Simon Turney is one of my ‘go to’ authors for great stories set in the ancient world – real or imagined. He is a great story-teller, with real attention to detail and accuracy. His characters tend to be nuanced, generally neither wholly black or white, and as he sets out to write series, he gives himself plenty of time to draw us in, and get to know them.
His Praetorian series, of which this is the third book, has been a bit of a struggle for me. The first book was very readable, but the second simply stretched my credibility too far. The main character, Rufinus, is a praetorian who finds himself unwillingly involved in various plots and schemes, and follows him as he tries to stay alive in a particularly dangerous period. He is a likeable character, but at times felt like a bit of a cipher, and at others, too much the superhero.
This third volume has him sent to Dacia by Cleander, the Imperial Chamberlain, to investigate allegations against the resident commanders. His mission has several layers, which I won’t detail, but there are several people in Rome who, for different reasons, will be more than happy if he fails, and simply disappears.
The story is more involving than the last volume. Set in an area not normally chosen as a setting for Roman fiction, and with an intriguing – and quite complex – plot, events unfold thick and fast. He is accompanied on the mission by Senova, and his faithful hound, Acheron.
But here lies the one big problem with the book for me. The character of Senova; she is very one-dimensional. The relationship between her and Rufinus is difficult to understand. They seem to put up with one another; no more. There is no real feeling between them. Were they two male characters sent out on the mission, this ambivalence could work to the author’s advantage. But that is not the set up here. Although she proves useful to his quest, she remains – for me, at least – largely a blank page. I hope her personality, and their relationship, will become more rounded as the series progresses.
With that one criticism, I did find the whole thing more believable than the story in the second book, and consequently, a much more enjoyable read. By the end, the path onward is more clearly visible, and I’m looking forward to the next volume.
This is a review of the 2017 Mulcahy Books Kindle edition.
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