay, it's toot my own cornu time. Since the subject has been so conveniently raised, my recently published novel HANNIBAL'S CHILDREN is a Roman alternate-history novel. The turning point is the 2nd Punic War, which Hannibal wins, forcing the Romans into national exile in the north. The story begins about a century later. The Romans have been building up their strength, and now all the omens say it's time to reconquer Italy. A recon party finds a Mediterranean world very different from the one we know. A key difference is that Archimedes did not die in that Roman siege, but instead spent his final years at the Museum in Alexandria, where an Archimedean school of experimental science still exists, a major plot element. I'll say no more. People might think I'm plugging my own book (Ace Books, hc, $22.95 at fine bookstores everywhere.)

Re: Roman sci-fi novels ... - Caius Fabius - 09-20-2002

There are loads of Roman sci-fi novels and short stories out there, but I am not sure this is appropriate for Roman Army Talks "References and Reviews". We open this forum up to too much that isn't relaterd to our topic. It might be better in off topic section? Also "Household Gods" is a interesting read and I would gladly tell the whole story in one post, rather than having several "book reports" on each section. 
 
Drake, Turtledove, De Camp, Sadler, Rice, M.Z.Bradley, and many others have set their science fiction and fantasy novels in a Roman setting. One of my favorites is about an alternate universe where Pontius Pilate listened to his wife, and freed Jesus, allowing the Roman empire to survive into modern times, battling against the fanatical Arabs, and the Chinese empire and the Aztecs in the nova world, with tanks and "repeating pila". Now if I could remember the author.....

Re: Hannibal\'s Children - Anonymous - 09-20-2002

Great. I'll buy it! 
 
Celer.

Re: Hannibal\'s Children - Caius Fabius - 09-21-2002

John! Hurry up and finish the next one, Hannibal's Children was imaginative and really a fun read! well... don't hurry, write the next one as well or better than "Children".

Roman Woman - richsc - 09-22-2002

Maybe not chapter by chapter reviews, but your evaluation when you're done. I read Household Gods a while back, but for the day to day description of life, try Lindsay Allason-Jones 'Roman Woman'. Not exactly a story, but more a documentary in writing. Richard Campbell, Legio XX.
http://www.geocities.com/richsc53/studies/

First post...Double post. - Anonymous - 11-04-2002

Doh! (edited out, apologies) Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=evenshadow>Evenshadow</A> at: 11/4/02 6:45:55 pm

First post... - Anonymous - 11-04-2002

...so be gentle Smile

and pardon the handle, its a carryover from another EZ board Tongue

The books above that Caius Fabius is referring to, are Kirk mitchell's "Procurator", and "The New Barbarians" is the second one. Interesting alternate timeline books Smile

Exceptional Forum you folks have here. 
 
Even

Re: First post... - Caius Fabius - 11-04-2002

Yes, them's the ones! 
now I know which box in the garage to go dig through! Thanks! You see I have just be informed that the third book in that series (the last book in the trilogy) is "Cry Republic" and of course, I want them all......... 
Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=caiusfabius>Caius Fabius</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ROMANISROMANORVM/files/C%20Fabius%201988b.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 11/4/02 7:10:09 pm

Excellent:) - Anonymous - 11-04-2002

I didnt realize there was a third one out - currently living in a dead zone for literature Sad

Ill have to seek it out Smile

Even

plumbum - Anonymous - 12-04-2002

I started reading Household Gods a couple of days ago. In one place she's wanting to say "bite the bullet" but she couldn't because the Romans didn't have bullets, or something to that effect. In fact they had sling bullets. I suppose the argument could be made that if it wasn't Roman army SOP to have wounded men bite on these while they were being worked on in the field that the phrase would have been meaningless, but I thought she should at least have known the word. Vae victis!

Re: plumbum - derek forrest - 12-19-2002

I enjoyed Turtledoves Videssos books so I shall look out for his latest one. 
Derek

book - Dean Cunningham metalsmit - 12-30-2002

David drake also did 'Ranks of Bronze' a book about Roman soldiers taken off world to fight primitive technology battles on other worlds.

Re: Hannibal\'s Children - Anonymous - 12-30-2002

Mr. Roberts, I bought your book last night and finished it in one night. Here are my thoughts... 
 
1) Hannibal was far too generous to the Romans. He had an oath as a child to destroy Rome, so the whole " leaving temples and cities untouched" bit was a bit unlikely. 
 
2) Carthage was much too tolerant of the Romans coming back into Italy, as well as treating them too much like plausible allies. I thought that too was a bit unlikely. Most likely, if the Romans had arrived in Tarentum, they would have been crucified on the spot for violating Hannibal's treaty. 
 
3) The Roman Legions are far too formidable. They were a great army, but the Carthaginian and Egyptian troops are made to look far too inferior in comparison. 
 
I am intrigued by this series, and look forward to the sequels.

Hannibal\'s Children - John Maddox Roberts - 12-31-2002

Jace: 
First of all, I do hope you bought the book and didn't borrow it from a friend or a library. I don't get any royalty from such transactions (a whole 23 cents per boo, minus my agent's 15%). Other than that, I'm glad you read it. I must be doing something right. 
In answer to your questions: 
Keep in mind, this was a work of fiction and I have a certain leeway. 
1. As for Hannibal's leniency: He knew he would be badly mauled even if victorious, exile to what was to Mediterranean people the howling wilderness of the north 
was extremely brutal, and, most important, that business about Hannibal and his brother swearing an oath to destroy Rome was probably a fabrication of hostile Roman historians. 
2. In the later segment, Carthage is not the empire we know from real history, but a city more than a hundred years after winning the Second Punic and ruled by a degenerate descendant of Hannibal (Persia under Darius wasn't much like Persia under Cyrus). 
3. In writing the book, I wantd to play ith a concept: what might have made the Romans even more militant, rapacious and formidable than they historically were? What I came up with was national exile in the north and continuous warfare against Gauls and Germans for generations winning land only, not much loot or luxury. 
It's been fun writing it and I'm now finishing up it's sequel: THE SEVEN HILLS.