ireitlitam's review
3.0
Great idea for a story but I wish the prose had been a bit more engaging. That said I will be reading the next book in the series when it is released.
eclectictales's review against another edition
4.0
I was approved an ARC of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/11/10/review-the-shards-of-heaven/
The Shards of Heaven was a fascinating read, an interesting mix of history and fantasy. There’s a bit of everything in this book that makes it really interesting: a smidge of magic and the larger-than-life forces at work, history, politics, intrigue, battles. I don’t read much historical fantasy but I thought the mix was quite seamless, so much so that it felt rather natural, such as taking familiar relics and giving it a fantastical twist, and its use affecting the outcome of major real-life battles such as the Battle at Actium.
The characters that populate this novel were also interesting, ranging from historical figures to other characters also involved in the vast struggle to find the shards either for personal gain or for protection. Here’s where the intrigue was really felt for you don’t really know whose side certain characters are on at times, what some of their motives are. Everyone’s scrambling to locate and secure a shard, powerful objects that can unleash powerful destruction, but the political situation also brings a myriad of other personal goals, for example Cleopatra’s ten-year-old daughter in a quest for revenge against Rome.
Overall I really enjoyed reading The Shards of Heaven. The infusion of fantasy into history was fantastic and will appeal to readers who enjoy politics and battles and fantasy. It’s also a solid first novel in a new series, setting up the characters and where their respective storylines are heading. I look forward to seeing where the characters head off to next in the next installment.
The Shards of Heaven was a fascinating read, an interesting mix of history and fantasy. There’s a bit of everything in this book that makes it really interesting: a smidge of magic and the larger-than-life forces at work, history, politics, intrigue, battles. I don’t read much historical fantasy but I thought the mix was quite seamless, so much so that it felt rather natural, such as taking familiar relics and giving it a fantastical twist, and its use affecting the outcome of major real-life battles such as the Battle at Actium.
The characters that populate this novel were also interesting, ranging from historical figures to other characters also involved in the vast struggle to find the shards either for personal gain or for protection. Here’s where the intrigue was really felt for you don’t really know whose side certain characters are on at times, what some of their motives are. Everyone’s scrambling to locate and secure a shard, powerful objects that can unleash powerful destruction, but the political situation also brings a myriad of other personal goals, for example Cleopatra’s ten-year-old daughter in a quest for revenge against Rome.
Overall I really enjoyed reading The Shards of Heaven. The infusion of fantasy into history was fantastic and will appeal to readers who enjoy politics and battles and fantasy. It’s also a solid first novel in a new series, setting up the characters and where their respective storylines are heading. I look forward to seeing where the characters head off to next in the next installment.
jgolomb's review
3.0
Originally posted at FantasyLiterature.com
The Shards of Heaven is not author Michael Livingston’s first work. In fact, he’s already a prolific award-winning writer, though mostly focused in his world of academia. Livingston is a Professor of Medieval Literature at The Citadel in South Carolina. The Shards of Heaven is his first novel and he taps into his significant historical knowledge. He liberally expands his knowledge base with strong fantasy elements, though, not unlike George R.R. Martin’s A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, it’s heavy on history-laden fiction and lighter on the fantasy… at least in this first offering of what’s expected to be a trilogy.
Impending war bubbles across the Roman Empire as Livingston’s story starts. Julius Caesar has been assassinated and after failed attempts at co-ruling the empire, Caesar’s general Marc Antony and his adopted son Octavian jockey for position, allies, and support within their strongholds in the east and west: Antony in Alexandria, Egypt, and Octavian in Rome.
Octavian comes into the knowledge and possession of a mighty weapon — the Trident of Neptune. Only Octavian’s adopted-step-brother Juba can even moderately control it, and while Octavian has designs to use it to secure his victory over Antony, Juba has his own eye on avenging his father’s defeat at the hands of Caesar 15 years earlier. The Trident has Force-like powers in its ability to boil a human’s blood or create a ship-crushing wave in the sea.
The Shards of Heaven is like an over-produced but undeniably delectable feast. (For the purposes of this metaphor, please note that these dishes are not necessarily served in the following order.)
The main course: Roman Empire historical fiction is the dish du jour, specifically focused on the years immediately following the assassination of Julius Caesar and what became a civil war between Octavian (the future Augustus) versus Marc Antony and his (and Caesar’s) lover Cleopatra. In Livingston’s novel, Octavian is bad, Antony is sort of good but mostly boring, and Cleopatra serves her traditional role of behind-the-scenes manipulator. Added to the fray is Juba, a Numidian prince who Caesar adopted following the victory over his father in 46 BCE. Juba and Octavian are step-adopted-brothers. On the surface there’s love, but underneath there’s hate, and one of the driving threads of Livingston’s plot is Juba’s drive for revenge. The story and plot threads of The Shards of Heaven are steeped in real history but sprinkled with a smidgen of fantasy.
The appetizer: Characters are tasty going down, but ultimately not very filling. Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo are the grizzled legionnaire veterans protecting the Antony/Cleopatra household. They’re smart, strong and buddies that go back to Julius Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul. They’re also the same true-to-history characters that HBO served up in their ROME series. Didymus is the chief librarian in Alexandria, but also responsible for the education of Cleopatra’s children: Caesarion, son of Cleo and Julius; and Cleo’s children with Antony — Selene, young ingénue and troublemaker; her twin Helios; and the youngest, Philadelphus. Most characters are indelicately drawn with perhaps the exception of Vorenus and Juba, and the later portions of Selene’s narrative.
The side dish: An Indiana Jones-like hunt for mysterious objects runs parallel to the main structural elements surrounding the war between Octavian and Antony’s forces. Driven by Juba’s thirst for revenge and Octavian’s drive for power, Antony’s clan gets caught up in a search for the shards and, naturally, a race against time. And yes, the key shard is actually embedded within Indy’s own Ark of the Covenant.
The dessert: Good ol’ fashioned fantasy — sorta. In my desire to throw no undue spoilers your way, I’ll summarize the fantasy element: the ancient one-ruling-god’s throne was broken into several magical pieces (or shards, if you will). They’re extremely powerful and each more-or-less representative of different elements. Poseidon’s Trident is the most-used weapon in the story and has power over water and liquid. Another shard is hidden within (REDACTED AS A SPOILER ALERT) and has the power over land. The aforementioned Ark has the all-compassing super shard.
Livingston uses The Shards of Heaven to explore the nature of religion in a world where empires span thousands of miles and effective rulers must find ways to incorporate and blend a multitude of religions. Egyptian gods become analogies of Roman gods. Sometimes gods from different nations stand side-by-side. And sometimes, new gods are invented to cover a host of multi-regional religious needs.
Livingston writes solid prose, and seems to enjoy crafting a vibrant battle scene. The fantasy elements play a strong role in the establishment of the story and in its conclusion, but fade in the middle third of the book. This may not be a bad thing, but for those looking for persistent magical happenings, you’ll have to burrow through the Roman battles that wind their way more thoroughly throughout the novel. For a debut offering, The Shards of Heaven is a fun, though inconsistent, read.
The Shards of Heaven is not author Michael Livingston’s first work. In fact, he’s already a prolific award-winning writer, though mostly focused in his world of academia. Livingston is a Professor of Medieval Literature at The Citadel in South Carolina. The Shards of Heaven is his first novel and he taps into his significant historical knowledge. He liberally expands his knowledge base with strong fantasy elements, though, not unlike George R.R. Martin’s A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, it’s heavy on history-laden fiction and lighter on the fantasy… at least in this first offering of what’s expected to be a trilogy.
Impending war bubbles across the Roman Empire as Livingston’s story starts. Julius Caesar has been assassinated and after failed attempts at co-ruling the empire, Caesar’s general Marc Antony and his adopted son Octavian jockey for position, allies, and support within their strongholds in the east and west: Antony in Alexandria, Egypt, and Octavian in Rome.
Octavian comes into the knowledge and possession of a mighty weapon — the Trident of Neptune. Only Octavian’s adopted-step-brother Juba can even moderately control it, and while Octavian has designs to use it to secure his victory over Antony, Juba has his own eye on avenging his father’s defeat at the hands of Caesar 15 years earlier. The Trident has Force-like powers in its ability to boil a human’s blood or create a ship-crushing wave in the sea.
The Shards of Heaven is like an over-produced but undeniably delectable feast. (For the purposes of this metaphor, please note that these dishes are not necessarily served in the following order.)
The main course: Roman Empire historical fiction is the dish du jour, specifically focused on the years immediately following the assassination of Julius Caesar and what became a civil war between Octavian (the future Augustus) versus Marc Antony and his (and Caesar’s) lover Cleopatra. In Livingston’s novel, Octavian is bad, Antony is sort of good but mostly boring, and Cleopatra serves her traditional role of behind-the-scenes manipulator. Added to the fray is Juba, a Numidian prince who Caesar adopted following the victory over his father in 46 BCE. Juba and Octavian are step-adopted-brothers. On the surface there’s love, but underneath there’s hate, and one of the driving threads of Livingston’s plot is Juba’s drive for revenge. The story and plot threads of The Shards of Heaven are steeped in real history but sprinkled with a smidgen of fantasy.
The appetizer: Characters are tasty going down, but ultimately not very filling. Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo are the grizzled legionnaire veterans protecting the Antony/Cleopatra household. They’re smart, strong and buddies that go back to Julius Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul. They’re also the same true-to-history characters that HBO served up in their ROME series. Didymus is the chief librarian in Alexandria, but also responsible for the education of Cleopatra’s children: Caesarion, son of Cleo and Julius; and Cleo’s children with Antony — Selene, young ingénue and troublemaker; her twin Helios; and the youngest, Philadelphus. Most characters are indelicately drawn with perhaps the exception of Vorenus and Juba, and the later portions of Selene’s narrative.
The side dish: An Indiana Jones-like hunt for mysterious objects runs parallel to the main structural elements surrounding the war between Octavian and Antony’s forces. Driven by Juba’s thirst for revenge and Octavian’s drive for power, Antony’s clan gets caught up in a search for the shards and, naturally, a race against time. And yes, the key shard is actually embedded within Indy’s own Ark of the Covenant.
The dessert: Good ol’ fashioned fantasy — sorta. In my desire to throw no undue spoilers your way, I’ll summarize the fantasy element: the ancient one-ruling-god’s throne was broken into several magical pieces (or shards, if you will). They’re extremely powerful and each more-or-less representative of different elements. Poseidon’s Trident is the most-used weapon in the story and has power over water and liquid. Another shard is hidden within (REDACTED AS A SPOILER ALERT) and has the power over land. The aforementioned Ark has the all-compassing super shard.
Livingston uses The Shards of Heaven to explore the nature of religion in a world where empires span thousands of miles and effective rulers must find ways to incorporate and blend a multitude of religions. Egyptian gods become analogies of Roman gods. Sometimes gods from different nations stand side-by-side. And sometimes, new gods are invented to cover a host of multi-regional religious needs.
Livingston writes solid prose, and seems to enjoy crafting a vibrant battle scene. The fantasy elements play a strong role in the establishment of the story and in its conclusion, but fade in the middle third of the book. This may not be a bad thing, but for those looking for persistent magical happenings, you’ll have to burrow through the Roman battles that wind their way more thoroughly throughout the novel. For a debut offering, The Shards of Heaven is a fun, though inconsistent, read.
jennybeastie's review
2.0
Ok, there is nothing inherently wrong with this book, I just have really high standards for my historical fiction -- Mary Renault, Gillian Bradshaw, Rosemary Sutcliff high standards, and this one didn't quite come up to snuff.
The history is good, but I failed to be caught up in it -- I think I miss those little living details of day to day that enrapture me in the other books. Also, the characters are fairly appealing, but a little too flat for me. The magic has an interesting base, but it's a little too much navel-gazing god-questioning for me, and at the same time not a convincing argument. Too much tell, not enough show? Good building blocks that never really gelled into a good building? I wanted to like it, I just didn't. I feel like if I pick up Livingstone another series into his career, I might find what I'm looking for. And I hope there is another series later.
The history is good, but I failed to be caught up in it -- I think I miss those little living details of day to day that enrapture me in the other books. Also, the characters are fairly appealing, but a little too flat for me. The magic has an interesting base, but it's a little too much navel-gazing god-questioning for me, and at the same time not a convincing argument. Too much tell, not enough show? Good building blocks that never really gelled into a good building? I wanted to like it, I just didn't. I feel like if I pick up Livingstone another series into his career, I might find what I'm looking for. And I hope there is another series later.
lauracarew's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
biblioholicbeth's review
3.0
Julius Caesar is dead - who will now rule Rome? Will it be Octavion, one of Caesar's adopted sons? Or will it be Cleopatra and Mark Antony who prevail and set Caesar's true son on the throne? Added into the mix is Juba, another adopted son of Caesar who burns with revenge and is searching for the Shards of Heaven in order to carry it out. When he find a shard and learns its powers, how far will he go to find the others?
In some ways, this book is excellent. The overall writing style fits the story, and the descriptions of the places and the battles are fantastic. There is a lot of religion (Judeo-Christian) about 3/4 of the way through this book - so much at that point that it was jarring and felt somewhat out of place. It was woven in better after that, but I honestly started to wonder if I had accidentally picked up a book meant for a religious audience. That in itself would not a bad thing, but it felt somewhat...abrupt...the way it was done.
The characters do seem to suffer somewhat in the story. There were only two characters that I really managed to feel much for, and neither of them were main characters. They contributed quite a bit, but were definitely not focal points. The main characters all seem shallowly drawn, though I have hope that they will be more fleshed out in the next book. I'm hoping it's just a result of so much happening in this book to get things started.
Overall, though, I really did like the story. It's an intriguing story line, and one that could be amazing from here on out. It's somewhat difficult to explain more about that without giving spoilers. Suffice to say that there are secret societies, questions of Gods vs. God, and battles galore. It's quite the intertwining of fantasy and history, and I do look forward to reading the next book. I will probably recommend this to a few friends, but I will also probably look to get the sequel from the library vs. purchasing it to keep.
In some ways, this book is excellent. The overall writing style fits the story, and the descriptions of the places and the battles are fantastic. There is a lot of religion (Judeo-Christian) about 3/4 of the way through this book - so much at that point that it was jarring and felt somewhat out of place. It was woven in better after that, but I honestly started to wonder if I had accidentally picked up a book meant for a religious audience. That in itself would not a bad thing, but it felt somewhat...abrupt...the way it was done.
The characters do seem to suffer somewhat in the story. There were only two characters that I really managed to feel much for, and neither of them were main characters. They contributed quite a bit, but were definitely not focal points. The main characters all seem shallowly drawn, though I have hope that they will be more fleshed out in the next book. I'm hoping it's just a result of so much happening in this book to get things started.
Overall, though, I really did like the story. It's an intriguing story line, and one that could be amazing from here on out. It's somewhat difficult to explain more about that without giving spoilers. Suffice to say that there are secret societies, questions of Gods vs. God, and battles galore. It's quite the intertwining of fantasy and history, and I do look forward to reading the next book. I will probably recommend this to a few friends, but I will also probably look to get the sequel from the library vs. purchasing it to keep.
lindzy's review against another edition
5.0
Original Review Here
As soon as I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to read it. I have recently discovered books set in this era, but have only explored one author. Michael Livingston has not let me down, with his transformative novel blending fact and fantasy in such a way you find yourself swept back to the past before you realise your feet have even left the ground.
The plot is gripping. Research has gone into every element. Livingston has a close attention to detail and this is apparent with how the facts of those times are presented to the readers. But the authenticity about the era allows the fantastical elements to slip under the radar. His writing is confident and engaging, meaning you never stop to question whether a weapon of the Gods could have existed; you accept it.
Towards the latter half of the book, religion plays a key role. I felt that although the conversation and debate was needed to some extent to enhance the storyline, it did dwell for too long on reasons for God’s existence. It felt as if Livingston wanted to get his own view point across and was using his characters to do it.
It was not the religious element that caused the problem. But these lengthy debates – especially as they didn’t move the plot forward – undermined the tension and slowed the pacing down dramatically. Words could have been cut from these areas and no information would have been lost.
The characters themselves were easy to like. Juba came across as a little weak, but has the potential to develop in later books. Caesarion was everything you want in a dashing young hero; brave, determined, humble and empathetic and made it easy to wish for Rome to fail against Alexandria. Selene again has the chance for growth in a secondary novel while I grieved the loss of some of the characters at the end.
Livingston writes a thoroughly enjoyable tale of love and loss in a fast-paced and tense atmosphere where no one is safe. If you like things set in the Roman era and are prepared to let in a few fantasy elements along the way, then I thoroughly recommend this book and look forward to seeing the character’s progression in later novels.
As soon as I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to read it. I have recently discovered books set in this era, but have only explored one author. Michael Livingston has not let me down, with his transformative novel blending fact and fantasy in such a way you find yourself swept back to the past before you realise your feet have even left the ground.
The plot is gripping. Research has gone into every element. Livingston has a close attention to detail and this is apparent with how the facts of those times are presented to the readers. But the authenticity about the era allows the fantastical elements to slip under the radar. His writing is confident and engaging, meaning you never stop to question whether a weapon of the Gods could have existed; you accept it.
Towards the latter half of the book, religion plays a key role. I felt that although the conversation and debate was needed to some extent to enhance the storyline, it did dwell for too long on reasons for God’s existence. It felt as if Livingston wanted to get his own view point across and was using his characters to do it.
It was not the religious element that caused the problem. But these lengthy debates – especially as they didn’t move the plot forward – undermined the tension and slowed the pacing down dramatically. Words could have been cut from these areas and no information would have been lost.
The characters themselves were easy to like. Juba came across as a little weak, but has the potential to develop in later books. Caesarion was everything you want in a dashing young hero; brave, determined, humble and empathetic and made it easy to wish for Rome to fail against Alexandria. Selene again has the chance for growth in a secondary novel while I grieved the loss of some of the characters at the end.
Livingston writes a thoroughly enjoyable tale of love and loss in a fast-paced and tense atmosphere where no one is safe. If you like things set in the Roman era and are prepared to let in a few fantasy elements along the way, then I thoroughly recommend this book and look forward to seeing the character’s progression in later novels.
erxa's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly loved this work specifically because it always left me wanting more. It blew my mind about eight times and brought me a sense of wonder, joy, and hate. It dragged emotions out of me and made me love many of the characters as well as kind of despise others. It was an amazing plot that was obviously carefully thought out and researched enough for anyone who has done research on any of the religions mentioned to feel as if the interpretation made sense especially for the time period. I also really appreciate the history in this and how the book was in multiple perspectives. The perspectives tied the plot line together very nicely that made you always on the edge of your seat, waiting for explanation and seeing if your favorite or least favorite characters survived. I would recommend it to people who love fantasy, history, and/or warfare. I wouldn't recommend it for the faint of heart especially if you can't handle a lot of emotions at once. I would probably recommend it for anyone over the age of thirteen because of the graphic violence and suggestive statements. For example, there are a couple scenes where there is intense combat which explains where the blood went and what it covered, etc. All in all, if anyone is even vaguely interested in religion, mythology, history, or the ancient empires of Rome and Egypt, give it a read.