Reviews and Comments

An interesting retelling of The Iliad, told from the point of view of Briseis, a princess captured by the Greeks and given to Achilles as a sex slave. Things go badly for the Greeks at Troy after Agamemnon takes Briseis off Achilles to have himself, and Achilles sulks and refuses to fight.

It shows both the majesty of kings, and the often primitive nature of the world of three thousand years ago, with a sprinkling of the supernatural.

Written and set in the 1980s but more relevant today. A group of people working in a self-publishing company concoct a vast conspiracy theory as a joke, involving the Templars, the Rosicrucians, the Freemasons, Jewish Kabala, Assassins of Alamut, and the Nazis. And they start to believe their joke and other people start to think they have the answers, before it all goes terribly wrong. Brilliant tale of self radicalisation.

Concluding Romanitas and Rome Burning. A humdrum melodramatic thriller set in an alternative present as Roman Empire & Japanese Empire struggle for world domination. Disappointed TBH

Continues on from Romanitas. This one is an international political thriller, following manoeuvring between the three world empires: Rome, China, & Japan. A fair effort.

A reasonable, if patchy, thriller set in an alternative present where the Roman Empire never fell. It sets interesting questions on whether slavery is feasible in an age of mass communication and mass transport. It also gives plausible continuation of ancient Roman traditions, and their evolution (or not) over two thousand years. A good effort.

Covers similar territory to The Importance of Being Earnest. Comic play showing how people try to balance "respectability" with "influence" and "interest" in the more openly transactional society of late 1800s England. Not really my cup of tea to be honest.

An enjoyable enough comedy of manners, in the more openly transactional society of late 1800s England. Covers similar territory to Lady Windermere's Fan. Both show how people try to balance "respectability" with "influence" and "interest". Not really my cup of tea, to be honest.

A beautiful book. In a post-nuclear apocalypse future, scientific books have been preserved by an order of monks. In three episodes, the story moves from new "Dark Ages" through a new "Renaissance" to a new nuclear age. A very different perspective on a common theme.

This book has beautiful photos sensitively colourised, with historical commentary alongside. While I am not a fan of colourising photos for their own sake, these colourised photos really bring the old scenes to life. The photo of Lewis Powell, a conspirator in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln, could have come straight out of a fashion catalogue.

I love this book. I have read it so many times over the years. I love the old fashioned language, the different styles, and the depth of the world making.

It was fascinating to read how big the trade was between India and the Roman empire. How the Empire funded itself through import taxes on luxuries, and how the system feel down when the Romans started to run out of gold.