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Italy, AD 589. What had been was gone.Industry, agriculture and city life had stopped,all of it erased by decades of war and the plague.The Romans are hangdog, defeated, and Titus moves among them.~But what can he do under such brutal overlords? An educated man, he publishes books in his scriptorium for sale to the Eastern Empire. He observes what has been lost and laments it. ~The King, having given him the responsibility for his Roman subjects, reserves to himself any authority to act. Titus reports abuses, the King takes no action and the people taunt Titus for being in cahoots with their oppressors. But what can he do? ~But then his friend is publicly castrated on the cathedral steps. The question becomes not what? but how? ~Armed uprising is futile, the people hangdog and cowering. But then he sees in their downcast gaze the answer. They would regain what has been lost by rebuilding the people's confidence, their technologies and crafts. They would sell their output to the rich East. He would work to rebuild the optimism that had made Rome great.~Titus opens his estate to those fleeing Verona. He builds kilns for the potters. He parcels out his 6,000 acres for those wishing to farm and instructs his overseer to teach them to farm. He starts building an Academy to replace those the Pope closed in Rome. He buys scholars to teach in it. ~Betrayals come, hostility and distrust, but he presses on to forestall the coming darkness.~But he is rash and goes too far. The overlords bring charges.~You know from your history classes that the shroud of the Dark Ages did befall. The world retreated into the cloister and prayed for the dissolution of the whole world. They called it by a pretty euphemism, the End of Days. What they meant was the destruction of everything.~Isn't that a horrible thought? Isn't the world and civilization worth fighting for? ~Join Titus in his efforts To Forestall the Darkness. Read it next. Buy it today.… (altro)
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* Addendum: Last paragraph is August 2014 review revision. I consider this a dystopian historical fiction novel. It takes place a century after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire. The setting, Verona, is chaotic and in tatters under the draconian Lombard yoke. Titus Tribonius is Gastaldus [Magistrate in Charge of Roman Matters] for the ruler, King Autari of the Duchy of Verona, capital city of Ticinum. Although appointed to an prestigious office but empty of actual power, Titus fervently wants to restore Roman pride and dignity in any way he can. As he states in one place: he wishes to shake off Roman subjugation to the Lombards. I liked the story and learned much of the time period. There hasn't been much fiction concerning the hiatus between the end of Antiquity and the onset of the Dark Ages. The notable exception is Arthurian literature.
Rome has fallen and society is under Lombard rule; Lombards are an amalgamation of an Italian tribe mixed with various Germanic elements; the Germanic is emphasized here. The times are dark and gloomy. The novel alternates between the civilian Romans and the ruling Lombards along with their military officers and soldiers. Titus has an estate outside Verona, the self-contained Spes Patriae [Hope of the Homeland], which struggles to become a Utopia, a microcosm of what Titus wants the Roman people to create: a self-sufficient society, retaining Roman skills, education, arts, industry. Titus hopes this concept will spread and revitalize the Romans. The novel recounts his and the Roman people's accomplishments. Their overlords oppose and obstruct them at every turn. At one point, Titus is pleasantly surprised at how a group of Romans not on his estate work together to finish a task: caring for an injured man.
I liked the description of the horrific storm and flood which devastated the area, and subsequent recovery efforts. Although admirable, Titus came across as pedantic and condescending but naïve and impulsive in some respects although earnest and wanting always to do his best for the Roman people; I couldn't get close to him. A similar fictional character in the Roman period I can think of is Marcus Julianus in The Light Bearer, although Marcus is more sympathetic. Marcus and Titus are both principled philosophical pagans. Marcus is the idealistic silver-tongued statesman/advisor to emperors. Titus has a glorious vision of the possible future; his friend Pertinax is good at day-to-day practical matters. *I wish something had been said about Pertinax' background other than that he is Berber and has lost an eye. I would have liked to know where and under what circumstances he and Titus had first met and then become friends. I hope the author will clarify in Volume 2. The Lombards each had certain defining traits: the villainous, manipulative, and evil Queen Theodolinda and sinister Ratold, Master of Horse; the idealistic King Ataulf; the well-meaning but weak, indecisive and gullible Duke Droctolf. Of the Lombards, Droctolf induced the most sympathy in me.
