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Portal to Nova Roma #5
Empire
All empires fall. The question is how - and who inherits what is left behind.
The final book of the Portal to Nova Roma series has arrived.
The banners are raised. The legions are mustered. Across the known world, ancient empires stir and rival powers sharpen their blades. The fate of nations now rests on a handful of irrevocable decisions, each one echoing with the promise of glory - or ruin.
Alexander has forged an empire through blood, steel, and magic, uniting fractured realms beneath a single standard. But history is cruel to conquerors. To secure his rule, he must weather devastating wars and dangerous alliances, alongside magics capable of condemning the world itself. What was won by conquest must now be preserved by wisdom… or defended to the last man.
Armies clash across distant frontiers. Magic reshapes the battlefield. New lands beckon with wealth, alliances, and unseen dangers - while old enemies wait for the moment to strike.
This is the final turning of the age.
The last campaign.
The judgment of history.
See whether Alexander's legacy is carved into history - or erased by it.
The final book of the Portal to Nova Roma series has arrived.
The banners are raised. The legions are mustered. Across the known world, ancient empires stir and rival powers sharpen their blades. The fate of nations now rests on a handful of irrevocable decisions, each one echoing with the promise of glory - or ruin.
Alexander has forged an empire through blood, steel, and magic, uniting fractured realms beneath a single standard. But history is cruel to conquerors. To secure his rule, he must weather devastating wars and dangerous alliances, alongside magics capable of condemning the world itself. What was won by conquest must now be preserved by wisdom… or defended to the last man.
Armies clash across distant frontiers. Magic reshapes the battlefield. New lands beckon with wealth, alliances, and unseen dangers - while old enemies wait for the moment to strike.
This is the final turning of the age.
The last campaign.
The judgment of history.
See whether Alexander's legacy is carved into history - or erased by it.
725 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 6, 2026
An imaginative series undermined by amateurish writing choices.
I like the author’s imagination. He has a natural grasp for creating engaging main characters as well as establishing new worlds as playgrounds. But where he falls short is in practically every other aspect storytelling in this genre. A litany of writing traps and lazy decision making that makes me wonder how an author who’s been around this genre so long (and is so active on Reddit and whatnot and obviously well-read in this genre) can be so oblivious to the basic structures that make this genre work and those that don’t.
This book starts with a book by book recap. That’s amazing. Then the stat sheet which is l, judging from my kindle, roughly two dozen pages! At what point, Mr Mathews, are you writing this and thinking to yourself: How did I get here? And if you’re not, and you don’t understand the problem, that’s the problem! Your MC didn’t work for the vast majority of this. He doesn’t use 90% of this after he gets them. You just think of cool things to do and give them to your MC. Some are great ideas, the doppelgänger is a cool concept. But what isn’t cool is the skills and whatnot just falling from the sky like manna he didn’t even pray for. It is really, simply lazy writing. Cool idea for a scene, give the MC the skill without any really effort or thought to consequences down the line, use it once or twice, then never think about it again except in these chapter long stat sheets.
Anyway on to the story. We pick up after the McGuffin semi-cliffhanger that transports the good guys and the bad guys to some unknown location. For some reason I don’t understand, they need to work together? Okay, not gonna harp on that, fine. So how does the author do this? Does he go through the effort of dealing with conflicts between two armies, the experience of working together to overcome obstacles and build trust? Nah, he just has them sign a magical contract. Who cares about basic storytelling? Let’s just get on with the plot! Just absolutely and shamelessly lazy writing. Period. That’s all this is.
That’s the first chapter. I could go on… but I will spare myself the heartburn and you the trouble, you can imagine how the rest would play out.
