Tag Archives: S.J.A. Turney

A Year of Ravens: a novel of Boudica’s Rebellion – Review

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Title – A Year of Ravens: a novel of Boudica’s Rebellion
Authors – E. Knight, Ruth Downie, Stephanie Dray, Russell Whitfield, SJA Turney , Kate Quinn, Vicky Alvear Shecter, Ben Kane (Foreword)
Genre – Historical Fiction
Length – 483 Pages
Publication – 17th Nov 2015
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

Synopsis

Britannia: land of mist and magic clinging to the western edge of the Roman Empire. A red-haired queen named Boudica led her people in a desperate rebellion against the might of Rome, an epic struggle destined to consume heroes and cowards, young and old, Roman and Briton . . . and these are their stories.

A calculating queen foresees the fires of rebellion in a king’s death. 

A neglected slave girl seizes her own courage as Boudica calls for war. 

An idealistic tribune finds manhood in a brutal baptism of blood and slaughter. 

A death-haunted Druid challenges the gods themselves to ensure victory for his people. 

A conflicted young warrior finds himself torn between loyalties to tribe and to Rome. 

An old champion struggles for everlasting glory in the final battle against the legions. 

A pair of fiery princesses fight to salvage the pieces of their mother’s dream as the ravens circle. 

A novel in seven parts, overlapping stories of warriors and peacemakers, queens and slaves, Romans and Britons who cross paths during Boudica’s epic rebellion. But who will survive to see the dawn of a new Britannia, and who will fall to feed the ravens?

Review

I was very lucky to receive an ARC of this book for review purposes.

This book follows the tale of Boudica and her rebellion against Rome and is split into 7 parts which are told by a different authors.

Each story is full of action and crammed full of emotion which you want but the best thing for me was that every story was told from a different characters perspective.

This is the first book I’ve read with this style of storytelling and I loved it, it’s what made it so enjoyable to read.

The way in which the tales are told add to the growth of the characters as throughout the book you see them through someone else’s eyes and I found myself liking people I originally didn’t.

There are some complex characters and relationships in this book and I particularly loved Sorcha & Andecarus. Each of these stood out for me. I also loved anything involving Duro.

In conclusion I felt everything worked well with this book, it was full of action, fast paced and a joy to read. I also felt having so many authors involved and the writing style of the book brought something to my eyes which was unique. I can see my book pile is going to grow after being introduced to some authors I’d previously not heard of.

It’s also made me want to look into some more stories about Boudica, she seems a very strong and complex character who I’ve not read much about. The one thing that really makes a good book for me is when the author leaves a spark with you.. leaves you wanting to find out more.. to read more. This book has certainly done that.

I feel quite privileged to have had the chance to read/review this before its release. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys the genre.

To find out more information head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com. Pre-order is available now!

Praetorian: The Great Game by S.J.A. Turney – Review

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Title – Praetorian: The Great Game
Author – S.J.A. Turney
Genre –  Historical Ficton
Length –  468 Pages (Kindle)
Publication – 12th March 2015
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

Synopsis

Promoted to the elite Praetorian Guard in the thick of battle, a young legionary is thrust into a seedy world of imperial politics and corruption. Tasked with uncovering a plot against the newly-crowned emperor Commodus, his mission takes him from the cold Danubian border all the way to the heart of Rome, the villa of the emperor’s scheming sister, and the great Colosseum.

What seems a straightforward, if terrifying, assignment soon descends into Machiavellian treachery and peril as everything in which young Rufinus trusts and believes is called into question and he faces warring commanders, Sarmatian cannibals, vicious dogs, mercenary killers and even a clandestine Imperial agent. In a race against time to save the Emperor, Rufinus will be introduced, willing or not, to the great game.

Review

I was kindly gifted a copy of this book by the author and i can honestly say I was not disappointed. I’ve read a few books now in the same genre and many start slowly building up as they go along… not this one. Thrust straight into the action with our hero saving the life of a Praetorian prefect.

This starts the whole journey for Rufinus as he is promoted to the Praetorian guard after meeting the emperor. This sudden promotion gains him some new friends but also enemies!

We see Rufinus deal with these enemies the only way he knows how.. his fists! We then see a feud escalate. Not to give away anything I particularly liked the way Rufinus dealt with this situation.

Now Rufinus is chosen to save the emperor from a suspected plot against him. During this we see him struggle with being deceitful whilst also trying to gain favor in order to get closer to those who are suspected to be plotting against the emperor.

There are so many twists and turns along the way that the book kept me gripped and I honestly had no idea if Rufinus would succeed in his task or not.

The ending to the book did not disappoint either; I have no trouble recommending this book to anyone. It was a fantastic read.

The chapters flowed well, the characters relationships grew before your eyes. You could see alliances and friendships forming.  The author clearly put a lot of time and effort into this book and it shows

One thing I really loved about this book is that I took an instant dislike to one of the Praetorian prefects, the other I really liked. I found as I went along and Rufinus made discoveries along the way my opinion of the prefects changed. It was amazing to see how easily Simon managed to change my viewpoint as a reader so quickly.

Simon clearly knows his stuff, the book was brilliantly written from my stand point. I couldn’t pick anything I didn’t like or even anything I would have elaborated further on. It was simply a brilliant book and one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

If you do one thing today make sure it’s to click the picture above and view the book on Goodreads, read the other reviews, check Amazon.. then buy the book. It’s well worth the money

Last comment is directly for Simon.. My next pet will definitely be named Acheron!