Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for Jaded Readers
Review: Yup. That's me - a jaded reader. I suppose I've just spent too many hours reading lousy books and that, combined with an extreme lack of time, has made me extremely choosy about the books that I choose to spend my time on these days. If you're like me you'll probably enjoy this offering from Gillian Bradshaw.Ariantes is the honorable commander of a group of semi-barbaric Sarmatians who have been beaten, and then recruited by, 2nd century AD Romans. Unlike the other army commanders he cares enough about his men to Romanize a bit if that's what it takes to keep them alive in their new posting - far-off Britain. I found this novel to be a pleasant romp through ages past - not too deep, and just suprising enough to be satisfying. Bradshaw does an admirable job of evoking Ariantes' barbaric mindset, even if he is a bit too self-sacrificing now and then. The main characters are nicely fleshed out, though the villain is a bit too one-dimensional for my tastes - but then it's a very rare book that can satisfy me in that regard. I'm a historian - not a historical nit-picker - and found this book to do a good job of representing the past. The plot wasn't complex enough to give me a headache, which I like. Plus, I rather enjoyed reading about someone who excelled in administration. Not the most glorious of occupations, for sure, but don't worry - there's enough fighting and action in here to mix things up if that's more to your taste.
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