Muses of Roma

Codex Antonius #1

by Rob Steiner

All starways lead to Roma...

Marcus Antonius Primus began a golden age for humanity when he liberated Roma from Octavian Caesar and became sole Consul. With wisdom from the gods, future Antonii Consuls conquered the world and spawned an interstellar civilization.

It's three weeks before the millennial anniversary of the Antonii Ascension. Kaeso Aemelius, star freighter captain and a blacklisted spy from a Roman rival world, misses his lone-wolf espionage days. So when his former prefect asks him to help a Roman official defect, Kaeso sees it as a way back into his old agency. But can Kaeso protect his crew of misfits from unseen forces who would lay waste to entire worlds to stop the defector from revealing a civilization-shattering truth?

An exciting start to a series for fans of space opera and Roman alternate history.

Genres: Science Fiction, Alternate History

412 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 2013

About the author

Rob Steiner is author of the Journals of Natta Magus series. Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show featured two stories about Natta Magus: “The Oath-Breaker’s Daemon” and “The Cloaca Maxima.” Rob also wrote the alt-history/space opera Codex Antonius series (MUSES OF ROMA, MUSES OF TERRA, and MUSES OF THE REPUBLIC) about a Roman Empire that spawns an interstellar civilization.

Reviews

[richardrpjasper.org]

Needed a copy editor

Likewise, it needed someone with more than a perfunctory knowledge of Rome and Latin. I don't know about you, but I don't "breath" in and out (I breathe) and on occasion I have been known to bare my soul but I don't "bear" it. Likewise, the low lying area between the Seven Hills of Rome was the Subura, not the Suburba. And it's possible that a thousand years after the Antonine Succession women might have adopted the masculine form of the nomen gentilicium (the middle, family designation of the three barreled Roman naming convention) -- but why? All Self-inflicted wounds in an otherwise engaging story. After all, alternate history + space aliens always = whee! Here's hoping copy editors were employed for the next two installments.

[Cody Engdahl]

On Concept alone, you should be reading this!

I bought this immediately when I saw the ad on Facebook. Romans in space: what could be better? As a fan of both Roman historical fiction and space opera, I was all in. I bought it immediately. I'm glad I did. Not only did Steiner come up with a great concept, but he paid it off with a great story with compelling characters that you care about. Dang it, I even got weepy at the end.

The concept is great. Imagine the dark ages never happened. Instead, with a bump in technology from a mysterious source, Mark Anthony was able to defeat Caesar Augustus with black powder muskets and cannons. From there, Rome has a thousand years of growth and technological advances that propel them into space.

Now Rome battles with rival empires for control of the universe. Thrown into the middle of this clash is a captain with a secret past and his plucky crew who will learn the dark secret of humanity's true overlords and the war that has been churning for millions of years across the universe.

This is a fantastic read. Steiner does a great job of giving you just enough to understand the story in the beginning, but then slowly reveals the mysteries of this world as you progress through the book. I highly recommend it. This is the Star Wars we deserve!

[Aaron Johnson]

An interesting alternate history that rolls into a science fiction setting where the Roman Republic has conquered the stars. Enjoyable for the alternate "present" (1000 years after Marc Antony defeats Ceasar Augustus) and for the collection of rebels and rogues that must deal with the secrets of Roma and its history. Looking forward to other books in the series.

[Mick]

Romans in space, what's not to love!

This is the first book I've read by Steiner and I loved it! I was lured in by the concept, but the story itself reads like interstellar action/spy fiction. The characters are well developed and intriguing and the plot has some real jaw dropping twists. I absolutely can't wait until book 2.

[Samantha Morris]

What a beautifully written piece! The author paints vivid images with their words, making every scene come alive. I felt like I was there, experiencing every moment alongside the characters. The story was heartfelt and touching. It’s one of those rare finds that you want to read again immediately. A gem!

[Joanna Marks]

The concept was intriguing, and there were parts I thoroughly enjoyed, but overall it felt underdeveloped. The pacing was inconsistent, with a few slow chapters that were hard to get through. Some characters shone, while others felt like afterthoughts. It’s a decent read, but I expected a bit more polish.

[Charles Francis]

Something Different

I would describe this book as something different. History, science fiction, action and drama all rolled into one. I felt the book started slow and I was having a hard time getting into it. I’m glad I stayed with. Still have lots of questions and hopefully the next boo will answer them.

[David]

Full disclosure: received this book free as part of an internet promotion.

Romans in spaceships intrigued me, but that wore off quickly. This turned into a thriller novel with a hidden backstory. Little character development, not that exciting to read.

[Dave]

I enjoyed this book. It was a very imaginative world where the Roman Empire never fell, developed space travel, and conquered the stars. It reminded me of Firefly or Leviathan Wakes with Kaseo and his rag tag freighter crew of misfits and scufflaws traveling through space.

[Scarlett Stewart]

While there were some interesting ideas here, the execution was a bit lacking. The pacing was off, and I found myself losing interest in the middle. It had some great moments, but they were overshadowed by slower parts. It’s worth a read, but it didn’t blow me away.

[J.D. Schechter]

Intricate

Well written, with a plot filled with the unexpected. A Latin dictionary would help, but the lack doesn't lessen the enjoyment

[Robert Colthar]

Review

Excellent book! Great storyline and characters. Very entertaining and engaging.I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good science fiction!

[Alan Gideon]

Alternative History + SciFi

A great read from an author I wasn’t familiar with. Clean plot lines and believable characters, which can be a rarity.

[David James]

Excellent

I enjoyed this book. Good story and the 2nd half of the book is a real page turner.
Looking forward to reading the next one.

[Jane C.]

