Sharon Reviews: South of Burnt Rocks West of the Moon by G.J. Berger

The author kindly has kindly donated a copy as a book giveaway. Just leave a comment at the bottom of the blog or on our Facebook page.

The winner will be drawn 16th November.

 "After three great wars, Rome has crushed Carthage. Now the undefended riches of Iberia beckon--gold, tin, olives, wine, and healthy young bodies to enslave. Burnt Rocks tells the story of Lavena, last child of the strongest remaining Iberian tribal leader at a time when Rome plunders and loots her land. At times helped only by her father's favorite dog, a special horse, or guided by spirits of the earth and sky, she strives to unite her people and oust the Roman menace. Based on real characters, places, and events, Burnt Rocks recreates that shadowy history--and eternal human nature rubbed raw."

South of Burnt Rocks West of the Moon was a wonderful surprise.  It is one of those thought-provoking books that you don't come across very often; transporting you back in time to the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsular. The heroine is a young girl, Lavena, not yet out of her teens, who is trying to fulfill her promise to her parents and save her people, whilst at the same time coming to terms with her father's past.

Having peacefully co-existed with the Iberian natives, the Roman army has a new leader, and new agenda. They are searching for their lost scouts, for native gold, and eager for slaves. The Romans are relentless but Lavena must find a way to fight them with her small band of devoted warriors.

Among the Roman legions is one man, Martius, who searches for the truth about his missing brother but is also drawn to the 'barbari' girl, who appears to him in only glimpses through the trees.

The wonderful prose of the book draws you in,  the language paints its own picture of Roman occupied Spain, respecting the spirits and ancestors of the native tribes and weaving a spell that keeps you enthralled in the book to the very end.

When Lavena has to face a council of elders to give them the news of Rome's aggression and  to plea for help, the picture is vividly described, the words magically entrancing:

"We humbly come to you, to this village, without any men, because the Roman overseer, Piso, left this land, and Rome sent a monster army in his place."

The nobles quieted and leaned in further.

"That new army has more fighters and weapons and its killing madness is greater than I know how to tell you - and it comes this way."...

"They come for all the gold in this land, for the young ones to take back as slaves - and the young women and girls to ruin in a manner none should ever know."

... She told them what she could of the battle for her village, but not about how her mother and those with her died, not about the real end of the she-warriors. She told them how she fled.

G.J. Berger recreates the land of the Iberian Peninsular wonderfully; describing the landscape and its people in such amazing language that you can't help but feel transported there. The contrast with the vast fighting force of the Roman army, the inexorable, unbeatable military machine that moves over the land relentlessly. 

The characters are vivid and have a realism to be marvelled at. They are human, suffering through their fears and doubts, making mistakes and sometimes surviving in spite of themselves. You find yourself urging Lavena on, while feeling suitably disgusted at the mean, lascivious, grasping Roman leaders.

Throughout the book, you can feel the author has a strong sense of direction; he knows where he wants to take you, but knows that the journey is what matters. We follow Lavena from her training as a warrior, through the loss of everything she holds dear, to her final confrontation with the Roman army, knowing everything she has been through, everything that has led her to that moment...

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading this novel. It was a surprise from the first words, drawing you in, leading you on Lavena's journey and seeing the country of Spain in its early days; the landscape itself becoming part of the story. The sights, sounds and smells of Roman Spain invade your mind as you read.

It is hard to believe this is a debut novel. The storyline is impressive, the language polished; everything about it comes from a storyteller of immense skill and vision.

It is a book not to be missed.

G. J. lives in San Diego, California, with his favorite grammarian and Argentine tango dance partner, Virginia.

G. J. will soon release "Four Nails", the prequel to "Burnt Rocks". G. J. reviews traditionally published novels for the Historical Novel Society and is working on two other novels. When not reading or writing, G. J. and Virginia like to visit off-beaten paths, particular those trodden by others long ago. Recently, they have traipsed the windy fortress walls above the village of Sagunt, Spain, and Andean villages accessible only by foot.

Website

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Sharon Bennett Connolly has been fascinated by history for over 30 years. She has studied history academically and just for the joy of it – even working as a tour guide at historical sites. She is now having great fun passing on that love of the past to her 10-year-old son. Having received a blog,  History...The Interesting Bits as a present for Christmas 2014 she is also enjoying sharing her obsession of history with her readers.

Rob Reviews: Wulfsuna (Wolf Spear Saga Book One)

Wulfsuna (Book I in The Wolf Spear Saga) by E. S. Moxon
Review by Rob Bayliss

Be sure to see below for how you could win a FREE COPY of Wulfsuna
Signed paperback!

Drawing July 21, 2015

This drawing has been held and a winner announced at Facebook.

Please see new reviews for more chances!

We have a giveaway with every review!

Wulfgar thought of all that had brought him here. Life was not as he would have wished it to be. With each bend in the road, Woden tested his resolve, poking a spearhead in his back to force him along a path he did not want to tread.

By 410 B.C., riven by dynastic power struggles, internal rebellions and gathering threats outside its borders, the Western Roman Empire was in a perilous state. For many years now the empire had clung onto a semblance of unity, its martial glory now a memory, as it got increasingly reliant on using Germanic mercenaries to defend itself. It was only a matter of time until these mercenaries were drawn into the dynastic power plays and began to wield political clout. It was in this year that the famous Rescript of Honorius (Honorious being the Western Roman Emperor) was issued instructing the inhabitants of Britannia to “look to their own defense.” 

In truth the province had already been doing just that. Thirty years previously Roman troops had been withdrawn from the north and west to counter the Visigoth threat to Italy itself. The remaining garrisons were stripped further as the-would-be emperor, Constantine III, endeavoured to build a separate Romano-Celtic Empire of Britannia, Gaul and Hispania. Alas Constantine was no match for the treacherous world of Roman politics and his quest to found his own dynasty came to nothing. And all the time there were raids by Picts, Irish, Scotti, Angles and Saxons. Little wonder then, that the Romano-British did as before and employed Angles, Saxons and Jutes to bolster their defense.

In E. S. Moxon’s Wulfsuna it is now 433 A.D.; we meet a Saxon tribe of the same name which has long traversed the North Sea as mercenaries and settlers. Their leader Wulfric once served Rome as a mercenary, but has a dream of returning and carving out a new home alongside his kinsmen, who stayed and married local women. He is joined in this endeavour with his temperamental allies, the Angles, but upon landing the plan goes awry.

Betrayed by the Angles, Wulfric is killed and his son Wulfgar is thrust into the unenviable task of fulfilling his father’s dream, despite the two branches distrusting each other. Wulfgar is a complex character, mourning his father, not adequately versed in the ways of a Headman and, perplexed by troubling dreams of witchcraft, he must unite the strands of the Wulfsuna, while all the time the Angles are a constant threat.

Meanwhile across the land a young British girl, Morwyneth, has recently lost her mother. She has the gift (or curse) of foresight and is mistrusted among her people. Inadvertently she becomes involved in treacherous Roman politics at the local level and is expelled from her tribe. In the wild, her dreams become dominated by a growing threat to her village, but also a vision of a young wolf…

The author has researched this period to a very high degree to bring this world to life. Dress, custom and beliefs of the time are well described. This is the cusp of when the province of Britannia began to culturally change to modern England and Wales. As well as historical fiction this has the fantasy element of the young seer’s dreams and the manner in which she is found by the tribe. The Wulfsuna fear the supernatural power of the Nix, which Morwyneth seems to exhibit, yet she is the means by which the two branches of the Wulfsuna can be united. There is also an element of the romantic novel here, as a marriage of convenience blossoms into love. This element avoids being clichéd and in some ways is a microcosm of the lands of Romano-Celtic Britain becoming Anglo-Saxon England.


Wulfgar came to understand his wife's affinity with the land and its magick; how she knew every leaf, every fruit and understood each animal and their cry. He felt the ground speak to him, its pulsing life-rhythm flowing through his feet like the roots of the mighty world tree, Yggdrasil.

The characters are well fleshed out; Wulfgar, one of the main point-of-view characters seems initially unpleasant, certainly lacking the charisma of his half-British friend Siegfrith, but he grows on the reader, mirroring his slowly ascending reputation as headman of the Wulfsuna. The other main character, Morwyneth, grows in confidence throughout the novel, both in her adopted tribe and in harnessing her gift. As this is book one of The Wolf Spear Saga it will be interesting to see what the future holds in subsequent sequels.

Author E. S. Moxon has so kindly offered a FREE COPY of Wulfsuna to one lucky winner. To be part of our drawing, simply comment below OR at this review's associated Facebook thread, located here.

About the Author:
Of Anglo-Italian heritage, E. S. Moxon's life has always involved languages and travel. Growing up she spent many family holidays visiting ancient burial sites and stone circles, exploring Britain's multi-cultural past. Her Italian grandfather's tales of the roguish adventures of his youth fuelled Elaine's passion for writing from a young age. She is currently working on  book two of the Wolf Spear Saga, which is set in 460 A.D. and follows the lives of the Wolf Sons 27 years after the end of Wulfsuna. A former holistic therapist and current member of the Historical Novel Society, she lives in the Midlands with her family.

You can learn more about Elaine Moxon and her projects at Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, her blog and webpage. Wulfsuna may also be purchased at Amazon, Amazon UK or direct. 

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Rob Bayliss is a reviewer at The Review and is currently writing his own fantasy series. Information on his writing projects can be found at Flint & Steel, Fire & Shadow.

Note: This post has been updated to reflect the format of the giveaway as a signed paperback.