I made the mistake of listening to this as an audiobook. What would have been a shortish contemplative novel became an exercise in torture, where I could leave the book playing for half an hour and come back to find that the action had not progressed. ( )

A pair of Gauls, from the Pyrenees mountains, one of them under the curse of the local Goddess Pyrene, traverse the whole Roman Empire to the Eastern frontier. After that, the pair take part in Marcus Crassus' invasion of Parthia. it is an entertaining tour of both the Roman and Greek expressions of Hellenism from an outside point of view. The prose is excellent, and though lacking in lurid sexual details, the story deals well with the expressions of sex in society of the times. Does the story have a happy ending? No. But we know more about both ourselves and the period the tale is set in, by the time Duggan is through with us. It is book I'd have liked to have written. ( )

Camul tells the story of how he ended up as a Gaul fighting with Crassus at Carrhae and being captured by the Parthians.

Straightforward and interesting narrative. ( )

The narrative of a Gallic horseman on the disastrous expedition of Crassus in the East. Well done generally, but there's a certain woodeness to the characters and the action all seems a bit contrived to throw light on the big historical events at hand (kind of Flashman-esque without the humor or the strong lead). ( )

I’ve been fascinated by ancient Rome since 7th grade. I can’t remember my teacher’s name, but I do remember what he taught me about the Romans. I even put Roman Power on my three-ring-binder that year. What a histo-dweeb, huh? Well, yeah, but I’m still under the spell. And I don’t have any excuse for not knowing about Alfred Duggan before last month. He seems to have been a prolific author of historical fiction based in ancient times. And not just from the winner’s perspective either and that’s what’s so intriguing about Winter Quarters. It’s an account of a Gallic warrior who signs onto Publius Crassus’s army as a cavalry officer. Even though I have no way to really know, the way Camul views the Romans, their army and his role in it rings true. He and his lifelong friend Acco sign on for pay; no illusions of glory or grand purpose, it’s money they’re after. And a way to escape Pyrenee, a goddess who appears to have it in for Acco after he kills one of her sacred bears.

By one thing and another they’re introduced to Roman politics and come away with a worse opinion than they already had. Gone are the illusions of proud, masculine warriors. Now they see the flabby, toadying and scheming politicians who buy office and launch these great campaigns for mercenary reasons alone. From Publius they get on to dad - Marcus Crassus, who is determined to make a name for himself over and above his rivals Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. After all, defeating a rabble of slaves (Spartacus’s rebellion) is a bit paltry compared to the other two. He makes a bid for Parthia and launches an army out of winter quarters in Syria. Crassus, being Crassus, thinks its going to be a piece of cake and as history tells us it was. For the Parthians.

In between battles, marches and what few actual duties Acco and Camul have, they spend a lot of time thinking about religion and trying to avoid areas of goddess worship in all its forms. Outwardly, they reject feminine worship in favor of sky fathers and war gods, but in their hearts they fear her tremendously and will do anything they can to keep out of her line of sight. Unfortunately, goddess worship usually exacts a high price (Ariadne and Medea come to mind, as do the Queens of Eleusis and their unique crop-rotation method) and Acco’s bride-to-be succumbs and they leave her, horrified at what she’s become, at Artemis’s shrine. It seems though, she wasn’t through with them yet and the book ends with Camul on his own, shanghaied into the Parthian army and dictating his story to a fellow. Overall I liked the book even though it was a bit short on action and intrigue. The social, martial and religious aspects were interesting enough to keep me going though and it’s always fun to have a look at the Romans from the outside. ( )