Beasts Beyond The Wall

Brothers of the Sands #1

by Robert Low

The fate of Rome hangs on a mad mission to the edge of the world…

Drust and Kag, two ring-hardened fighters who won their freedom with blood, are met with an unusual request. The mysterious, powerful Servilius Structus sends them deep into Scotland, land of the Caledonii, to find and secure a woman and her young son. But it’s not clear why... and what could go wrong, heading over the last Wall into the Land of Darkness?

Accompanied by Ugo, Quintus, Manius, and Sibanus, this crew of ex–gladiator rogues, tricksters and bar-room philosophers will risk everything on an insane quest and a daring escape. In the dog days of Rome, with decadence and corruption in the air, the consequences of their failure are far greater than they could ever dream: not only their lives but the Empire itself is at stake.

No pressure then.

A searing, gritty and blood-soaked historical adventure, Beasts Beyond the Wall is perfect for fans of Giles Kristian, David Gilman and Conn Iggulden.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Roman

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2019

About the author

Robert Low is a Scottish journalist and historical novelist, with novels based on the Viking Age. He was war correspondent in Vietnam and also several other locations, including Sarajevo, Romania and Kosovo, until "common-sense, age and the concerns of my wife and daughter prevailed". Now he writes novels full time. He's also a historical reenactor performing with the Scotland-based group, the Vikings.

Series:
* Oathsworn
* Kingdom

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 4 out of 5]

TAKE NOTE, SHOULD READ AS: ** 4.5 STARS!**

This thrilling Roman historical adventure is the 1st part of the "Brothers of the Sands" trilogy from the Scottish author, Robert Low, who's also very well known from the Viking Oathsworn series and the Scottish Kingdom trilogy.

At the end of the book you'll notice Notes and a Glossary where the historical details are very well documented and they are greatly implemented by the author within this tale.

The author's story-telling is of a superb quality, all characters, whether they are real historical and great fictional, come vividly to life within this Roman historical adventure, and the atmosphere of these brutal and murderous Roman times come wonderfully off the pages.

The book starts off in the tenth year during the reign of Emperor, Septimus Severus, in the year AD 208, when we get to know our protagonists, being the former gladiators, Drust, Kag, Ugo, Quintus, Manius and Sibanus.

When the powerful patron of these gladiators, Servilius Structus, is somehow forced to release his six gladiators, they find themselves at first in the company of a man called, Julius Yahiya, a man who's acting on behalf of a very powerful patron, and he instructs them to go to Caledonia (Scotland), and there to rescue a very important woman and her son.

And so when they finally arrive beyond the famous Walls of Hadrian and Antonine, and so into the lands of the "Beasts Beyond The Wall" they will encounter treachery, hardship and ferocious fought battles, and in their attempt to reach and rescue this woman and her son, they will leave behind destruction and death, and so acting like Beasts Beyond The Wall themselves.

What is to follow is a gripping Roman historical adventure, where bravery, betrayal, endurance and death will be commonplace, and where our six protagonists will need all their cunning, courage and luck in their quest to reach, protect and deliver their human cargo to their place of destination, being Eboracum (York), and in the only way possible and that being the hard Roman way.

Highly recommended, for this is a very good start, and apart from a somewhat hesitant begin this tale will turn into an action-packed story full with all the right ingredients, and that's why I'm looking forward to the next instalment, and what this episode is concerned I like to call it: "A Very Exciting and Entertaining Start"!

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

First half boring but 2nd half had my heart in my mouth with the escape. Excellent writing style but descriptions too gory and gruesome for my taste. I had to warm up to the group of main characters.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon...

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great new series by Low

I’ve been such a big fan of Robert low for years, and I was so excited to see that he had a new series. And I was rewarded for this purchase. Highly recommended.

[Kevin Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloody tale

Rob low is a author i have been reading since his viking oathsworn series and if you havent read them yet i urge you to do so. This new series is set in ancient rome and followes the adventures of a band of gladiators sent beyond hadrians wall to rescue a woman and child. Its a very dark and bloody tale, and mr low does not hold back on the gore, describing a very vivid picture. There is a VERY good glossary at the end of the book, and i learned a couple of things about gladiators that i fidnt know before. The author has a very good website as well which i would recommend you visit. This is a very good start to his new series, and i will certainly be reading the rest when they are published. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[S.J.A. Turney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Low, a master of the storyteller's art, brings all the excitement, fraternity, realism and plain joy of his Oathsworn to a whole new genre. Beasts beyond the wall is an epic tale of hardship, triumph, betrayal and brotherhood, from the sands of Africa to the cold mountains of Scotland, we are treated to a servant's-eye view of the hard world of Severan Rome. Colourful, impressive characters, vivid locations and well-researched history pulled together to make a truly memorable novel. Roll on Low's next epic, I say.

[Diane Cranson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Low, wonderful author. What a loss!

[Zoe Furley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a great tale to get back in to Mr Low's style of writing !

I ended up doing some searching to see if Robert Low had written any other books, as i enjoyed his oath-sworn series immensely !

This series kicks off with EX Gladiators all with a story to tell and a past to hide from. It took me a few chapters to slip in to Robert Lows writing but once i did it flowed so well and very quickly !
I always appreciate the depth of understanding and research he put sin to his tales and the way areas/ situations are described on a real personal perspective to make it feel like you are seeing this through the eyes of the characters. Truly a tale to behold , ex slaves and Gladiators are tasked with retrieving a mysterious Roman woman and boy. They must trek all the way to the land of Darkness.... also know as Scotland. Set in the time when Hadrian's wall was being built and the campaign to conquer the Scots initiated ! This was just none stop action , with twists and turns to make you constantly guess what was coming.

I've ended up buying the next in this series as i just have to know what this gang of lads get up to next !

[Shoggothey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dużo polecajek, informacji, dobrych opinii na innych serwisach, a książka nie dość, że przeciętna (bardzo), to jeszcze okropnie mnie wynudziła.

Sześciu gladiatorów zostaje wysłanych na, można by powiedzieć, samobójczą misję na południe Wysp Brytyjskich, konkretnie do Szkocji, aby uratować matkę z dzieckiem z rąk znanego im 'kolegi'. W trakcie zmagań zmuszeni są do przezwyciężenia własnych demonów i słabości, z czego Drust i Kag, w pewien sposób przywódcy grupy, muszą utrzymać wszystkich zwartych i gotowych na wszelkie niezaplanowane sytuacje.

Fabularnie nic ciekawego, miałem nadzieję, że chociaż nadrobi formą, ale tutaj też bez zaskoczeń. Przede wszystkim akcja rozgrywa się zbyt szybko - grupa dostaje misję, w pewnym sensie przymusową i bez możliwości rezygnacji, mija określony czas i 'bracia' z areny są już prawie na miejscu. Pomiędzy "muszą wyruszyć na północ" a "są na miejscu" jest tylko jedna linijka odstępu, w dodatku bez żadnego przerywnika w formie przerwy w tekście.

Opisy walk bardzo chaotyczne z pominięciem nawet nie szczegółów, a bardzo ważnych informacji. Sześciu gladiatorów walczy z dziesięcioma przeciwnikami, jedno pchnięcie, wystrzał z łuku, a pozostali przeciwnicy już nie żyją - jak zostali pokonani, kto ich pokonał i ile czasu im to zajęło? Tego już się raczej nie dowiemy.

Książka nadrabia jedynie bohaterami, są oni na tyle różnorodni, że nie sposób się z nimi nudzić. Jest to chyba jeden z niewielu aspektów książki, który mógłbym polecić - nawet jeżeli główni bohaterowie (nie wiem dlaczego wymienia się ich dwóch, Drusta i Kaga, skoro większą część akcji śledzimy na podstawie postępowań Drusta) nie są najciekawsi, bo ich historię, zachowanie i charaktery przyćmiewają bohaterowie poboczni.

Na plus również nawiązania mitologiczne, chociaż z tymi "jajami [wstaw imię jakiegoś boga]" trochę przesada.

Okres historyczny podczas którego rozgrywa się akcja jest dosyć ciekawy, mamy nawet kilka intryg, które są bardziej wstawkami informacyjnymi dla czytelnika a nie tłem dla fabuły, ale zawsze można jakąś wiedzę z tego wynieść. Co ciekawe - pojedyncze informacje były o wiele ciekawsze od noty historycznej już po treści książki, autor chyba wyrwał z jakiegoś podręcznika główne informacje na temat opisywanych czasów, a następnie streścił to jak tylko było to możliwe - wielka szkoda.

Po głównej i mało porywającej fabule nasi bohaterowie wracają do swoich spraw, oczywiście jako gladiatorzy zaraz pakują się w kolejne kłopoty, a sama książka kończy się nie inaczej, jak po prostu kolejnym przeskokiem w przyszłość, bez poinformowania czytelnika co się z nimi działo do tego czasu. A życie gladiatorów, zwłaszcza takich uwikłanych w różne intrygi, nie może być życiem szczęśliwym i spokojnym.