Fun ride

Interesting take on Syfy with a parasite using humans to fight its battles. Justina faction and technology for me given the dialogue was a bit much.

[Lou]

A fun space opera, with an interesting conflict at its heart. The only problem for me is that, despite the trappings, this is not the “multiverse” style story I expected. Obviously, since it’s set in a universe where Rome never fell, it’s in its own universe… but the thing that makes these kind of stories interesting (at least to me) is where the story bumps up against our universe… you see an historical event through a different lens, or meet a culture that’s shaped differently thanks to the differences between the universes.

This book doesn’t have any of that (and I’m not saying it’s a flaw in the storytelling… the author was interested in telling his space opera story, and not a meeting of the multiverse), but it does leave things a bit lacking for me. Granted, it would be difficult to have these “collisions” between universes… since Rome never fell, there’s no easy overlap between our world and the world of the book. And, since what action is set on Earth is almost exclusively in Rome, or secret military installations, there’s very little opportunity to showcase cultural differences between the universes.

But this is, ultimately, where the book falls down for me. Great fiction, an enjoyable space opera… but considering how many SF properties have used Rome as the template for their empires (The Romulans of Star Trek, the Empire in Star Wars, and countless other examples), using Rome as the template for your space-conquering empire doesn’t feel any different from those stories. And without that multiverse aspect, using Rome as your conquering empire doesn’t feel nearly as rich as it should.

[Bill Ramsell]

Meh.

Also, I believe the area between the Quirinal and Viminal hills was called "the Subura", not "the Suburba".

[Cedar Sanderson]

It’s a good read, with a good ending. The plot twists I had mostly figured out in advance, although there was one that caught me by surprise, always a good thing. I didn’t catch any egregious story holes or editing issues, but that was mostly because Rob succeeded in pulling me into the world, and that is a very good thing indeed. Hard for me to lose myself in the story these days.

I loved the Belisaurius Series, and there are strong elements in this book that remind me of that. But even more… guys, this is not Firefly fan fiction that I can tell. But if you liked that show, you are going to love this book. It’s a curmudgeonly (but not that old) ship’s captain, trying to keep his ship flying, with a crew he’s fiercely loyal to (not that he’ll ever let them know that) and a heart of gold. It’s got infections, for the Mad Scientist in me, and a plucky kid, and… oh, yeah, the ship model name is Falcon (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

If you like your space opera to have Human Wave, then this one is it, because even more than one tiny crew fighting to survive, stay together, and care for a fallen comrade, this is about a quest to save the entire human race from slavery. They don’t succeed, but they take a step. And the characters grow, and are changed, by the events they have undergone. It’s a good read, and I enjoyed it. I hope you will, as well.

[Joe]

This book was fantastic! It is a spin of history. A "what if Rome never fell?" Basically an alien virus takes control and starts feeding certain individuals new great technologies so that they can rule the galaxy. Now fast forward 1000 years. The human race has expanded on dozens of new planets if not hundreds. Problem is there are different viruses out there. So now Rome is no longer the only super power. And to top it off, the son of the emperor wants to defect. It is up to a Captain and his crew to dig out the truth behind the virus "gods" and what to do with this royal kid.

The book is well written and fast paced. It is a long book, but I flew through the pages. The characters for the most part are well developed. There are a few instances where the character development stalls out, but I'm assuming that these will be sorted out in the coming books. The ending also was a bit of a cop-out. I could tell the author had written himself into a corner, and his solution broke the science barriers that he had set up, along with make it overly easy to kill the virus but keep the host alive and unscathed. That said, everything else in the book was fantastic. I loved the whole adventure and can not wait to read the next in the series. Thank you Goodreads for the book giveaway and thank you Rob Steiner for putting your book on it.

[Nancy]

I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaways.

A very satisfying sci-fi/alternate history story with a unique plot and good characterization. The author demonstrated his capable skills as a writer by giving us a story full of a number of twists and turns that had me saying 'gee, I didn't see that coming'.

Mr. Steiner's ability to meld the two genres of sci-fi & alternate history together was seamlessly achieved. I have read books where one or the other usually dominated.

At first the novel does give you a Firefly kind of feel....rogue Captain with a crew full of secrets piloting a spaceship and trying to stay under the radar, but character development is crisp and sharp, the plot is intriguing and the combination of the two allow the novel to reach its' full potential.

Not that the book does not have its' flaws. There were typo-o's and the inaccurate use of certain words but the story was so fast paced and gripping you just read past all of those inconsistencies.

[D.M. Pruden]

An entertaining story told well. The idea of viral sentient races infecting other life forms as hosts was a creative driver for this alternate history of the Roman Empire. The pacing of the story was good and the characters were interesting enough to care about. I very much enjoyed the few hours I spent reading this story.

My only criticism is around the editing, as mentioned by other reviewers. It was only occasional and the story was strong enough to let me push past them, as annoying as they were. The biggest complaint I have is that characters of Lucia and Ocella are mixed up by the author at one point in the story.

Despite these minor complaints, it is a very good story, well told. I recommend it.

[Marcia]

In this science fiction/alternate history/space adventure, I liked the mystery of the muses and the gods and their relationship to the humans both of the Roman Empire that rose but never fell and the Liberti who opposed them. This is book 1 of the series and I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

[Darlene Hintz]

[Muses of Roma] by [Rob Steiner] thoroughly enjoyed the book. At times I had a small problem keeping the characters straight, but that was a minor difficulty.
I kept relating the story to that of Ancient Rome and the Papacy..correlation here..you decide.

I would recommend [Muses of Roma (Codex Antonius Book 1)]

[Melody]

I was lucky enough to be a first reader, and this book was great. As a English Lit major, I always enjoy a new twist on the classics. I will be passing this story on to friends and family to read.