I don't know if what I read as humor was intentional or not. *I deplored the use of so many modernisms in language, e.g., 'okay', 'wow'. 'iew'. The narrative could have been tightened up; I felt there was too much repetition. Many of the parenthetical expressions could have been left out. I felt Titus' treatment and mass manumission of slaves were unrealistic but they were an honest expression of his principles. I liked how the poetry quotations [Ovid, "Battle of Regillus" , and Catullus] were fit neatly into the story. I commend the author for his own translation of the Catullus. I am sure the research was very well done; *I regret the lack of a bibliography for any reader who wishes to dig deeper. I did appreciate the 'Author's Notes'.
The unusual setting, interesting story and the explanations of history make this worth reading. The title really encapsulated the theme of the novel.
* August 2014 : This is one of those times I feel the rating system is too restrictive. I raised my rating to a 3.5. I reread the 2nd edition of this novel very carefully, compared it with the first, and was pleasantly surprised at some of the alterations, which I felt improved the book. The inclusion of a bibliography was a most happy addition. Some of the practices and attitudes of the Lombards seemed a bit outlandish so I'm glad to know the author didn't make them up. I'm glad he gave some backstory about Titus's friend, Pertinax, but---how did they meet in the first place and become friends? I appreciate excising or changing some of the modernisms. I also appreciated the extra descriptive material added. I do wish the author would cut down on his parenthetical expressions, for example, 'Decius, new from Corsica', 'Celer, of mixed Romano-German stock', 'Andros of the cleft chin'. For my part, mentioning once is enough; I don't need to be told many times. There are several other examples of repetitions of the same phrase. Maybe this is a small thing: but this has annoyed me in every other Roman novels I've read: for addressing a slave's master [Dominus], this is the only novel I've read using the correct form: Domine . I commend the author on this small detail! ( )
Italy, AD 589. What had been was gone.Industry, agriculture and city life had stopped,all of it erased by decades of war and the plague.The Romans are hangdog, defeated, and Titus moves among them.~But what can he do under such brutal overlords? An educated man, he publishes books in his scriptorium for sale to the Eastern Empire. He observes what has been lost and laments it. ~The King, having given him the responsibility for his Roman subjects, reserves to himself any authority to act. Titus reports abuses, the King takes no action and the people taunt Titus for being in cahoots with their oppressors. But what can he do? ~But then his friend is publicly castrated on the cathedral steps. The question becomes not what? but how? ~Armed uprising is futile, the people hangdog and cowering. But then he sees in their downcast gaze the answer. They would regain what has been lost by rebuilding the people's confidence, their technologies and crafts. They would sell their output to the rich East. He would work to rebuild the optimism that had made Rome great.~Titus opens his estate to those fleeing Verona. He builds kilns for the potters. He parcels out his 6,000 acres for those wishing to farm and instructs his overseer to teach them to farm. He starts building an Academy to replace those the Pope closed in Rome. He buys scholars to teach in it. ~Betrayals come, hostility and distrust, but he presses on to forestall the coming darkness.~But he is rash and goes too far. The overlords bring charges.~You know from your history classes that the shroud of the Dark Ages did befall. The world retreated into the cloister and prayed for the dissolution of the whole world. They called it by a pretty euphemism, the End of Days. What they meant was the destruction of everything.~Isn't that a horrible thought? Isn't the world and civilization worth fighting for? ~Join Titus in his efforts To Forestall the Darkness. Read it next. Buy it today.
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(3.5)
1
I consider this a dystopian historical fiction novel. It takes place a century after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire. The setting, Verona, is chaotic and in tatters under the draconian Lombard yoke. Titus Tribonius is Gastaldus [Magistrate in Charge of Roman Matters] for the ruler, King Autari of the Duchy of Verona, capital city of Ticinum. Although appointed to an prestigious office but empty of actual power, Titus fervently wants to restore Roman pride and dignity in any way he can. As he states in one place: he wishes to shake off Roman subjugation to the Lombards. I liked the story and learned much of the time period. There hasn't been much fiction concerning the hiatus between the end of Antiquity and the onset of the Dark Ages. The notable exception is Arthurian literature.
Rome has fallen and society is under Lombard rule; Lombards are an amalgamation of an Italian tribe mixed with various Germanic elements; the Germanic is emphasized here. The times are dark and gloomy. The novel alternates between the civilian Romans and the ruling Lombards along with their military officers and soldiers. Titus has an estate outside Verona, the self-contained Spes Patriae [Hope of the Homeland], which struggles to become a Utopia, a microcosm of what Titus wants the Roman people to create: a self-sufficient society, retaining Roman skills, education, arts, industry. Titus hopes this concept will spread and revitalize the Romans. The novel recounts his and the Roman people's accomplishments. Their overlords oppose and obstruct them at every turn. At one point, Titus is pleasantly surprised at how a group of Romans not on his estate work together to finish a task: caring for an injured man.
I liked the description of the horrific storm and flood which devastated the area, and subsequent recovery efforts. Although admirable, Titus came across as pedantic and condescending but naïve and impulsive in some respects although earnest and wanting always to do his best for the Roman people; I couldn't get close to him. A similar fictional character in the Roman period I can think of is Marcus Julianus in The Light Bearer, although Marcus is more sympathetic. Marcus and Titus are both principled philosophical pagans. Marcus is the idealistic silver-tongued statesman/advisor to emperors. Titus has a glorious vision of the possible future; his friend Pertinax is good at day-to-day practical matters. *I wish something had been said about Pertinax' background other than that he is Berber and has lost an eye. I would have liked to know where and under what circumstances he and Titus had first met and then become friends. I hope the author will clarify in Volume 2. The Lombards each had certain defining traits: the villainous, manipulative, and evil Queen Theodolinda and sinister Ratold, Master of Horse; the idealistic King Ataulf; the well-meaning but weak, indecisive and gullible Duke Droctolf. Of the Lombards, Droctolf induced the most sympathy in me.
I don't know if what I read as humor was intentional or not. *I deplored the use of so many modernisms in language, e.g., 'okay', 'wow'. 'iew'. The narrative could have been tightened up; I felt there was too much repetition. Many of the parenthetical expressions could have been left out. I felt Titus' treatment and mass manumission of slaves were unrealistic but they were an honest expression of his principles. I liked how the poetry quotations [Ovid, "Battle of Regillus" , and Catullus] were fit neatly into the story. I commend the author for his own translation of the Catullus. I am sure the research was very well done; *I regret the lack of a bibliography for any reader who wishes to dig deeper. I did appreciate the 'Author's Notes'.
The unusual setting, interesting story and the explanations of history make this worth reading. The title really encapsulated the theme of the novel.
* August 2014 : This is one of those times I feel the rating system is too restrictive. I raised my rating to a 3.5. I reread the 2nd edition of this novel very carefully, compared it with the first, and was pleasantly surprised at some of the alterations, which I felt improved the book. The inclusion of a bibliography was a most happy addition. Some of the practices and attitudes of the Lombards seemed a bit outlandish so I'm glad to know the author didn't make them up. I'm glad he gave some backstory about Titus's friend, Pertinax, but---how did they meet in the first place and become friends? I appreciate excising or changing some of the modernisms. I also appreciated the extra descriptive material added. I do wish the author would cut down on his parenthetical expressions, for example, 'Decius, new from Corsica', 'Celer, of mixed Romano-German stock', 'Andros of the cleft chin'. For my part, mentioning once is enough; I don't need to be told many times. There are several other examples of repetitions of the same phrase. Maybe this is a small thing: but this has annoyed me in every other Roman novels I've read: for addressing a slave's master [Dominus], this is the only novel I've read using the correct form: Domine . I commend the author on this small detail! (