Roma Eterna

by Robert Silverberg, Chris Moore (Illustrator)

What if the Empire never crumbled -- and the Eternal City reigned supreme for thousands of years?

No power on Earth can resist the might of Imperial Rome, so has it been and so it ever shall be. Through brute force, terror, and sheer indomitable will, her armies have enslaved a world, crushing all who would oppose her in her divine mission of total domination. From the reign of Maximilianus the Great in A.U.C. 1203 onward, Rome thrives through the myriad bloody intrigues and corrupt sovereignties that would doom a lesser state. Upstarts and enemies arise and fall, ground beneath merciless Roman boot heels: the prophet Mohammad murdered before his influence can take root; the Mayans in Mexico cruelly subjugated by the invading hordes of the Emperor Trajan VII on their first voyage of circumnavigation.

So it is and so it ever shall be -- into a new age of scientific advancement and astounding technologies.

Throughout the many centuries of Roman rule, one people have suffered and bled ... and endured. In the year A.U.C. 2723, at last a faint hope has been born with the advent of a miraculous new industry. For an intrepid band of those who are called Hebrews, the day is coming when the heavens themselves will be opened to them, and escape from Rome's eternal oppression may finally be possible -- as the ships are prepared in secret that will carry the enslaved on their "Great Exodus" to the stars.

A crowning achievement in a majestic career that has already spanned six decades, Robert Silverberg's Roma Eterna is a triumph of the imagination that reveals the acclaimed author at the breathtaking peak of his narrative powers.

Genres: Science Fiction, Alternate History, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy

416 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

There are many authors in the database with this name.

Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.

Reviews

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science Fiction and fantasy Grand Master Robert Silverberg collected his stories about an alternate history Rome and published them all together in this well written and entertaining novel in 2003.

Many of the stories had been written beginning in the late 80s and 90s; Silverberg fans will note that Byzantium is a favorite theme. The author created new stories to pull it all together and presents the reader with a fascinating journey from what would have been the end of the Roman Empire to over two thousand years later when mankind is reaching for the stars amidst an ancient and decadent civilization.

Silverberg begins his new Roman history with a note on dates. Traditional historians have dated the founding of the city at 753 BC, and so the Romans reckoned this date as year one, or as AUC ab urbe condita “from the founding of the city”. Thus, each chapter is titled with its AUC date and that chapter deals with a point in our time where Silverberg’s alternate history of Rome goes down a different path. We see what became of Christianity, Islam, and the division with Constantinople.

What keeps this compelling and moving along is Silverberg’s masterful writing and his knack for telling a good story.

For Silverberg fans and also fans of alternate history.

[Overhaul · Rating 2 out of 5]

No hay ningún poder sobre la faz de la Tierra capaz de resistir la Acometida del Imperio Romano. Así es, así ha sido y así será. Mediante la fuerza bruta, el terror y el impulso de una voluntad indomable, sus ejércitos han sometido a todo un mundo. Durante miles de años, desde el reinado de Maximiliano el Grande en el año 1203 a.u.c. hasta una nueva era de desarrollo científico y fascinantes avances tecnológicos, incontables enemigos y oportunistas han tratado de enfrentarse al Imperio, solamente han conseguido morder el polvo bajo las botas implacables y despiadadas de Roma.

Hay, sin embargo, un grupo de gente que sufre y que resiste en la sombra a lo largo de los muchos siglos de opresión, gente que sueña con el glorioso día, cada vez más cercano, en que los cielos se abrirán a ellos para que, sobre los barcos que preparan en secreto, protagonicen en gran Éxodo hacia las estrellas.

Suena todo muy bien. Sus ideas y planeamientos, le aplaudiría.. PEEERO...

"Roma Eterna", le hubiera dado tres estrellas de no haber sido por ese final. A pesar de su prosa densa y a veces algo soporifera para mi gusto, había muchas cosas que me gustaban. Pero joder, me costó. Café sobretodo. ☕️

La historia me apasiona y si le das un giro hacia una realidad alternativa, es intrigante para mí, y la premisa aquí de que el implacable imperio romano nunca se derrumbó y siguió creciendo, fue fascinante.

El libro esta formado por relatos, que tienen lugar en un período de tiempo diferente y variante, va creando y explicando cómo esta versión de Roma difiere de la realidad que conocemos.

Por poner unos ejemplos, aquí los godos fueron derrotados, el profeta Mahoma murió antes de que pudiera difundir su mensaje, el éxodo judío no tuvo éxito. Dejándolos fuera de Canaán y, aparentemente impidiendo el nacimiento de Jesús, junto con ello el propio nacimiento y la expansión del cristianismo.

Estaba leyendo, o lo intentaba, a pesar de lo lenta que se estaba volviendo la prosa. Y luego, hacia el final ya tomó un camino para mí muy innecesario, pesado y una gran decepción tras haberme leído cientos de páginas a paso lento, con dificultades por algo (o mucho) de aburrimiento.

Le iba a dar tres estrellas y recomendarlo al criterio de las amistades, pues no deja de ser subjetivo, pero ostia el final.. Se me hizo bola y ya me piqué. Hacha.

Una sucesión de relatos algo relacionados entre sí por ciertas raíces o pilares y temáticamente vinculados, que en cierto modo quiere ser una novela.

Varios de los personajes son interesantes, pero es que ninguno de ellos me llamó, y ni siquiera considero que inviten a una inversión emocional, disponibles para un capítulo, y vacios. Creo que un trozo de cartón me transmite más.

Sin mucha acción de la que hablar aquí, y una gran cantidad de exposición a ratos interesante peeero es que a otros fue muy aburrida, para tratar de llenar grandes espacios de tiempo.

Me encanta la novela histórica, conocer y más si hablamos de una realidad alternativa, pero a mi me falló su ejecución y sobretodo la forma.

Llevarme al aburrimiento como persona y como lector, es jodidamente difícil, muy difícil.. 😩

Más allá del mapa de este mundo, no sentí que cambien "demasiado" las cosas, sí, por supuesto es una idea muy interesante, que si hubiera sido mejor llevada para mi gusto, aplaudiría.

Todo es muy interesante, quitando y cambiando ciertos momentos y cosas fundamentales de nuestra historia, como ya mencioné, pero hubo partes que para mi fue "una más de Romanos" por así decirlo, hasta que sí, ya avanza y todo cambia a algo más futurista, pues hay que tener en cuenta que no deja de ser un imperio Romano, igual, pero másivo. Hay cosas que sí me sorprendieron pero otras tantas no. Y la densidad, lentitud o llenar huecos de tiempo no ayudaron a poder apreciar a partir de cierto punto lo que pasaba.

Dejó de engancharme y pasó a costarme leer.

Luego avanza, ideas interesantes, sin excesiva acción pero eso no tiene porque ser un problema pero la narración varias veces es densa, a veces sientes que lo que lees es para llenar tiempo y no soy nada fan de esas cosas. Mi aburrimiento se fue multiplicando.

Con los personajes pues oye, me he leído relatos en los que algunos personajes no duran más que un capítulo, pero tienen más alma que estos. Y ya el final fue demasiado para mi. La montaña colapso sin remedio ni piedad, bajo todos esos escombros está mi paciencia, en el agujero más profundo del puñetero abismo.

Pero saque el hacha, que ya necesitaba comer. 🪓😐

Lamentablemente no lo puedo recomendar son demasiadas cosas negativas que hicieron click en mi y si lo sé no lo hubiera leído. En este caso me da rabia, por que las ideas y lo que proponía estan genial, muy bien pensadas, pero puff.. su lectura no ha funcionado conmigo..✍️

[Tom LA · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if the Roman Empire never fell?

I'll be honest, I don't understand why readers are not losing their heads about how brilliant this book is.

In any case, I am a massive fan of Robert Silverberg's work. Everything he wrote after he was... 21 years old is pure gold. Among the science fiction masters, he is the deepest and most literary one, and Roma Eterna is an outstanding example of that.

For the Roman Empire to stand the test of time, Silverberg asserts the failure of the three religions of the “book”: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. He writes of an empire that does not die but changes, adapts, and clings to the pagan gods.

The Jewish Exodus crucially fails, Moses and the Jewish get caught by the Egyptians while trying to escape, with 10,000 of them ending up drowned in the Red Sea, hence Christianity is never born. Later on, the prophet Mohammad is murdered before he can found Islam.

Silverberg is probably familiar with Edward Gibbon’s “ Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ”, written 200 years ago. Due to his anti-Christian sentiments, Gibbon expressed and popularized the view that religion (mainly Christianity) was the main cause for the fall of the Roman Empire, having weakened it from within. This theory has been rejected and no current historian (that I am aware of) supports it, but Silverberg picks it up and, in his imaginary history, the failure of the Jewish Exodus results in a never-ending Roman Empire.

So, how do you write a book about such a long timeline? The author presents a series of separate segments with different characters, each chapter describing a pivotal moment in the life of the Empire (Michener uses a similar technique for his historical fiction books).

As a trivia point, the very last chapter was the first one that Silverberg ever published. The rest of the book took shape later.

In c. 1282 AUC (529 CE), an ambassador from the eastern empire expresses a desire to see the seamy underside of Rome. Possibly, the best chapter of the book.

In c. 1370 AUC (617 CE), a western Roman diplomat exiled to Arabia Deserta (which back then was a worthless outpost, because no one cared about oil and no one knew it was there) encounters a charismatic merchant who intends to overturn the belief in hundreds of Arabic gods in favor of just "the god", and realizes that this man could eventually pose a threat to Rome itself.

In 1861 AUC (1108 CE), the western Roman Empire sends seven legions across the great western ocean to attempt the conquest of "Yucatan", a land discovered by Norsemen. A prior invasion force failed miserably; will this second do better?

In 1951 AUC (1198 CE), centuries after the western Roman Empire has fought off the barbarians of the north, it faces its most dangerous invader, the eastern Roman Empire of Constantinople. With the west drained by military losses in the New World and confronted on three sides, Caesar Maximilanus VI opts for peaceful surrender.

In 2206 AUC (1453 CE), 250 years after the subjugation of Rome to Constantinople, the tables have been turned. Now, a Roman proconsul is appointed to rule Venice, where he encounters a very Byzantine lady.

In 2503 AUC (1750 CE), during one of Rome's more decadent eras, an historian has the chance to study Trajan VII Draco's lost memoir of the circumnavigation of the globe 200 years earlier.

In 2603 AUC (1850 CE), a well-to-do young Britannic visitor to Rome lands among the political "jet set" and ends up witnessing from the sidelines the bloody creation of the Second Roman Republic.

In 2653 AUC (1900 CE), early during the Second Roman Republic, two children meet a mysterious old man hiding in a ruined imperial hunting lodge in the Teutonic provinces.

In 2723 AUC (2000 CE), 4000 years after the failed Exodus, the few remaining Hebrews in Egypt plan a new Exodus, to space, and recruit an historian to write their tale.

I'm just a bit disappointed that many reviewers were lukewarm about this book, and didn't realize how well-researched and sophisticated it is. Of course different tastes, absolutely. But this is not a work that should be approached or judged by the depth of the characterization, because the characters keep changing. How can you tell a story that's spanning over 1,500 years otherwise?

The real protagonist is the Roman Empire, arguably the most grandiose political entity ever created by human beings. It's worth pondering and speculating about its magnificent history.

[Zoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Robert Silverberg’s point of divergence for his alternate history, in which the Roman Empire never fell, is that Exodus never happened, the Jews remained in Egypt, and Jesus of Nazareth was never born. Christianity doesn’t exist in this universe, and paganism remains the dominant religion. Despite what Edward Gibbons liked to think, the link between Christianisation and the collapse of Roman power in the West is tenuous at best, and most modern scholarship cites factors other than Christianity in explaining the end of the Roman Empire. However, despite this early point of divergence the real changes don’t happen until after Caracalla’s death, in the third century AD. This allows a relatively familiar course of events, until the divergence after Caracalla allows the Roman Empire to survive and not collapse in the fifth century.

