Tag Archives: Rome

Eagles in the Storm

Posted on March 2, 2022 by smellincoffee

Eagles in the Storm© 2017 Ben Kane352 pages Six years ago, a German auxiliary named Arminius used his place of respect within the Roman army to lure Governor Vaurs and three legions into a devastating ambush. Rome began to exact … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Hunting the Eagles

Posted on February 18, 2022 by smellincoffee

Hunting the Eagles© 2016 Ben Kane402 pages Six years ago, Rome was humiliated and a tenth of her army destroyed when a faithless auxiliary lured three legions into a boggy ambush in the Teutoburg forest. Centurion Tullus, one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The War that Made the Roman Empire

Posted on October 26, 2021 by smellincoffee

The War that Made the Roman Empire: Anthony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium© 2022 Bary Strauss368 pages Rome, at the death of Julius Caesar, was no stranger to internal war.  A functioning, healthy republic had long vanished,  torn in pieces … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Eagles at War

Posted on September 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

Eagles of Rome: Eagles at War© 2015 Ben Kane448 pages Cast from solid gold, and larger than a man could hold in both hands, the eagle was depicted lying forward on its breast. A golden wreath encircled its almost-touching wings, … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants

Posted on September 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans© Garrett Ryan 288 pages For those interested in the life of Greece and Rome beyond senatorial politics and agricultural policy, Naked States offers an … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Traitors of Rome

Posted on August 30, 2021 by smellincoffee

Traitors of Rome© 2019 Simon Scarrow351 pages Young Tribune Cato and his grizzled enlisted mentor Macro have come a long way together, from the dismal bogs of Britannia to the even more dismal desert wastes of the eastern border. Across … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Sword and the Serpent

Posted on April 23, 2021 by smellincoffee

Sword and Serpent © 2014 Taylor R. Marshall411 pages A phoenix from the fire will riseUnchain her and free the worldIn Britannia will rise the eagle whose sign is the CrossIn Britannia will rise the chief dragon whose sign is … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

COVID Reviews #3: Romans, Dogs, and Saudis

Posted on October 2, 2020 by smellincoffee

I don’t know if anyone misses my usual chatty, sometimes florid reviews, but they’re impossible to do on a phone. More mini-reviews it is! Continuing my onslaught of the TBR pile, I finished Lives of Famous Romans, by Olivia Coolridge. … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Of Romans, manly saints, and the beginning of the end

Posted on September 4, 2019 by smellincoffee

I spent much of August crawling through the first volume of Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.  I was very careful, in making my list, that I specified “Volume I”: I  had little interest in trying … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Of Caesar, Aeneas, and Selma

Posted on March 2, 2019 by smellincoffee

This past week I’ve been dogsitting in the country, and if you’ve never enjoyed a rural sunset with a glass of wine and Chloe Feoranzo playing in the background, it’s an experience I can recommend. While I was away, February … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments