Eboracvm: The Fortress

The Eboracvm #2

by Graham Clews

It’s historic battles and the paradoxes of life’s choices.

Book Two of the Eboracum series sees the paths of two generations of Celts and Romans cross once more in a confusion of violence and divided loyalties that must be resolved. The time is now A.D. 48 in the land that will one day be known as Scotland where blood is being spilled on both sides of the conflict.

Cethen Lamh-fada and his sharp-witted wife Elena, displaced from their home and family by Rome in Eboracum, The Village, are in Britain’s north. Cethen’s nemesis, Gaius Sabinius, is no longer only a Roman engineer but the legate of the Ninth. Gaius is the hunter and will not back down from his human prey: but the battle lines are no longer clear.

The Fortress is a pager-turner, bringing readers into a volatile world that only exists on paper today. Follow the historical, and factual journey, of the Roman army while it leaves a trail of destruction marked by Roman forts and a web of roads connecting them to Eboracum.

434 pages, Paperback

First published December 29, 2008

About the author

I’m a retired chartered accountant, who loves to write.

My tales include fascinating award winning fiction novels: well rated tales about first century Roman/Celtic Britain and the violent, yet poignant, clash of cultures; an accidental hero, a 60 year old accountant with a tainted past; a tongue in cheek look at the political mayhem in Canada; and finally, an unique magical world for YAs where time is destination, not a state of mind.

Click here for books: http://graham-clews.com/bookstore/

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel continues the story of Gaius Sabinius Trebonius, now legate of the VIIII Hispana, based now at Eboracum, and Cethen Lamh-fada, the Brigantian minor chieftain. Having travelled north with a woman warrior of the Carvetii to the Caledonians, Cethen and followers hope, to drive Romans decisively from Britain with one massive push. The sagas of the two families place emphasis on the second generation. Briton and Roman children of the two families intermarry and Gaius formally adopts Cethen's younger boy, Tuis; having been captured and enslaved, Elena lives in Gaius' house. Marcus Sabinius is held captive for 4 years by Cethen's group and always moved north with them; he is rescued with his daughter, Jessa, a very unusual child, born in captivity. I liked his transformation through his hardship from selfish, spoiled playboy to earnest, loving father, who now cares about his extended family [and people in general]. Both Gaius and Cethen are more mature and level-headed. Have life experiences burned out their stupidity? Governor Agricola builds a line of forts built up to the north whereon follows a vivid description of Battle of Mons Graupius and preliminary skirmish. I liked the 'court martial' hearing. There is plenty of black humor throughout the novel, which kept me smiling. I'm glad of the emphasis on the second generation characters, all likeable but for Cethen's 'woman', Morallta.

Oh, there's certainly melodrama and some incidents seem too coincidental but I'm still enjoying the trilogy: a real page-turner.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in a trilogy of novels set in Roman Britain that's centred around the founding of the city of York. I don't know why these books aren't more widely known as they're brilliant reads. Great writing, interesting characters and a mix of human interest and epic battles.

[CathyW · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Eboracum, The Village, and embarked on The Fortress with keen anticipation. I wasn’t let down. This is similarly well-written and populated with equally likeable and complicated characters. Not only do the original characters from The Village appear, but they’re joined by their relatives. What I found particularly fascinating was the author’s portrayal of the process of Romanisation. A major character, Rhun, while the son of Cethan Lamh-fada (one of the principal characters of The Village), and therefore a Briton, is now an officer in the Roman army, and while lacking no sympathy for his former compatriots, pragmatically believes the advance of Rome to be unstoppable. His mother, Elena, also has reason to have sympathy for the Roman position, as does his uncle, Cian, who is also in the army. Nevertheless this doesn’t prevent them from helping out the Britons when they can. On the other side, we see Marcus, the son of Gaius Sabinius Trebonius, (a major character in The Village and now Legate of the 9th legion) develop as a character when he’s enslaved by Britons and suffers privation as the tribes move north in the face of the Roman advance under the leadership of the Governor Agricola. Cethen-Lamh-fada, also driven north by the Roman advance, sides with the northern tribes who oppose Rome, takes up with a ‘rebel’ leader and gets involved, rather reluctantly, in the battle of Mons Graupius. Although we all know what the outcome is going to be, the author skilfully keeps up the tension so that, until the last moment, you still believe the Caledonians and their allies can win. In summary, a brilliant book, and I’m already looking forward to the next one.