HANDSOME young Aelric comes from Kent, in a place which, in the early 7th century, is known as England, although most people in the rapidly crumbling remains of the Roman Empire still call it by its old name, Britain.

In Richard Blake’s Conspiracies of Rome (Hodder, £19.99), a mixture of good luck and bad fortune sees Aelric travelling to Rome itself.

Although unimpressed by religious mumbo-jumbo, he throws his lot in with the church through a youthful combination of cynicism and idealism – he doesn’t believe in God or gods, but he does believe in the power of books to preserve the best elements of a civilisation which he can see dying around him.

But, when the priest who was his travelling companion is murdered, Aelric must concern himself with more immediate dangers, as factions gather to squabble over the empire’s corpse.

Blake gives us plenty of ancient politics to get our teeth into, amusing characters and a richly researched picture of an intriguing era which hasn’t already been done to death by novelists. This looks like the start of a very rewarding series.

Reviewed by Mat Coward and Published in The Morning Star
12th May 2008

Tags: god, Historical Fiction