That being said, this “divergence” is characterised by a chronic lack of imagination and a desire to stick slavishly to real-world events. Despite the new line of emperors in the West, the Eastern Roman emperor is 529 is still Justinian I, who is still married to Theodora. Considering his humble origins in Illyria (his uncle rose through the ranks of the army and was able to secure election as emperor despite being illiterate), it is doubtful that in a world already markedly different from our own, the same emperors would rule. Silverberg’s reluctance to create his own real history results in an ahistorical, doubtful mess where the butterfly effect might as well not exist for all the difference it makes to historical events. The Vikings discover the New World in the eleventh century, but their expedition sponsored by the Romans finds the Americas in roughly the same political state as the sixteenth-century New World during the Spanish conquest. The Aztec empire is firmly established in Mexico, despite the “Mexica” tribe not even arriving into central America until the twelfth century (and Aztec/Mexica power was not on the ascendancy until the fourteenth century). Similarly, the expedition finds the Inca empire in Peru despite the Inca not expanding until the fifteenth century. Such is the power of alternate history, that historical processes can be sped up by the desire to present a familiar situation. There is no indication why the Aztecs or the Inca have achieved supremacy so early, and the only conclusion we can draw from this is that Silverberg was unable to envision a discovery of the Americas where the indigenous civilisations found in our timeline did not yet exist. All in all, the stories in this collection show a profound reluctance to develop their own, real, viable alternate history that isn’t wholly informed by ours.

Silverbeg also writes about a severely narrow cross-section of Roman society, making the multi-ethnic, multilingual, three-continent-spanning Roman Empire seem small and claustrophobic. Almost all his characters are from the elite, and the upper crust of the elite at that. Everyone is either a Roman emperor or descended from a Roman emperor, and even those who’ve fallen on hard times have the comfort of their illustrious ancestors to fall back on as they live out their days in genteel poverty. Non-elite Romans might as well not exist; even in the story which recounts this universe’s version of the French Revolution the working-class revolts happen off-stage, and are briefly mentioned by the civil servants who are the real heroes of this story. There’s also none of the geographic breadth and diversity we would expect from stories from a surviving Roman Empire. Of the eleven stories in this book, only four take place outside of Italy. Of course, characters from even the provincial elite are rare.

So that this review isn’t entirely negative, I’ll admit that there are some interesting things about this book. The slow division between the Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West, which culminates in a war of attrition and the absorption of the Western half by the Eastern half, was a thoughtful exploration of internal divisions and prejudices and the long-term effects of decentralised rule. The lack of European colonialism and the strong resistance to colonists in the New World made for a very different, and more equal, relationship with what we see of the rest of the world. The last story in this collection, which sees Egyptian Jews seek the Promised Land in outer space, was intriguing and nuanced, and explored what it meant to be a citizen of such a long-lasting empire that had become a permanent fixture in the world, and how peoples with strong group identities balanced a local and Roman identity.

However, overall these stories, starting out from a flawed but workable concept, did not live up to their potential. It was all the more frustrating reading the occasional flashes of clever, lucid worldbuilding scattered throughout undercooked and careless stories that combined weak worldbuilding and a clinging to real-world events with an unpleasant disdain for the non-elites.

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roma Eterna is a book that could reasonably cover several genres. Mostly it could best be called "speculative history" with the first parts being more "alternate". It is the story of Rome, but a completely different story. In many ways this book functions as a collection of short stories, though the story itself is one continuous timeline, the chapters correspond to important events during this history. Thus each chapter focuses on a time period or certain important events. What makes this an excellent work of speculative fiction is that, had the premise in the prologue actually occurred then there is a strong possibility of history being shaped as it is described in this book. One other thing, the dates in this book are all based on Roman "time", thus it starts with the foundation of Rome in 753 B.C.
Without being spoilery, I will briefly encapsulate each chapter and give you the "actual" year.

In Vergil's Aeneid, he stated "To Romans I set no boundary in space and time. I have granted them dominion, and it has no end"
Thus begins the prologue, set in A.U.C. 1203 (450 AD) a historian has a conversation with a colleague about how 17 centuries in the past, a tribe known as the Hebrews, led by a man named Moses, had tried to escape from Egyptian captivity and failed. Thus the Jews never reached Palestine, never mixed their montheistic beliefs with the local beliefs that focused on Eastern versions of reincarnation, thus there was no derivative Christianity to plague the unity of the Empire. This brief prologue gives us the setting for this superb speculative history.

A.U.C. 1282 ( 529 A.D.)- A young chancellery official, acting as host for the Byzantine ambassador, takes him and the brother of the Western Emperor on a tour of the seedy underbelly of Rome. This brother-Maximilianus, will rise to become Maximilianus III and use the combined might of the Eastern and Western Empires to crush the northern barbarian threat for all time.

A.U.C. 1365 (612 A.D.)- A Roman official, banished to Mecca, meets a young Mohammed and learns about his particular version of religion and deems it to be a threat that must be eliminated before it can spread all throughout the Middle East.

A.U.C. 1861 (1108 AD)- Roman expeditionary fleets sail to the New World in an attempt to colonize the Mayan and Yucatan Peninsula Empires.

A.U.C. 1951 (1198 A.D.)- Maximilianus Caesar, a sheer incompetent, spends his last years on the throne as the Byzantine Empire takes over Rome.

A.U.C. 2206 ( 1453 A.D.)- The Roman Empire recovers and ends up dominating the Byzantine Empire and turning back into one Empire with one Capital (Rome). A Byzantine noble female has a conversation with a Roman official.

A.U.C. 2543 ( 1790 A.D.)- Demetrius is Emperor and is fixated on grandiose building projects, while his friend and historian reads the story of Trajan VII who successfully circumnavigated the globe.

A.U.C. 2568 ( 1815 A.D.)- Demetrius and his imbecile coterie of hangers-on are eliminated in a purge and a new Emperor Laureolus crafts a new regime while eschewing the foolish corruption and decadence of his predecessors.

A.U.C. 2603 ( 1850 A.D.)- A Briton nobleman comes to visit Rome and ends up experiencing the overthrow of the Emperor and the founding of the Second Republic under a "First Consul".

A.U.C. 2650 ( 1897 A.D.)- A young German child discovers the last of the Emperors hiding out in the woods of Vienna.

A.U.C. 2723 ( 1970 A.D.)- a group of surviving Hebrews decide to try to aim for the stars to find a new homeland for themselves.

While those are the individual chapters, and each has its own characters and stories, but in the background, the massive historical changes are mentioned or happen. This makes for an interesting read. I truly enjoyed this excellent alternative history of a world where the Roman Empire spans nearly the entire globe.

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Рома Етерна“ е много интересна алтернативна история! В нея Силвърбърг разсъждава по темата, какви по-различни исторически събития биха се случили, при положение че Римската империя не беше спирала да съществува, а и вечно управляваше света... Книгата представлява един вид сборник с отделни разкази, любопитно описващи различни времеви периоди в този алтернативен свят, чието летоброене се води от Основаването на Рим.



„Фауст мълчеше и той си отговори сам по начин, който приятелят му не очакваше: — Императорът, приятелю, защото по нищо не прилича на другите хора — винаги сам, без допир до честта и любовта, до нормалните човешки чувства. Нелепа фигура е императорът, да знаеш. Няма по-достойно за съжаление чудовище на земята от императора.“

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Más ucronía conceptual que ucronía material.-

Género. Novela (ucronía como una casa, sí, pero novela).

Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Roma eterna (publicación original: Roma Eterna, 2003) es un Fix up de relatos que nos muestran distintos momentos a lo largo de la historia de una Antigua Roma alternativa, sus altibajos y su desarrollo como entidad política, social, económica y tecnológica hasta el siglo XX.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Felix Dance · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was lent to me years ago by a friend at Uni because I was studying Ancient Rome. I’d been guiltily seeing it sit on my bookshelf for many years without picking it up and so decided that this trip would be the perfect opportunity to read it, as it’s always intrigued me (just ignore the fact that it means I would now never be able to return the book). As it happened, it sucked. It started out well as I lay on a deck chair by a pool in Kuta, Bali, vividly describing Ancient Roman life and extolling the Gibbonesque premise that without Christianity the Roman Empire would have continued into the present day – but the imagined ramifications of this alternate universe were poorly thought through: a single Viking was enough to inure the entire New World against the Romans; there were no advances in science or technology until it all came holus bolus in the 20th century; and that Roman society would remain largely static during all of this time. They never even encountered China! There were so many exciting possibilities and ramifications never addressed it left me feeling annoyed and frustrated, despite its lucid writing style.

[Петър Стойков · Rating 4 out of 5]

Какво щеше да стане, ако Ботев беше сложил каска? Ами ако Левски беше обул ботуши? Какво щеше да стане ако...

Този въпрос си задават многократно любителите и дори професионалистите историци, когато четат и препрочитат за някое от множеството събития в миналото, които днес смятаме за определящи хода на историята.

Робърт Силвърбърг ни вкарва в интересен филм за Вечния Рим (Roma Eterna) в който всички събития, които водят и след това отново биха могли да доведат до края му някак не се случват - като първото е че евреите така и не напускат Египет и съответно християнството не се появява като религия.

Така продължаваме да надничаме в живота на този или онзи гражданин на империята в хилядигодишната й история, чак до наши дни, докато тя успява, по чиста случайност или историческа обусловеност, да победи вътрешни и външни врагове, да се дели и обединява, но да стане и остане Вечният Рим.

Какво щеше да стане, ако...

[Alejandro Orradre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una curiosa ucronía en la que se explica la historia de un mundo en el que el Imperio Romano llega hasta nuestros días.

A modo de pequeñas historias que se aprovechan para dar saltos en el tiempo, el autor muestra lo que serían algunos sucesos vitales de esa historia alternativa, con cierto virtuosismo aunque sin adentrarse demasiado en ese universo alternativo (buena decisión) y dejando que la acción guíe los acontecimientos.

[Nad Gandia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es un libro entretenido en parte y soporífero por otra. Me explico,se pueden tratar como historias independientes relacionadas con destino del imperio romano. En estas líneas temporales el imperio sigue dominando la mayor parte de Europa. Ahora bien, hay historias interesantes y otras que son demasiado pesadas, aún así las historias interesantes giran entorno a ideas que se hacen algo repetitivas. Me ha costado horrores terminarlo, par que nos vamos a engañar.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just taking a stab at when I read this - it was sometime back in college, and I really enjoyed it. This was the reason that I eventually picked up Dying Inside, which ended making a very serious impression on me. Silverberg's writing has a lot of depth, and (unlike a lot of SFF writers) he has a range that is rather remarkable.

[Dakota Rusk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Silverberg, an exalted name in science fiction circles, delivers up a virtual Disneyland of speculation and spectacle based on the premise that the Roman Empire never declines and falls. More a collection of interrelated short stories than a novel, ROMA ETERNA deftly weaves an alternate history in which Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed are all sidelined, so that the rise of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims never has a chance to impede Rome's global expansion; and he does it in a way that's absolutely credible, and absolutely exhilarating. Readers of my novel PARALLEL U. will recognize that this is also the story of my Parallel 24, the alternate reality where Fabia Terentia, one of my principal characters, originates; and in fact I was directly inspired by my reading of Silverberg's book. It will probably inspire something similar in you. Go ahead; dive in.

[Linus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roma Eterna by Robert Silverberg is a collection of short stories in an alternative history where the Roman Empire never fell. Each story plays at a different point in this alternative timeline, ranging from ancient times to nearly the present day. These stories offer interesting insights into the lives of the protagonists, who mostly come from the patrician class, and demonstrate how the Roman Empire endured over the centuries.

The final story is in my view the most surprising and maybe the best story in this collection. Here, the second Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is handled as the first Exodus by Moses never happened. But now they plan the Exodus on a whole other level…

There are some inconsistencies. Despite the significant difference in the history where Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are suppressed or never emerged, historical events such as the discovery of America and the Industrial Revolution develop in a way that resembles our own history. This seems implausible, as the story might have been even more convincing if the changes in the alternative world had a stronger influence on world history. We also do not get know the ordinary people of the Empire and how they really feel about the never ending reign of the Emperors. So, the stories are in itself nice to read, but one should not expect a thoroughly developed alternative history.

Nevertheless, the book could hold my attention as I wanted to know how the Roman Empire evolves through the centuries. In the end, it remains unclear if and how long the Empire remains in the future, but it has proven that when everything is uncertain, the Empire abides.

[Emma Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silverberg is an assured, masterful storyteller. I only wish he’d pushed his alternate history even further.

[Graham Crawford · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book promised a lot a delivered very little. There are a couple of stories which are ok, but much of this is boring lists of fake emperors, something like a national geographic illustrated timeline - but less interesting. It doesn't serious tackle the question of slavery, mentions the Chinese as yellow slant eyes, avoids dealing with the rights of women and the technology miraculously parallels that in our own space/time frame. It's a very childish reading of history, and makes for very stupid "speculative" fiction.

[Thibault Delavaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livre intéressant : comment l'histoire se serait-elle déroulée si l'Empire Romain n'était jamais tombé ? Les premiers chapitres sont très réussis et l'ambiance romaine est bien rendue. Ensuite, plus on s'éloigne dans le temps, plus l'univers décrit manque de cohérence et l'auteur atteint les limites de l'exercice de l'uchronie. Le dernier chapitre est un clin d'oeil réussi au point de divergence fixé par l'auteur au début du livre. L'écriture est quant à elle assez simple mais non déplaisante.

[Andrei Duduman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mi-as fi dorit ca autorul sa imagineze o istorie care din punctul de divergenta sa se indeparteze total de istoria reala. Din pacate, R. Silverberg alege o cale facila preluand elemente si aspecte reale pe care le justifica neconvingator folosind cauze ce tin de istoria imaginara (spre exemplu, desi Imperiul nu s-a prabusit, exista ev mediu, dogi ai Venetiei, latina e inlocuita de la un punct incolo cu dialecte locale, inclusiv la Roma ajunge sa se vorbeasca o asa-zisa limba romana, care e de fapt italiana).

[David R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good contrafactual. The span of history is an astonishing two millenia, yet the story flow works beautifully. Most of all, the alternative history is plausible.

[Baptiste · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'est une uchronie sous la forme d'un recueil de nouvelles qui s'imaginent l'histoire d'un empire romain qui n'aurait pas disparu au Vème siècle et perdurerait jusqu'à nos jours.

C'est assez intéressant sur l'histoire alternative en général, mais vu que c'est écrit quasi intégralement du point de vue de proches des empereurs ou de nobles, la perspective est un peu biaisée et on sent pas trop concrètement comme l'empire évolue en dehors des événements importants, qui font un peu le miroir de notre histoire. On retrouve en effet une guerre de cinquante ans entre l'Empire d'Orient et celui d'Occident, une période de la Terreur en 1815 de notre calendrier, la découverte par les romains du continent américaine et des Mayas et la première circumnavigation du globe (par l'empereur Trajan VII). Néanmoins je n'ai pas senti que le parallélisme était une transposition directe, puisque même si on reconnait l'inspiration historique, les éventements présentés ont peu de similitudes dans leur déroulé et ont une vraie autonomie par rapport à leurs inspirations.

Les changements socio-culturels, politiques et techniques sont relégués au second plan et des événements comme les épidémies sont totalement absents, malgré leur impact dans l'histoire "réelle". Il n'y a que la nouvelle "Une fable des bois véniens" qui se centre sur des gens hors de la noblesse dans la campagne, et qui pour le coup est très intéressante et émouvante, en explorant l'effet le l'évolution de l'Empire sur des citoyens loin de la capitale.

La construction du recueil est intéressante, puisque les conséquences d'éléments amorcés dans une nouvelles peuvent être la cause d'un évènement exploré dans une autre (un empereur s'obstine à envahir les territoires de l'autre côté de l'Atlantique, ce qui cause la ruine de l'empire d'Occident et sa défaite contre l'empire d'Orient...). Ça donne une vision un peu mécanique de l'histoire, et centré sur les actions des empereurs généralement (tel empereur fou et dispendieux provoque la Terreur), mais ça donne une cohérence assez plaisante dans la fiction. C'est d'autant plus intéressant que les nouvelles ont été publiées dans le désordre dans la chronologie de cet Empire Éternel, entre la fin des années 80 et le début des années 2000, donc il y a du y avoir un gros travail de préparation sur lequel se base le recueil.

Et au final, malgré les limites des points de vue présentés, le livre offre des perspectives intéressantes sur l’héritage de l'Empire romain, sur son étalement géographique, sur sa gestion d'un ensemble de cultures différentes, son rapport à la religion et ce que ça implique dans l'histoire de Rome, sans apporter de réponse définitive. Après tout, il y a tellement de choses dans notre vie de tout les jours qui sont directement héritées de Rome que l'on pourrait se dire qu'on vit déjà dans une forme de "Rome éternelle".

