Athens. The city that gave birth to democracy. The city that gave the world Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

Problem is – that was almost a 1,000 years ago and the city is now a 'ghost' of its former self.

It's 612 AD and our hero Aelric is stuck running a religious council made up of Church leaders from East and West who just don't see eye to eye and don't speak the same language.

Then there's the Avars, a large group of nasty barbarians who are hungry and find great enjoyment in killing everything and everyone in their path.

The descriptions of the city are fantastic. I really could feel how depressing it would have been to live there in the early 7th century.

The characters are alive (except in those cases where they are dead) with all the faults and foils of being human. Even Aelric is not without his blemishes; he has an outbreak of acne on his nose.

I felt there were one or two sub-plots that were rushed and didn't add as much to the story as I'd have liked but overall, once again, a fun read, if you're into blood and guts and assorted nastiness.

Reviewed by Jack on the 10th February 2016

Tags: Historical Fiction