Through two series JR Mathews has shown, to me, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Perhaps with a competent and red-marker-wielding editor, something could have been salvaged from both his series, but alas that isn’t to be. I’m afraid this series will really only appeal to casuals who, let’s be honest, have no standards. But thankfully for authors like this one, that’s not a small amount of people. You can make a good living writing for those folks. Myself having a different take on the importance of good storytelling and what makes good storytelling doesn’t make me a better person, merely a more sophisticated and demanding reader of this particular genre of pulp fiction. Truthfully I am a member of a small fraction of the audience for authors in this genre, so by all means write what you want authors and enjoy what you want dear readers. But for me, part of my enjoyment of reading this genre is in dissection and criticism in pursuit of the enjoyment that comes from a series that really does everything right. How satisfying that is. It’s just worth the effort of digging through series like this to me. And don’t think I don’t have a lot of five star review, I do.
That said, to me this series is the opposite of that. And considering I’ve given the author two series worth of my time and feel the same about both of those experiences, I will no longer be following this author or reading anything he writes again.
I like the author’s imagination. He has a natural grasp for creating engaging main characters as well as establishing new worlds as playgrounds. But where he falls short is in practically every other aspect storytelling in this genre. A litany of writing traps and lazy decision making that makes me wonder how an author who’s been around this genre so long (and is so active on Reddit and whatnot and obviously well-read in this genre) can be so oblivious to the basic structures that make this genre work and those that don’t.
This book starts with a book by book recap. That’s amazing. Then the stat sheet which is l, judging from my kindle, roughly two dozen pages! At what point, Mr Mathews, are you writing this and thinking to yourself: How did I get here? And if you’re not, and you don’t understand the problem, that’s the problem! Your MC didn’t work for the vast majority of this. He doesn’t use 90% of this after he gets them. You just think of cool things to do and give them to your MC. Some are great ideas, the doppelgänger is a cool concept. But what isn’t cool is the skills and whatnot just falling from the sky like manna he didn’t even pray for. It is really, simply lazy writing. Cool idea for a scene, give the MC the skill without any really effort or thought to consequences down the line, use it once or twice, then never think about it again except in these chapter long stat sheets.
Anyway on to the story. We pick up after the McGuffin semi-cliffhanger that transports the good guys and the bad guys to some unknown location. For some reason I don’t understand, they need to work together? Okay, not gonna harp on that, fine. So how does the author do this? Does he go through the effort of dealing with conflicts between two armies, the experience of working together to overcome obstacles and build trust? Nah, he just has them sign a magical contract. Who cares about basic storytelling? Let’s just get on with the plot! Just absolutely and shamelessly lazy writing. Period. That’s all this is.
That’s the first chapter. I could go on… but I will spare myself the heartburn and you the trouble, you can imagine how the rest would play out.
Through two series JR Mathews has shown, to me, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Perhaps with a competent and red-marker-wielding editor, something could have been salvaged from both his series, but alas that isn’t to be. I’m afraid this series will really only appeal to casuals who, let’s be honest, have no standards. But thankfully for authors like this one, that’s not a small amount of people. You can make a good living writing for those folks. Myself having a different take on the importance of good storytelling and what makes good storytelling doesn’t make me a better person, merely a more sophisticated and demanding reader of this particular genre of pulp fiction. Truthfully I am a member of a small fraction of the audience for authors in this genre, so by all means write what you want authors and enjoy what you want dear readers. But for me, part of my enjoyment of reading this genre is in dissection and criticism in pursuit of the enjoyment that comes from a series that really does everything right. How satisfying that is. It’s just worth the effort of digging through series like this to me. And don’t think I don’t have a lot of five star review, I do.
That said, to me this series is the opposite of that. And considering I’ve given the author two series worth of my time and feel the same about both of those experiences, I will no longer be following this author or reading anything he writes again.
September 19, 2026
Terrible Disappointment
Unfortunately, a terrible disappointment to a decent series. It was rushed while also being drawn out. To many major plot points got wrapped up with little effort while far too many minor plot points were given too much time for the sake of expanding the book. Too many countries, too many problems, and none of them given the true support or effort they needed to be properly addressed. There was zero, zero, zero, zero, ZERO point in going to Mongolia. It is an entire plot point that eats half the book for ZERO payout except increasing chapters and distracting you from the fact that nothing is happening. The story needed to stay between Nova Roma and France on land and the pirates in the Med. No Egypt. No Mongolia. No China. Hell, even the majority of a previous book down around Carthage was too much but it got wrapped up ok and something came of it. There was ZERO payout from nearly all the other locations. Watered down the book. Useless text. Amazing series start and premise that burns out around the third book and is all smoke and mirrors after that. No substance. No fulfillment.
Unfortunately, a terrible disappointment to a decent series. It was rushed while also being drawn out. To many major plot points got wrapped up with little effort while far too many minor plot points were given too much time for the sake of expanding the book. Too many countries, too many problems, and none of them given the true support or effort they needed to be properly addressed. There was zero, zero, zero, zero, ZERO point in going to Mongolia. It is an entire plot point that eats half the book for ZERO payout except increasing chapters and distracting you from the fact that nothing is happening. The story needed to stay between Nova Roma and France on land and the pirates in the Med. No Egypt. No Mongolia. No China. Hell, even the majority of a previous book down around Carthage was too much but it got wrapped up ok and something came of it. There was ZERO payout from nearly all the other locations. Watered down the book. Useless text. Amazing series start and premise that burns out around the third book and is all smoke and mirrors after that. No substance. No fulfillment.
September 7, 2026
Amazing ending for an amazing series
Truly a heartfelt story. One broken man from a broken world healed by his adventures in a new world, making new friends and empires. A truly glorious ending, one which is very satisfying but still makes you sad that you won't get more. I'll always hold a special place in my heart for Alexander, and I will definitely be revisiting this series when I need an old friend to comfort me. Thank you J.R. Matthews for an incredible journey through the history of our world with a magical twist.
Truly a heartfelt story. One broken man from a broken world healed by his adventures in a new world, making new friends and empires. A truly glorious ending, one which is very satisfying but still makes you sad that you won't get more. I'll always hold a special place in my heart for Alexander, and I will definitely be revisiting this series when I need an old friend to comfort me. Thank you J.R. Matthews for an incredible journey through the history of our world with a magical twist.
September 1, 2026
Fantastic
What a great book series. I’m a bit sad that the ride is over for now but super glad I pickup up the first book many years ago. If you love litrpg, fantasy book, twist of historical civilization, and a main character that is interesting and NOT just a murder hobo, this is a series worth reading. Maybe we’ll get a spin off series as he explores new places in the world, or even off-world? I can only hope!
What a great book series. I’m a bit sad that the ride is over for now but super glad I pickup up the first book many years ago. If you love litrpg, fantasy book, twist of historical civilization, and a main character that is interesting and NOT just a murder hobo, this is a series worth reading. Maybe we’ll get a spin off series as he explores new places in the world, or even off-world? I can only hope!
September 1, 2026
what a ride!
I wish I could write a longer review, but I’ve binged this book for days and have been going to sleep at 2am so perhaps I’ll edit it later. Or maybe that’s a dog. Of how good it is. If you made it to Book 5 in the series, this was such a satisfying read, and every plot thread gets resolved. Absolutely LOVED IT
I wish I could write a longer review, but I’ve binged this book for days and have been going to sleep at 2am so perhaps I’ll edit it later. Or maybe that’s a dog. Of how good it is. If you made it to Book 5 in the series, this was such a satisfying read, and every plot thread gets resolved. Absolutely LOVED IT
September 14, 2026
A great series
The last addition to the, portal to nova legacy and it was all that I wished for. Thank you to the author for creating a world that I could dive into and for growing as a writer a good author writes for themselves but an amazing author writes for their characters and I really feel that they are a great author. Over all 10/10 book
The last addition to the, portal to nova legacy and it was all that I wished for. Thank you to the author for creating a world that I could dive into and for growing as a writer a good author writes for themselves but an amazing author writes for their characters and I really feel that they are a great author. Over all 10/10 book
September 19, 2026
Great series of stories Highly recommended
Reread the first few books to get back acquainted with the characters and read the last one. Really enjoyed all the characters and the different take on litrpg type of genre. I especially liked the wrap up of everything. Much appreciated!!
Reread the first few books to get back acquainted with the characters and read the last one. Really enjoyed all the characters and the different take on litrpg type of genre. I especially liked the wrap up of everything. Much appreciated!!
September 2, 2026
Amazing series!
This series has been my favorite in the litrpg genre of nearly 100 books read. The author has truly found his stride with this series, in an epic tale of historical fiction litrpg.
This series has been my favorite in the litrpg genre of nearly 100 books read. The author has truly found his stride with this series, in an epic tale of historical fiction litrpg.
September 2, 2026
A great book!
This last book was well written and a fun read. The adventure was superb. I really enjoyed the whole shebang. The epilogs at the end wrapped everything up nicely! I hope there are more! There is so much left to do!
This last book was well written and a fun read. The adventure was superb. I really enjoyed the whole shebang. The epilogs at the end wrapped everything up nicely! I hope there are more! There is so much left to do!
September 3, 2026
A long enjoyable literary journey
Was scared a hidden book 6 would appear and I would have to wait another year for closure lol. Kudos to the author and his team. And a shout out to everyone who supported and motivated him on this epic adventure.
Was scared a hidden book 6 would appear and I would have to wait another year for closure lol. Kudos to the author and his team. And a shout out to everyone who supported and motivated him on this epic adventure.
September 3, 2026
Amazing!
Thoroughly enjoyed this series, so satisfying. You really feel like you're experiencing the grand adventures with Alexander and his merry band of misfits. Immensely satisfying epilogue that left me feeling pride in what they've built in Nova Roma and beyond!
Thoroughly enjoyed this series, so satisfying. You really feel like you're experiencing the grand adventures with Alexander and his merry band of misfits. Immensely satisfying epilogue that left me feeling pride in what they've built in Nova Roma and beyond!
September 7, 2026
Am exceptional end
Truly a perfect conclusion to what has become one of my favorite fantasy series. This book is everything I wanted it to be and more. Probably the one of the best endings ive ever read.
Truly a perfect conclusion to what has become one of my favorite fantasy series. This book is everything I wanted it to be and more. Probably the one of the best endings ive ever read.
September 9, 2026
Satisfying
A wonderful conclusion to the series. Most answers to the big question and enemies are resolved in a truly satisfying way they fit both the characters and the story. While also learning room for mystery and sequel
A wonderful conclusion to the series. Most answers to the big question and enemies are resolved in a truly satisfying way they fit both the characters and the story. While also learning room for mystery and sequel
September 7, 2026
Great book
Stellar work once again from J.R. Mathews! Lots of action and adventure, magic and monsters. Looking forward to seeing what comes next!
Stellar work once again from J.R. Mathews! Lots of action and adventure, magic and monsters. Looking forward to seeing what comes next!
September 7, 2026
Fantastic
It was hard to put down this book I really enjoyed it this Series has been fantastic with different perspective from a different type of genre
It was hard to put down this book I really enjoyed it this Series has been fantastic with different perspective from a different type of genre
September 8, 2026
Really enjoyed this series from start to finish. Final big is huge, but it wraps most of the plot lines up.
September 12, 2026
fun
A good ending to a fun story that leaves room for more in the future. Hopefully we will get to see more of the world and Alexander
A good ending to a fun story that leaves room for more in the future. Hopefully we will get to see more of the world and Alexander
September 15, 2026
I really enjoyed this series. Rollicking adventure, great cast of characters
September 20, 2026
just keeps getting better
Just loved this series and the last book really pumps. Sadness in its ending. Hope to see a reprise of the characters again and the wider world
Just loved this series and the last book really pumps. Sadness in its ending. Hope to see a reprise of the characters again and the wider world
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews