Praise for Sunday Times bestseller Wounds of Honour:
From the initial page, the novelist establishes a furious stride, shifts between his fully realised characters and their locales with assurance, and keeps the story moving forward until the climactic conclusion. It's a measure of Riches' talent that he can write so grippingly, with a real sense of his chosen period, yet still leave room for his protagonist - and an excellent supporting cast - to flex muscles in a first-rate story that leaves the reader panting for breath and wanting more. Ultimately, Wounds of Honour is an attention-grabbing, suspenseful, debut novel filled with action, intrigue and violent conflict that will appeal to anyone interested in historical fiction.
With a gripping storyline, and a top notch protagonist backed up by a decent supporting cast that felt fully realized, you can understand why this novel took the author a number of years to write. Back that up with historical accuracy and a passion for the Roman war machine that just explodes from the pages, and it's a novel that will hopefully do for this period in the Roman army what Christian Cameron has done for the Greeks. Finally add a stylish cover by the master of Historical Fiction covers (Larry Rostant) and you just know that Historical Fiction is coming back fighting fit and ready to rumble against all comers. I'll eagerly await the second in Anthony's series (currently entitled Empire: Arrows of Fury) which is currently scheduled for April 2010.
So how does one summarize this new entrant into the world of historical fiction? Capable, believable, exciting. Enthralling. Intriguing. Although it is a rarity to pour such praise onto a volume, in the case of
Wounds of Honour this reviewer was more than a little impressed. The most significant cause for annoyance is that the second volume in the series is not released until April 2010, leaving me with an awfully long time to wait before I discover where Marcus' tale will travel next.
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