Die by the Blade cover

Review: Die by the Blade

Die by the BladeDie by the Blade by James Mace.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars;
Genre: Historical fiction;
Format: Kindle ebook;
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5).

Exciting historical novel of Roman gladiators

This story of Verus, a captive gladiator in empirical Rome, was well written and exciting. It was obvious the author did his research, and very little exposition was needed to keep the story on pace. Instead, the third-person POV was used to cut away from the main character and bring us glimpses of the emperors in order to show the bigger picture.

The characters were somewhat archetypical, but I still cared whether or not the “good guys” survived in the arena.

Settings were described adequately, and I’m glad there is no such thing as “smell-o-book” to add to the atmosphere of blood, sweat, and worse.

The Kindle format was presented very well, with few errors throughout.

There is obviously quite a bit of violence, but it was only appropriate given the subject matter and it was not egregious. The occasional foul language might have added for the sake of authenticity, but was somewhat grating, especially for a woman reader, and I think it could have been toned down, or perhaps other choices could have been used. No real sex; although the author could have gone this direction, I’m glad he didn’t.

Spread the love