{THE HISTORIES OF SPHAX SERIES 1}: THE WALLS OF ROME.

One of several bloggers who over seven days will be participating in this Blog Tour (the full list of which can be found in the Schedule at the bottom of the post). Today {the 6th day of the Tour) its my pleasure to be sharing my thoughts on  ... 

THE WALLS OF ROME by ROBERT M KIDD.

GENRE: Historical Fiction set in ancient Rome

PUBLICATION DATE:  3rd November 2020

STAND ALONE FIRST BOOK IN A SERIES 

ESTIMATED PAGE COUNT - 419

PURCHASE LINK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walls-Rome-believe-climbed-Hannibal-ebook/dp/B08MQMRDMM

218 BC. Sphax is seventeen and haunted by the brutal murder of his parents at the hands of Rome. After ten years of miserable slavery he will make his last bid for freedom and go in search of Hannibal’s army and his birthright. He will have his revenge on the stinking cesspit that is Rome!

Destiny will see him taken under the wing of Maharbal, Hannibal’s brilliant general, and groomed to lead the finest horsemen in the world – the feared Numidian cavalry that would become the scourge of Rome.

From the crossing of the great Rhodanus River, Sphax’s epic journey takes him through the lands of the Gaul to the highest pass in the Alps. This is the story of the most famous march in history. A march against impossible odds, against savage mountain Gauls, a brutal winter and Sphax’s own demons.

This is more than a struggle for empire. This is the last great war to save the beauty of the old world, the civilized world of Carthage, Greece and Gaul. The world of art and philosophy – before it is ground into dust by the upstart barbarity of Rome. {Synopsis}

Sphax sank the knife deep between rat-face's scrawny shoulder blades. {First Sentence, Chapter One, Part One: The Creatures Of Artemis}

After they passed through the wooden gate between the twin stone towers, Spax looked up to see Lord Cenno on top of the battlements with his arms raised to the heavens as if beseeching the gods themselves. 

'Did you see him?" he asked Idwal, riding beside him?'

'Yes,' answered Idwal wearily, 'I saw him.'

'He had his arms raised. I think he was offering you his blessing' 

'No, Spax. 'He was cursing me.' {Memorable Moment, Page 256}

MY THOUGHTS ... What my grandad would call a rollicking good read. 

For myself ... 

Wonderfully rich in historic detail, the author seamlessly weaving background information into the story thus bringing it to life in glorious technicolour so to speak. However, much as I enjoyed The Walls Of Rome I think I may well have enjoyed it a lot more had I  had an interest in weaponry and battle strategies which dominated the latter part of the book.

Superb in character development; Spax, a young man out to seek revenge for his parent's murders and a childhood spent a slave, a truly memorable character. However, as someone with a penchant for strong, feisty female characters, I found myself, not so much perturbed that there weren't more of them, as a bit disgruntled that, having introduced just such a strong, feisty female character  in the early chapters of the book, the author did relatively little with her.

ABOUT ROBERT M KIDD ... When Cato the Censor demanded that ‘Carthage must be destroyed,’ Rome did just that. In 146 BC, after a three year siege, Carthage was raised to the ground, its surviving citizens sold into slavery and the fields where this once magnificent city had stood, ploughed by oxen.

Carthage was erased from history.

That’s why I’m a novelist on a mission! I want to set the historical record straight. Our entire history of Hannibal’s wars with Rome is nothing short of propaganda, written by Greeks and Romans for their Roman clients. It intrigues me that Hannibal took two Greek scholars and historians with him on campaign, yet their histories of Rome’s deadliest war have never seen the light of day.

My hero, Sphax the Numidian, tells a different story!

When I’m not waging war with my pen, I like to indulge my passion for travel and hill walking, and like my hero, I too love horses. I live in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.

FOLLOW ROBERT M KIDD ... ~ Website ~ Twitter ~ FaceBook ~

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE ... ~ 21st May: My Bookish Bliss ~ sharon beyond the books ~ @the.b00kreader (insta) ~ 22nd May: Jera's Jamboree ~ Jessica Belmont ~ @amyreads1000 ~ 23rd May: QuirkyBookReads ~ Rosie Writes... ~ The Northern Witch's Book Blog ~ 24th May: David's Book Blurg ~ Chez Maximka ~ Chicks, Rogues and Scandals ~ 25th May: Bibliostatic ~ Northernreader ~ B for bookreview ~ 26th May: Literacy Indulgence ~ Felicity Grace Terry ~ Historical Fiction with Spirit ~ 27th May: Al-Alhambra ~ The Magic Of Wor(l)ds ~ Splashes Into Books ~ 

Delighted to be a participant in the Blog Tour for the second book in the series, you can read my thoughts on The Winter of Winters on the 1st of July 2021 .