The Caspian Gates

Warrior of Rome, Book IV

By: Harry Sidebottom

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

AD 262: The Roman Imperium is in turmoil after the struggle for the throne that brought Gallienus to power. Ephesus, the metropolis of the Eastern Empire, lies in ruins, shattered by a mighty earthquake. Its citizens live in fear as the mob overwhelms the city, baying for blood to avenge the gods who have punished them. Yet an even greater threat to the Empire advances from the north: the barbaric Goth tribes, determined to pillage the city. Only Ballista, Warrior of Rome, knows the ways of the barbarians, and only he can defeat them.

A relentlessly gripping and richly authentic tale of ancient warfare, The Caspian Gates is an adventure for Rome enthusiasts and scholars alike. Widely acclaimed for his Warrior of Rome series, Harry Sidebottom "provides a well-constructed, well-paced, and gripping account…which, as a good series should, leaves the reader eagerly anticipating the next installment" (Times Literary Supplement).

©2012 Dr. Harry Sidebottom (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Sidebottom’s prose blazes with searing scholarship." (The London Times)

"The best sort of red-blooded historical fiction." (Andrew Taylor, CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award-winning author of The American Boy­)

"Sidebottom remains consistently meticulous about detail, old-fashioned about storytelling, and astute in portraying political backstabbing worthy of the modern arena." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great series, not the best book of the series.

I like the continued story, this one seemed to go into more depth of explanations of locations or groups of people that did not appear to have relevance to this saga. Maybe it will in future books? I became disinterested during the long detailed descriptions and found myself not eager to finish the book like others.

Best of the Series So Far

This installment of the series is perhaps the best so far, owing mostly to the addition of B and C plot strings. The first few books never left the protagonist, never weaved multiple plot strings together. This one does that neatly and interestingly. I think also that Dr Sidebottom’s historical knowledge of the peoples and armies of the near east (Scythia, Persia, etc) is more expert than that of his knowledge of ancient religions. He does not seem to know much about early Christianity or Judaism, so having left those out of the plot did a great deal much to improve this book.

Rich history in an entertaining novel

After picking this read without looking at the other reviews, I was surprised to see few written reviews, most of which were negative, and some just mean, that other's have posted for this book! I think the fact that this book has (as of this writing), 4.3 starts on 107 ratings should put the negative nabob's reviews in perspective.

For my part, I found this book to be a rich historical tapestry wrapped in the form of a novel with all the elements of modern entertainment including the drama of constant fatal danger, historically correct war fighting, political drama, geopolitical chess-play, the interactions of a wide range of different cultures, religions, and philosophies, and of course, a pinch or two of gratuitous amorous monkey-business.

The author, Harry Sidebottom, funny name aside, is a well-credential historian who knows his stuff, so while history is never a sure thing, and a novel is a novel, this history you're getting here is of good quality. Professor S is also a good writer. He brings the (disintegrating) Roman Empire of the third century to life for 21st-century readers, taking us on an adventure that carries us across a swath of the eastern empire from the Aegean Sea, though Byzantium, up the Black Sea, to the Caucasus region, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, along the treacherous frontier of the Roman Imperium.

The author paints a vivid picture of those times through the people, religious practices, cultural distinctions, transportation, foods, social relations, and thinking of the people we meet along the way, For me, the this book would be worth reading just for that; --but there is humor, interest, and humanity in the characters, and best of all, beyond the history and drama, there is timeless wisdom conveyed through the contemplative thoughts of the characters, many of which reference ancient writers of great merit, but which are unknown or obscure to the vast majority of modern readers.

Stefan Rudnicki does his usual masterful job of narration, wrapping his rich baritone around the widely diverse range of characters with distinct and well-spoken dialects and accents.

My only complaint about this audible book is that the author, and/or Audible, does not provide an accompanying ".pdf" with maps or any kind of study guide which would help us to follow the story across a political map that bears little relation to modern political / national geography. Many of the geographic and political references in the book are not readily "Google-able", so it's confusing to tell where we are much of the time. As an example, the story does not explain how or why we are finding the King of Iberia, and powerful Albanian forces fighting for influence far to the east of where we moderns would expect them to be, in the remote neighborhood of modern-day Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

This is the first book I've listened to by this author, so I came to it with an open mind, and no preconceived notions or expectations, except for an interest in a history and a desire to be entertained. This book offers plenty of both; --and the price is right. If, as one of the negative reviews suggest, this author's other books are even better than this, then all the better, as this book left me wanting more.

Professorial

Would you try another book from Harry Sidebottom and/or Stefan Rudnicki?

Pompus, professorial, crude review of high school greek history and latin

What do you think your next listen will be?

Amber Road

Would you be willing to try another one of Stefan Rudnicki’s performances?

maybe

What character would you cut from The Caspian Gates?

The author

Any additional comments?

These books are written for listeners that enjoy greek and roman history, but for enjoyment and not a rehash of high school latin class.

Turn back now, before it's too late!

Where to start with this one? After the conclusion of the first trilogy, I wasn't sure where our hero Ballista would end up. Unfortunately, that place was in a bad story. Everything that made the first trilogy good is absent from this one. The opening was fine, with Ballista and his familia dealing with an earthquake, and then a Gothic army raiding the area. After that, it goes straight to hell. If you hated Ballista's musings on whether or not to cheat on his wife in the first book, don't worry, he doesn't even hesitate in this one! He just does! The plots in this one, but those of the barbarians and Romans, are all build-up and no payoff. Things you think will matter don't, and characters make arbitrary decisions that don't fit with their established character or are given little to no explanation. More and more, rather than see events play out, we are simply informed about how they happened.

Bottom line, if you're like me, and enjoyed the first trilogy, steer clear of the second. The overall "story" is boring, the characters are eroded into mediocrity, and the ultimate "climax" of the book is simply not worth it.

Worse one in the series.

Starts with an earth quake and that’s the most exciting part. This book dragged on an on as if the author was running out of ideas fir a story line. I had hopes during the sea battle but that wasn’t advanced.