Robert Fabbri's Vespasian series

[Brian G Turner]

Have just finished book 8, Vespasian: Rome's Sacred Flame.

I'm still really enjoying this series, but - OMG - talk about the series building up to a dramatic conclusion! There's only one more book left, but so much has already hit the fan!

And I know there are shocks to come...

EDIT: Just posted this review on Goodreads: Brian G. Turner’s review of Rome's Sacred Flame

Another great book in his Vespasian series, with some real shocks as it builds up towards a dramatic climax - to be concluded in the next book!

If you haven't yet read Robert Fabbri, his Vespasian novels do an amazing job of connecting much of the history of the early Roman Empire into a single, clear, and entertaining narrative.

If that sounds like it might be of interest to you, then do yourself a favor and check out the first book in this series, Tribune of Rome, which is usually available at a discount on Amazon.

 

[Brian G Turner]

And the - final? - book is now available to pre-order, with a release date of January 2019: Emperor of Rome (Vespasian Book 9)

Although this seems to have originally been slated to be the last book in the series, I've tried to persuade Fabbri that there's easily enough for a Vespasian 10 "God of Rome":

https://twitter.com/x/status/995391751417466883

 

[Brian G Turner]

I've finished Emperor of Rome and very much enjoyed it.

It's amazing to think that this ended up as a 9 books series - plus a handful of supporting short stories. I think Fabbri has definitely established himself as one of the leading Roman Historical Fiction writers.

He's also made Vespasian one of the most interesting Roman Emperors. This isn't just because of his fictional adventures, but also by the way the story reveals Vespasian's association with every Roman Emperor of the 1st century BC with the exception of Augustus: Tiberius, Claudius, Caligula, Nero, [himself], Titus, Domitian, Nerva, Trajan.

As a work of historical fiction, there is plenty of speculation involved, and times when Fabbri clearly admits he's trying to fill time where there are no records of what Vespasian was doing. And yet, Fabbri also cleverly incorporates what we'd consider historical fact in terms of Vespasian's involvement in the Claudian invasion of Britain, through to his reported nap during a performance by Nero, to the siege of Jerusalem and beyond to his time of Emperor.

All in all, a fantastic series and wonderful achievement, made better by the fact that the character of Vespasian not only lives through the brutality of Roman values but also embraces them, yet manages to come out as a sympathetic character for it.

I'll look forward to reading the entire series through together, to better see the long threads that connect all of the books together.