the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes you just pick up a book and fall into another time. The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy is one such book. The time, the characters, the narrative. Everything just seems to slot into place. The characterization skills are terrifically utilized and the plot was swift-moving and often balancing on a knife-edge. I am a huge fan of historical fiction and I genuinely believe that I would be hard placed to see a better example of it than, The Fort.
Flavius Ferox is a character that instantly called to me. He’s vivid, he’s alive and passionate. His character arc and internal monologue cast me into a time where brutality is the norm, look around you – it’s there. You hear the clang of shields, the roar of pain, and the destruction lying all around.
The Fort is the start of a new series but it features some of the characters from the Vindolanda series. If you are like me and haven’t read the previous series then rest assured the author has your back. There are hints and subtle hints left for you to pick up the missing information.
“You are a hard man to kill, and you have the knack of winning against the odds.”
Centurion Ferox and his right-hand man, Vindex are posted out to a Fort at the border of Dacia (modern time, Romania.) It’s their job to hold The Fort there, there is short-lived peace in that are between its inhabitants and the Roman Empire. His force is backed up by fierce Brigantes (Britons.) They are brutal and nothing is going to stop them from getting their pound of flesh and more than a drop of blood. They hunger for it. They are exactly the right type of soldier to have backing you up in a bloody war.
The action in The Fort is extreme and bloody. It is everything it needs to be. It’s fast-paced and gave me a birds-eye view of Roman rule. Conquer, destroy and civilize. Ferox always seems to be right in the middle of trouble, in fact, trouble always seems to follow him. Matters only made worse by a super ambitious Hadrian and trying to control the Brigantes under his control. It seems like a merry band of murderers, rebels, and convicts. He has just about as much trouble controlling the Dacians as he does his own Brigantes. He also isn’t aware that The Emperor’s cousin is on his way with extremely ambitious plans of his own.
Goldsworthy creates a vivid and brutal landscape in The Fort. Viscerally captivating. He makes us rethink history.
Flavius Ferox is a character that instantly called to me. He’s vivid, he’s alive and passionate. His character arc and internal monologue cast me into a time where brutality is the norm, look around you – it’s there. You hear the clang of shields, the roar of pain, and the destruction lying all around.
The Fort is the start of a new series but it features some of the characters from the Vindolanda series. If you are like me and haven’t read the previous series then rest assured the author has your back. There are hints and subtle hints left for you to pick up the missing information.
“You are a hard man to kill, and you have the knack of winning against the odds.”
Centurion Ferox and his right-hand man, Vindex are posted out to a Fort at the border of Dacia (modern time, Romania.) It’s their job to hold The Fort there, there is short-lived peace in that are between its inhabitants and the Roman Empire. His force is backed up by fierce Brigantes (Britons.) They are brutal and nothing is going to stop them from getting their pound of flesh and more than a drop of blood. They hunger for it. They are exactly the right type of soldier to have backing you up in a bloody war.
The action in The Fort is extreme and bloody. It is everything it needs to be. It’s fast-paced and gave me a birds-eye view of Roman rule. Conquer, destroy and civilize. Ferox always seems to be right in the middle of trouble, in fact, trouble always seems to follow him. Matters only made worse by a super ambitious Hadrian and trying to control the Brigantes under his control. It seems like a merry band of murderers, rebels, and convicts. He has just about as much trouble controlling the Dacians as he does his own Brigantes. He also isn’t aware that The Emperor’s cousin is on his way with extremely ambitious plans of his own.
Goldsworthy creates a vivid and brutal landscape in The Fort. Viscerally captivating. He makes us rethink history.
bexcapades's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
travelsalongmybookshelf's review
4.0
I have not read many books, if any, set in this period and my knowledge is very limited to school, many moons ago and TV.
This book lands you deep in Roman territory and I have to admit I found it difficult to get into at first. There are maps to get your bearings but I could have done with a cast list to get to grips with the characters - I do so love a list!
Flavius Ferox is a centurion sent to command an isolated fort beyond the Danube. There is peace between Rome and the Dacian Kingdom but will it last? Many of the Brigantes that he commands are former rebels and very likely to kill him as to obey him.
There is also Hadrian - yes that one- the emperors cousin with plans of his own...
This book gets you right inside the Roman world, it is highly detailed and meticulously researched. I ended up down several rabbit holes looking things up. It became emersive, gritty, bloody and a great insight into the Roman world, I learned a lot!
There are battles galore and I was rooting for Ferox and his men even though they are Romans, they felt like the underdogs at points during this story.
I’m looking forward to the next in this series!
Thanks to Head of Zeus for my copy of this book.
This book lands you deep in Roman territory and I have to admit I found it difficult to get into at first. There are maps to get your bearings but I could have done with a cast list to get to grips with the characters - I do so love a list!
Flavius Ferox is a centurion sent to command an isolated fort beyond the Danube. There is peace between Rome and the Dacian Kingdom but will it last? Many of the Brigantes that he commands are former rebels and very likely to kill him as to obey him.
There is also Hadrian - yes that one- the emperors cousin with plans of his own...
This book gets you right inside the Roman world, it is highly detailed and meticulously researched. I ended up down several rabbit holes looking things up. It became emersive, gritty, bloody and a great insight into the Roman world, I learned a lot!
There are battles galore and I was rooting for Ferox and his men even though they are Romans, they felt like the underdogs at points during this story.
I’m looking forward to the next in this series!
Thanks to Head of Zeus for my copy of this book.
alsoghosts's review against another edition
3.0
obviously i'm in the minority here, but i lost focus SO many times while listening to this. there were so many moving parts (characters, place names, ancient roman terminology, etc.) that i'm thinking maybe the audiobook wasn't the way to go. the battle scenes were good though.
naaytaashreads's review
2.5
"Hadrian was not simply a praetor, but the great-nephew of the emperor."
I'm putting this on pause, i don't know if this make sense.
Considering I'm halfway through the read, but I feel like I was not 100% enjoying it because I'm confused half of the time.
It's probably because I have yet to read Vindolanda's trilogy.
Even though it was set a few years after that last book of the series, most of the characters and history heavily depended on that series.
I thought the confusion will go away after time but it didn't.
I enjoyed the plotline, the writing style and the action.
Some scenes of fighting got quite repetitive.
Maybe I'll come back if I enjoy Vindolanda's trilogy enough.
I'm putting this on pause, i don't know if this make sense.
Considering I'm halfway through the read, but I feel like I was not 100% enjoying it because I'm confused half of the time.
It's probably because I have yet to read Vindolanda's trilogy.
Even though it was set a few years after that last book of the series, most of the characters and history heavily depended on that series.
I thought the confusion will go away after time but it didn't.
I enjoyed the plotline, the writing style and the action.
Some scenes of fighting got quite repetitive.
Maybe I'll come back if I enjoy Vindolanda's trilogy enough.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
Animula, vagula, blandula
Hospes comesque corporis (Hadrian)
When I ARC this book, I was reading Philip and Alexander by Adrian Goldsworthy, so I knew that the historical parts were going to be well researched and accurate.
It was the first historical fiction I read by this author and won’t surely be the last because I found it gripping and fascinating. I didn’t read Vindolanda and this means I didn’t knew anything about Ferox and other characters that were featured in this previous story.
The story is slow burning. We are introduced to the characters, the places and the political situations of Dacia. Even if there is not war at moment there’s a sense of foreboding and of coming troubles.
After we understand what is going on the story start going it’s gripping, fast paced and gritty. Plenty of actions and twists makes this story gripping and highly entertaining.
Ferox or Titus Flavius Ferox is an interesting character, a strong man who is typical of this era when legionnaire came from all over the Empire. He’s clever, strong willed and brave. I liked him an hope to read soon his further adventures.
The author delivers a cast of well thought characters and the different POVs help us to understand the different cultures and the different way of thinking.
The biggest surprise is Hadrian. I knew him as the philosopher described by Marguerite Yourcenar in Memoirs of Hadrian, the man who built masterpieces like Villa Adriana/Pantheon/Castel Sant’Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian) and the lover of Antinoo. I had some doubt he could be a bit ruthless as I couldn’t have made to emperor, as far as I know ancient Romans were not very kind and being an emperor could be a dangerous profession.
I discovered what could have been the man in his younger year when he took part to the Dacian Wars.
I was fascinated by The Fort Hadrian as he’s described as human, cunning and ruthless and I think this is more realistic than the one described by Yourcenar and the history I studied.
The historical part is very detailed and well researched (Ok, the author is a historian). My knowledge of Dacia and Dacian wars was inexistent and know I’m starting to understand something more than the usual “Dacian were rebels”. The details of the military part, how they were dressed and lived on the frontier is astonishing.
Let’s summarize: a gripping, entertaining and well written story that kept me hooked.
I can’t wait to read the next installment; this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Hospes comesque corporis (Hadrian)
When I ARC this book, I was reading Philip and Alexander by Adrian Goldsworthy, so I knew that the historical parts were going to be well researched and accurate.
It was the first historical fiction I read by this author and won’t surely be the last because I found it gripping and fascinating. I didn’t read Vindolanda and this means I didn’t knew anything about Ferox and other characters that were featured in this previous story.
The story is slow burning. We are introduced to the characters, the places and the political situations of Dacia. Even if there is not war at moment there’s a sense of foreboding and of coming troubles.
After we understand what is going on the story start going it’s gripping, fast paced and gritty. Plenty of actions and twists makes this story gripping and highly entertaining.
Ferox or Titus Flavius Ferox is an interesting character, a strong man who is typical of this era when legionnaire came from all over the Empire. He’s clever, strong willed and brave. I liked him an hope to read soon his further adventures.
The author delivers a cast of well thought characters and the different POVs help us to understand the different cultures and the different way of thinking.
The biggest surprise is Hadrian. I knew him as the philosopher described by Marguerite Yourcenar in Memoirs of Hadrian, the man who built masterpieces like Villa Adriana/Pantheon/Castel Sant’Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian) and the lover of Antinoo. I had some doubt he could be a bit ruthless as I couldn’t have made to emperor, as far as I know ancient Romans were not very kind and being an emperor could be a dangerous profession.
I discovered what could have been the man in his younger year when he took part to the Dacian Wars.
I was fascinated by The Fort Hadrian as he’s described as human, cunning and ruthless and I think this is more realistic than the one described by Yourcenar and the history I studied.
The historical part is very detailed and well researched (Ok, the author is a historian). My knowledge of Dacia and Dacian wars was inexistent and know I’m starting to understand something more than the usual “Dacian were rebels”. The details of the military part, how they were dressed and lived on the frontier is astonishing.
Let’s summarize: a gripping, entertaining and well written story that kept me hooked.
I can’t wait to read the next installment; this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
aetius's review
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
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