A review by roxanamalinachirila
Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale
2.0
The Roman Empire never fell. It survived and extended, and when the Vikings started their raids, the Romans brought them to heel - so it's now the 13th century and the Vikings bring tides of new, rich lands where gold flows aplenty.
Naturally, Rome sends out a legion to conquer that new land and bring back the riches, shipping the soldiers across the Atlantic on Viking ships. And less naturally, it turns out that some tribes across the Atlantic have discovered flight, so they can drop fire on their enemies (literally).
And thus, an extraordinary battle ensues between Rome and Native American tribes, leading to a clash of civilizations!
...this is the point where I got a coffee and sober up for the rest of the review...
While the idea is *brilliant*, I'm not so sure about the way it's handled. It's very... very...
Look, when the Romans march, they build roads, ok? So that needs to be mentioned in detail. They also build fortifications every night, so that has to be described. And before you know it, you're reading loads and loads of passages like:
And you read about palisades, and how to train soldiers Roman-style, and how hard it is to forge iron rather than bronze, and how to make a bathhouse and...
It's a sort of realistic alternate universe novel, I suppose? It has a few battles, but little action otherwise, and a lot of descriptions of how the main character and the leader of his legion, Marcellinus, employs everything he knows to bring Roman innovation to this new land. And if you're reading this to be wowed, even the primitive, yet very effective flying machines soon become boring, because they're put back in storage on the gigantic mound built by generations of Indians (they carried the earth in baskets), in a wattle and daub longhouse which is taken down and rebuilt every year.
At one point, I started feeling as if I were reading my old history textbook, because it was about as dry.
But, once the Stockholm syndrome kicked in and I started enjoying the book, I realized "Clash of Eagles" isn't about Romans vs. Indians, nor about the clash of great armies (unless a "clash" is a short battle in which one army gets obliterated). It's a fantasy of quick technological innovation and ingenious engineering. It's about one man who tries to bring his civilization to a new world and by the gods, does he do it! He forges, he makes bricks, he makes wheelbarrows and needles, and he won't be stopped!
I was going to three-star the book, but the ending left me somewhat bitter -
Naturally, Rome sends out a legion to conquer that new land and bring back the riches, shipping the soldiers across the Atlantic on Viking ships. And less naturally, it turns out that some tribes across the Atlantic have discovered flight, so they can drop fire on their enemies (literally).
And thus, an extraordinary battle ensues between Rome and Native American tribes, leading to a clash of civilizations!
...this is the point where I got a coffee and sober up for the rest of the review...
While the idea is *brilliant*, I'm not so sure about the way it's handled. It's very... very...
Look, when the Romans march, they build roads, ok? So that needs to be mentioned in detail. They also build fortifications every night, so that has to be described. And before you know it, you're reading loads and loads of passages like:
“Marcellinus was interested to see that here in Woshakee, where space was tight, the houses had been built in rows as neat and orderly as any castra or Roman town. It was a way of getting as many houses as possible inside the small compound defined by the palisade perimeter.”
And you read about palisades, and how to train soldiers Roman-style, and how hard it is to forge iron rather than bronze, and how to make a bathhouse and...
It's a sort of realistic alternate universe novel, I suppose? It has a few battles, but little action otherwise, and a lot of descriptions of how the main character and the leader of his legion, Marcellinus, employs everything he knows to bring Roman innovation to this new land. And if you're reading this to be wowed, even the primitive, yet very effective flying machines soon become boring, because they're put back in storage on the gigantic mound built by generations of Indians (they carried the earth in baskets), in a wattle and daub longhouse which is taken down and rebuilt every year.
At one point, I started feeling as if I were reading my old history textbook, because it was about as dry.
But, once the Stockholm syndrome kicked in and I started enjoying the book, I realized "Clash of Eagles" isn't about Romans vs. Indians, nor about the clash of great armies (unless a "clash" is a short battle in which one army gets obliterated). It's a fantasy of quick technological innovation and ingenious engineering. It's about one man who tries to bring his civilization to a new world and by the gods, does he do it! He forges, he makes bricks, he makes wheelbarrows and needles, and he won't be stopped!
I was going to three-star the book, but the ending left me somewhat bitter -