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ROGUE ROMAN
Imperial Rome - centre of the world - throbbing with the white heat of violence, bloodshed and unihibited sexuality...
Bought as an actor, kidnapped by pirates, sold as a gladiator, young Cleon's beauty and flagrant masculinity made every woman - harlots and vestal virgins alike - desire him.
And passion drives Cleon to help destroy a Caesar who combined the vices of his predecessors with his own special perversions - the Emperor Nero...
Bought as an actor, kidnapped by pirates, sold as a gladiator, young Cleon's beauty and flagrant masculinity made every woman - harlots and vestal virgins alike - desire him.
And passion drives Cleon to help destroy a Caesar who combined the vices of his predecessors with his own special perversions - the Emperor Nero...
284 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 1, 2013
When you pick up historical fiction books about ancient Rome, you never can know quite what to expect. The cover of this book (from 1965, mind you) made sure the words savage, slave, passion, and the phrases the fires of Rome and overturned an empire stand out completely. Very important that the reader know those things about the story, apparently.
Anyway, when I saw those things and that cover, I figured I didn't have anything to lose. But I didn't expect to be as into the story as I was.
While it may seem far-fetched that one boy-man could be born to a whore, a famous mime, a slave, a gladiator, the lover of an Empress, a slave again, and the lover of a now ex-Empress... well, I've watched enough documentaries about ancient Rome to know that it could very well be true.
So, yellowed pages or not, this is a book I'm keeping and will read again.
Anyway, when I saw those things and that cover, I figured I didn't have anything to lose. But I didn't expect to be as into the story as I was.
While it may seem far-fetched that one boy-man could be born to a whore, a famous mime, a slave, a gladiator, the lover of an Empress, a slave again, and the lover of a now ex-Empress... well, I've watched enough documentaries about ancient Rome to know that it could very well be true.
So, yellowed pages or not, this is a book I'm keeping and will read again.
April 17, 2020
I have never seen this one in the wild. I have wanted to read it for many years. I picked up my copy from someone on FB downsizing their hoard. My copy came bagged, but boasted a mighty musty odor some of these old paperback acquire. It also has had it's spine turned into a 'C' shape. Shameful.
"The savage novel of a slave whose passions fed the fires of Rome, and overturned an Empire."
From this cover blurb, I expected more. In fact, it's all rather tame. It's actually a lofty boast that never reaches fruition. Although, sex is the ever present force driving and motivating just about the whole cast. Nothing about the book is graphic, which is just fine by me. It's really no different from a Gardner F. Fox historical romance.
In my copy, the cover painted by Frazetta, doesn't even credit the artist. His signature at the bottom is even missing.
The story is typical of the time it was written. Our hero rises and falls many times. Most of the time by coincidence, other times by guile. Finding and saving his love interest is his all consuming goal. The last thirty pages were some of the hardest to read in the whole book, because of a lovey-dovey, sugary sweet encounter, and I already guessed the ending.
Not one of my favorites.
"The savage novel of a slave whose passions fed the fires of Rome, and overturned an Empire."
From this cover blurb, I expected more. In fact, it's all rather tame. It's actually a lofty boast that never reaches fruition. Although, sex is the ever present force driving and motivating just about the whole cast. Nothing about the book is graphic, which is just fine by me. It's really no different from a Gardner F. Fox historical romance.
In my copy, the cover painted by Frazetta, doesn't even credit the artist. His signature at the bottom is even missing.
The story is typical of the time it was written. Our hero rises and falls many times. Most of the time by coincidence, other times by guile. Finding and saving his love interest is his all consuming goal. The last thirty pages were some of the hardest to read in the whole book, because of a lovey-dovey, sugary sweet encounter, and I already guessed the ending.
Not one of my favorites.
July 17, 2008
The problem with this book is that any time anyone ended up reading over my shoulder I would have to explain to them that it wasn't all sex and slavery.
It mostly is though.
I'm sure it was painstakingly researched and is an entirely accurate portrayal of the time period. The cover illustration reflects this fact.
It mostly is though.
I'm sure it was painstakingly researched and is an entirely accurate portrayal of the time period. The cover illustration reflects this fact.