Książki tym razem nie polecę, dla fanów powieści historycznych osadzonych w starożytności znajdzie się wiele lepszych pozycji, w tym Conna Igguldena wymienionego w opisie książki, czy Simona Scarrowa.

[Ewelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Bestie zza muru” to pierwszy tom cyklu Wars of Scottish Independence. Opisuje los sześciu gladiatorów, którzy walczą o los Cesarstwa Rzymskiego. Akcja bowiem toczy się w momencie, gdy Cesarstwo Rzymskie chyli się ku upadkowi, w czasach rządów Septymiusza Sewera.
Drust i Kag to byli gladiatorzy, ale chociaż są już wolnymi ludźmi to wciąż prześladuje im piętno niewolnika. W swoim życiu mieli już wiele niebezpiecznych przygód, ale nie pomimo to nie są gotowi by zmierzyć z tym co ich czeka w Brytanii. Zmagają się z głodem i chłodem. Szukają miejsca do noclegu. Ich zadaniem jest odnaleźć Psa, byłego kompana, który uprowadził tajemnicza kobietę i jej syna. Zadanie proste, a jednocześnie nie. Konsekwencje niepowodzenia są ogromne.
Pomimo wspaniale oddanego klimatu świata antycznego, dobrze wykreowanych bohaterów i błyskotliwym dialogom, książkę czytało mi się ciężko. Może dlatego, że akcja rozkręca się bardzo powoli. Były momenty, kiedy chciałam odłożyć lekturę. Jednak gdzieś za połową książki robi się coraz ciekawiej. Nie brakuje tutaj krwi, intryg i niebezpieczeństw ze strony cesarza.
Książka na pewno znajdzie swoich fanów u czytelników lubiących powieści historyczne. Zwłaszcza te krwawe, brutalne i opisujące los niewolników. Ja pomimo, że nie potrafiłam wkręcić się w opisywaną historię sięgnę po drugi tom, ponieważ czuję, że może być o wiele lepszy od pierwszego.

[Lars K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has it all when it comes to historical fiction. Brute gore, that will make the faint hearted to close the book down, but if not, the reader will experience caracters that regrets and contemplates on his use of violence, his shortcomings and his role in it all. All this mixed up in an exciting story, wound up with a top notch prose that is a feast to read,

Finding Robert Low’s books and in this case about roman gladiators in an accurate historical setting, has totally distorted my grades - where is the sixth star when you need it?

[Kevin Burnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book in Brothers Of The Sands Series. Drust and Kag, Ex Gladiators, are set a unusual task. They along with some friends must travel to Scotland to rescue and mother and son. Drust had earlier had earned the wrath of Emperor Antoninus and they get a surprise when they see the boy. they escape Scotland but a captured in York and are sent to Rome. Can they escape or will they be killed in the arena?

[Lottrhondahotmail.com]

I am so sad because I could not get into this book I found it very confusing and the characters difficult to understand. I LOVED The Oathsworn series and have read them all twice as well as listened to the Whale Road audio book several times. Perhaps I just want another book in the Oathsworn series.... The writing in the Sands book was just over the top

[Mark Major · Rating 2 out of 5]

It picked up from just before the halfway point, but before that it was pretty dull and it was a real struggle to get into. I almost DNF on several occasions. The second half was better and a sense of urgency kept me more engaged.

[Barbara Lennox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inventive and relatable characters, complex plot, fabulous writing, immersive description. But violent, visceral, bleak, pitiless, dark. Not a comfortable read. Pity there isn't a map which would have helped locate the action.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5*. I liked the fighting action and the dollops of history, but the plan made no sense. Each time Drust or Dog would reveal/realize what the plan was, it made less sense than what they thought they'd known before. I still enjoyed the read overall though.

[Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor

All about his historical knowledge of Rome the & Latin sayings.
Often unable to understand where the plot (?) was going
Hard work with little payback

[david p finlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read eventually......

Language though authentic is hard work at c first. But story Line and story telling excellent. Plot is good and believable.

[Paul Lantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it. Especially the use of Latin phrases . Is there more coming?

Liked it. Especially the use of Latin phrasing. Said it was book 1? Could not find book 2. Any more coming?

[Anthony King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beastly

Five stars as this book is worth it. I got lost for the first couple of pages, but soon caught up once I got my 'latin' head on.

[Nigel Kotula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rob low

Good enjoyable read with great characters and good story. From a very good author. Would definitely recommend this book to all

[Mathias · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 , good gladiator book by a great author