The Half-Slave

by Trevor Bloom

The year is 476 AD, and the Roman Empire is disintegrating The Franks and other tribes battle for control. Ascha is a half-slave, the son of a slave mother and a Saxon warlord. Sent into exile as a hostage he struggles to survive. But when the calculating young Overlord offers to make him a free man if he will spy on his own people, he must summon all his courage to discover where his loyalties lie. As Ascha confronts the enigmatic warlord of the Saxon confederation, he is drawn into a sticky web of love, revenge and betrayal. He alone can warn the Franks and their Roman allies of the Saxon invasion. But first he must decide where his loyalties lie.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Medieval

359 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 12, 2010

About the author

I grew up on army bases in the UK, Germany and the Far East. As a child, I adored historical fiction and read avidly. I studied law, became an advertising copywriter, a marketing consultant, have run my own business, and have worked as a volunteer for Save the Children. I began to write about ten years ago: mostly children’s stories, thrillers and short stories. I realized that I wanted to write historical fiction, set during the end of the Roman empire.

The Half-Slave is my first novel. The Bookbag described it as "An appealingly pacy adventure set in a rarely attempted period of history. The Half-Slave excels in gritty atmosphere and believable characterization." The Historical Review described my research as "impeccable." See my website for more reviews and a sample.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping tale of the years immediately following the unraveling of the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer is on the throne of Rome, and only Roman Gaul remains, trying to hold on to its civilization, under a Roman governor, Syagrius. A young man, Ascha, with a free father, but mother a Pritannian slave, is considered a "half-slave" by his clan, the Theodi, a branch of the Saxons. Ascha is one step up from a full slave. He is not permitted to fight in war, even to be trained in weapons. His father makes a peace pact with Franks, who are becoming the power in that area, and in exchange for silver, Ascha is sent to live among Franks as a hostage. He is considered expendable; his two free half-brothers are not, as one of them may inherit the throne. Among the Franks, he learns weaponry, especially the franciska, a type of axe, the Frankish weapon of choice. Clovis, the Frankish Overlord, dreams of a large Frankish kingdom and realizes the young man would be valuable to him. He sends him to spy on a Saxon confederation now arising, then to report back on their plans. Ascha is also to assassinate their leader if possible. In return Clovis will grant him full freedom. The novel tells of Ascha's adventures, duplicity and treachery of family members [and possibly others he has considered friends] and harrowing journey to Frankland. Where do his loyalties lie? His tribe has joined the Confederation upon a brother's taking over leadership of his clan after his father's death. This half-brother is not his father's original choice of heir--but the Theodi are still HIS clan.

I learned something of the history of that period. I had never realized Clovis was such an important figure in French history--Founder of the Merovingian Dynasty. Indeed, he figures in German history too. From his name has come "Louis", "Ludwig" and the English "Lewis." Ascha was a full-fledged character--quick-witted, resourceful, not afraid to take dangerous chances--a leader but sometimes conflicted. He shows his mettle on the mission Clovis give him and also at the last set-piece battle between Franks united with Romans against that Saxon Confederation. The style at first was odd--present tense was used for past events, memories, or the future, and third person for the action in the story's present. But after awhile I got accustomed to it.

Highly recommended.

[Sorcha]

Not entirely sure where I picked this book up - it's a genre I only occasionally read.

Ascha is sent as a hostage to the Franks to ensure that his tribe - the Theodi - keep their end of the bargain not to go raiding into the Frankish lands. Ascha is neither a slave or a freeman so is despised by everyone and he never knows his place in the world. He can already speak several languages (his mother having taught him Latin), and over the next 5 years of weapons training, he makes himself useful to the Franks. Soon he is sent back into Saxon lands to spy on his old tribes.

Life is hard back in the northern lands, where one of the tribes is trying to pull the other Saxon tribes together to invade into the Roman and Frank lands. Ascha is torn between his old tribe (who he feels never treated him right) and the Franks (who at least taught him to fight and gave him a purpose). Soon he finds he needs to make a decision as to which way to go.

There are plenty of fighting scenes, which are decently executed, but not for the faint of heart - there's lots of blood, gore and slitting of throats. Ascha grows during the book, from a young bitter half-slave to a fighting machine who knows what he wants, and is able to reach for it.

[Camilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've just finished reading this at 4.50am- which gives some indication of how engrossed I got with it. I was initially sceptical that a book someone was giving away would be of this high standard, which is a terrible assumption for me to make! As a child I enjoyed reading books about Celts and Romans and this novel was a step back in time for me, there were a number of moments where I was reminded of reading The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff, one of my favourite books as a child. This is much bloodier- some of the battle descriptions made me feel a bit queezy, and whilst there is a romantic element to the narrative I was SO glad this wasn't a historical romance. I'm recommending this to my Mum and my Grandma.

I received this book for free via Goodreads

[Northern Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book which covered a period of history which I don't know very well. It followed Archus born to a slave mother and a father who is leader of the Theodi tribe. However if he is to gain his freedom he will have to betray his people, what way will he go?

My only problem with this book was that some scenes were more graphic than needed.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a Roman writer yet this was a relatively new piece of Roman history for me. I loved the setting and the historical backdrop with the tribal in fighting, but was maybe as confused as the main character by the end.

Maybe that was the point. He never knew if he was being lied to and in the finish did it matter?

[Sunshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this book. It gave me an insight into history and into the minds of men.