[Roselyn Blonger · Rating 2 out of 5]

No estoy acostumbrada a leer mucha ciencia ficción, pero mezclarla con religion me pareció una pésima idea. El autor sin duda tiene una pluma excelente y sabe usar bien sus recursos literarios, pero creo que le faltó un poco más de dinámica para impulsar la trama, en especial porque parece más un largo documental imaginativo que una novela de ciencia ficción. Sí, creo que tiene muchos detalles que lo hacen espeluznantemente realista, pero todo eso quedó eclipsado con el abrupto final abierto. Creo que eso lo arruinó mucho para mí.

Lo recomiendo solo a amantes locos de la historia de Roma.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a a very good book about what the world would be like if the Roman empire never fell. Silverberg has a good writingstyle, and tells an interessting story here.

Because this book cronicles a more than 1000 year period, the story is told in different short stories. And not all of them are equally good. Some of these stories have a main character that is just passivly witnessing the events and those stories are a bit less interessting. The real sorry part is that the first story in this book is actual the least good. So I would recommend to soldier through that story because the stories keep getting better. My favorite stories in this book are the one about the first person to travell around the world and the story about the reign of terror.

All in all, this is a very good book, worthy that you give it a read.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book already twice. Enjoying to read a book more than once is my criterium for a good book.
What I'm missing from this book is that due to the Roman Empire not falling apart a society with more developed science and technology should have resulted. The author is drawing parallels between his version of history and the real one:
* circumnavigation of the world
* French revolution
These events should have occurred earlier in a world, where the Roman Empire did not fall apart, and a high percentage of the books would have survived. In our world, the fall of the Roman Empire caused a books destruction of a high percentage of the books written in ancient time -- only a low percentage of these books have survived.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alternate history. What if: Moses fails in leading the Israelites out of Egypt, and Christianity then does not come about; the Roman Empire wins out over the attacks from the Huns and the Germanic tribes; and Mohamed never rises? The roman Empire continues on, up to our present times.
An interesting book. Silverberg does well in making sure that the geography is understandable, so you know what is happening where. Each chapter is a different point on the timeline over two thousand years, with different characters telling their stories. It' s an interesting "what if?"

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn -- I wish I wrote this. Amazing. I wish I was a good enough writer to write a review that is even halfway good as this book. It's a collection of short stories with a central theme over many years that Silverberg has written about Roma Eterna, but still reads better than many novels.

[Kara]

Skimmed.

I prefer alternate histories that have very specific inciting event where things veer off in a new direction, rather than a story like this. Here, the main difference is the original Exodus never happened, which lead to a lot of other things not happening, so Rome stays firmly in power.

The other thing I don't like is when an alternate history ends up having the same outcome happen anyway, despite the changes, and that is very much what ends up happening here, which pretty much defeats the purpose of the whole exercise.

[Shawn Edrei · Rating 2 out of 5]

An intriguing premise, undermined by a lack of worldbuilding - there's little fun to be had in an alternate history that doesn't sufficiently explore the details of its own new reality.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really interesting book but it was slow and some of the information was repeated. I have never learnt alot about Romans and emprerors so it was very interesting

[Rubén Vilaplana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dividida en fechas donde cada periodo, nos cuenta a base de relato un hecho puntual en la evolución de Roma como dueña del mundo.
Interesante la propuesta del autor, aunque se podría sacar más partido, no decepciona pero tampoco entusiasma.

[Miren Arana · Rating 4 out of 5]

ESP
Combinando mi interés por la Historia y mi entusiasmo ante el descubrimiento del género de las ucronías, escogí este libro donde además se incluye el antiguo Imperio Romano para así poder cumplir con un punto de uno de mis retos literarios del año (Retópata #11: una ucronía). Ha resultado muy interesante y muy curioso el mundo alternativo surgido por la continuidad del imperio romano, observar las diferencias y semejanzas con la historia real, al ver a lo largo del tiempo, a través de diferentes personajes, capítulos clave de esos cambios.

ENG
Combining my interest for History and my eagerness about discovering the ucrony genre, I choosed this book where the Ancient Roman Empire is also included, just to fill a prompt of one of this year's reading challenges (Retópata #11: an uncrony). It has been very interesting and very curious the alternative world born for the continuity of the Roman Empire, noticing the diferences and similarities with the real History, seeing throughout the time and by means of different characters some key moments of these changes.