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A review by blancwene
Island of Ghosts by Gillian Bradshaw
4.0
Bradshaw studied Classics at Cambridge, so it shouldn't be surprising that she creates an immersive and detailed fictional version of Roman-era Britain here. There's so many cultures in play: the Brigantes and other English groups; the Romans, both Italian-born and British; the Christians and the Druids; and then the Sarmatians themselves.
First person narration doesn't always work for me (too much navel gazing at times), but I appreciated it here; Ariantes's culture is (understandably) foreign to the reader, so I liked being in his head.
The first quarter is loads of Roman bureaucracy, and a little slow. (I found it all interesting, though, and it also introduced the issue of Ariantes Romanizing more than he and his people would like.) Once they land in Dubris/Dover, a map of Roman Britain is a helpful resource!
If anything, I found the climax a little unbelievable that so many people rallied to his side, even if I understand why each person supported him.
First person narration doesn't always work for me (too much navel gazing at times), but I appreciated it here; Ariantes's culture is (understandably) foreign to the reader, so I liked being in his head.
The first quarter is loads of Roman bureaucracy, and a little slow. (I found it all interesting, though, and it also introduced the issue of Ariantes Romanizing more than he and his people would like.) Once they land in Dubris/Dover, a map of Roman Britain is a helpful resource!
If anything, I found the climax a little unbelievable that so many people rallied to his side, even if I understand why each person supported him.