August 4, 2019
Lance Horner and his frequent collaborator, Kyle Onstott (who pens a hooty, pompous forward to this novel) have a problematic (at best) literary legacy. Starting with their bestseller ‘Mandingo’ and it’s endless paperback progeny of plantation porn, Horner and Onstott purported to reveal the barbaric cruelty of slavery in the American south. So, on the one hand I suppose they should be praised for not perpetuating the myth of happy, loyal slaves serving a gracious, kindly class of lords and ladies. On the other hand, their novels revel luridly in sadistic torture, violent rebellion and kinky sex (often and insultingly treating interracial relationships as such). And, with their novels set in other places and times in history (such as ‘Rogue Roman’), they reveal their interest is essentially in any historical setting where enslaved people can be horribly tortured, can rise up violently and (most importantly) can be made to do their master or mistress’s filthy bidding. But, like all their novels including ‘Rogue Roman’, it’s undeniably exciting, well written and wildly sordid. Unlike their series of plantation porn, though, I didn’t hate myself in the morning after devouring ‘Rogue Roman.’
June 9, 2020
Pirates, Gladiators, Virgins… Oh My!
Lance Horner may have hoped to create Rogue Roman as a picaresque novel, but it is just a potboiler, which has boiled a touch too much. Rogue Roman is the story of Cleon, a poor boy living at his family’s roadside inn in Syria at the time of Ancient Rome. He’s able to leave his state of poverty by being taken by men who hope to train him as a mime. From the moment he leaves his home, he goes through a series of adventures and misadventures that ultimately put him in the hands of people who want to take down Nero, the emperor of Rome.
Lance Horner was known for writing some pieces of pulp fiction and then he really gained fame for his sequels of Mandingo in the Falconhurst series in which he continues writing about slavery. Rogue Roman is pretty much Horner’s attempt to do what Kyle Onstott did in Mandingo, but in Ancient Rome. Later he will write with Onstott himself.
I will admit though that the book was a lot of fun to read. There are twists and turns, which at times are very predictable. Also, Horner described aspects of Ancient Roman life, culture, architecture, etc, which were interesting and actually made my look up a few things to see pictures of what is being discussed. Some parts of the novel were pretty graphic and savage, but it’s what I had expected when I picked it up.
Rogue Roman is what it was – a book to entertain you and captivate you and nothing more.
Lance Horner may have hoped to create Rogue Roman as a picaresque novel, but it is just a potboiler, which has boiled a touch too much. Rogue Roman is the story of Cleon, a poor boy living at his family’s roadside inn in Syria at the time of Ancient Rome. He’s able to leave his state of poverty by being taken by men who hope to train him as a mime. From the moment he leaves his home, he goes through a series of adventures and misadventures that ultimately put him in the hands of people who want to take down Nero, the emperor of Rome.
Lance Horner was known for writing some pieces of pulp fiction and then he really gained fame for his sequels of Mandingo in the Falconhurst series in which he continues writing about slavery. Rogue Roman is pretty much Horner’s attempt to do what Kyle Onstott did in Mandingo, but in Ancient Rome. Later he will write with Onstott himself.
I will admit though that the book was a lot of fun to read. There are twists and turns, which at times are very predictable. Also, Horner described aspects of Ancient Roman life, culture, architecture, etc, which were interesting and actually made my look up a few things to see pictures of what is being discussed. Some parts of the novel were pretty graphic and savage, but it’s what I had expected when I picked it up.
Rogue Roman is what it was – a book to entertain you and captivate you and nothing more.
December 29, 2013
Read this one four times as a teenager. It has a pretty good story that's positively drenched in delightful Roman debauchery. My parents should have never let me read this book.
September 2, 2019
Read this one for a laugh. It's sort of softcore porn with a host of punnish names for the characters. It is pure trash, but a gem of the pure trash variety.
May 25, 2009
I'd read a book by Horner which was both sexier and just a better story than this. That's why I gave this one a try. I thought I'd get some real Roman decadence and maybe some gladiator stuff along the way, but it really wasn't that strong a book.
May 11, 2016
Ridiculous and over the top, sex scenes that must have fueled the imagination of George R.R. Martin, and a lovely alternate history sort of ending.
I really enjoyed this book.
I really enjoyed this book.
rogue-roman-by-lance-horner
February 13, 2019I read this book at teenage, It was extraordinary in depth and content. It's historical underpinning very precise and unique. Portraying imperial Rome and Christian persecution at the time Yet to complete this reading before any further comments now as an adult.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews