The Shards of Heaven Gives History a Wild Epic Fantasy Twist
The Shards of Heaven is breathtaking in scope. With the first volume of a planned series intertwining Roman history and myth with Judeo-Christian mythology, Michael Livingston has created something truly epic from beginning (Octavian makes his bid to claim Rome’s throne) to end (the fall of Alexandria). More than that, it drips with intricate detail, enriched by Livingston’s day-job skill as a historian. He uses real events and characters as the backbone for a truly inventive epic fantasy like novel, a massive undertaking that launches a tremendously ambitious series.
With Julius Caesar dead, a civil war threatens to destroy Rome. On one side is Octavian, Caesar’a ruthless successor, who will resort to any means to assert his power over the Empire. On the other are Caesar’s former ally Marc Antony and his lover Cleopatra, and Caesarion, the son of Caesar and Cleopatra. The conflict looks to be a long and brutal one—the military genius that aided Caesar in building his empire pitted against the sheer might of Rome’s armies.
The Shards of Heaven
Hardcover $25.99
The Shards of Heaven
Hardcover $25.99
But then history twists, and Octavian’s half-brother Juba, a Numidian prince and thrall of Rome, uncovers something that will upend the conflict completely: the Trident of Poseidon, which gives the wielder the ability to control any fluid with an extension of will. Te discovery comes with the knowledge that the trident is but one of the legendary Shards of Heaven, artifacts whose immense power hints at the existence of a strength greater than man’s. Armed with the Shards, Juba seeks vengeance against all who have wronged him and lay waste to all of Rome. A cast of assassins, legionnaires, librarians, scholars, and spies join Caesarion and Juba in their hunt for the artifacts, and a desperate, secret struggle begins, as each side tries to tip the scales in their favor and discover the true purpose— good or ill—of the Shards.
Livingston has assembled a huge cast of characters both real and imagined, but all feel fully fleshed out, with their own desires, none more so than Juba, the Numidian prince. He begins the novel as the reluctant wielder of the Trident of Poseidon, mildly afraid of Octavian. By the end, he’s been irrevocably changed by the power of the Shards, his motivations so much murkier than when he simply sought freedom from bondage. Even as Juba turns to the dark side, he remains sympathetic. Rome has left him without a homeland or a family, and his quest for revenge drives him to extremes of emotion and action.
Befitting a novel of momentous historical conflict, the action here is big and bloody. Most of the battles are quick, lethal—and very realistic, considering we’re in a time of imprecise weapons and sorely lacking medical care. Livingston uses violence in sudden, sparing bursts, each fight given a sense of purpose and consequence—until he doesn’t: the book’s centerpiece is the Battle of Actium, a massive naval conflict both grand in scope and enormously complex in its intricacies. Livingston keeps tight control over both..
This is epic historical fantasy that builds slowly, developing a rich setting and characters, weaving the magical into what we know really happened, and showing how it changes the picture. As a series-starter, it promises great things.
But then history twists, and Octavian’s half-brother Juba, a Numidian prince and thrall of Rome, uncovers something that will upend the conflict completely: the Trident of Poseidon, which gives the wielder the ability to control any fluid with an extension of will. Te discovery comes with the knowledge that the trident is but one of the legendary Shards of Heaven, artifacts whose immense power hints at the existence of a strength greater than man’s. Armed with the Shards, Juba seeks vengeance against all who have wronged him and lay waste to all of Rome. A cast of assassins, legionnaires, librarians, scholars, and spies join Caesarion and Juba in their hunt for the artifacts, and a desperate, secret struggle begins, as each side tries to tip the scales in their favor and discover the true purpose— good or ill—of the Shards.
Livingston has assembled a huge cast of characters both real and imagined, but all feel fully fleshed out, with their own desires, none more so than Juba, the Numidian prince. He begins the novel as the reluctant wielder of the Trident of Poseidon, mildly afraid of Octavian. By the end, he’s been irrevocably changed by the power of the Shards, his motivations so much murkier than when he simply sought freedom from bondage. Even as Juba turns to the dark side, he remains sympathetic. Rome has left him without a homeland or a family, and his quest for revenge drives him to extremes of emotion and action.
Befitting a novel of momentous historical conflict, the action here is big and bloody. Most of the battles are quick, lethal—and very realistic, considering we’re in a time of imprecise weapons and sorely lacking medical care. Livingston uses violence in sudden, sparing bursts, each fight given a sense of purpose and consequence—until he doesn’t: the book’s centerpiece is the Battle of Actium, a massive naval conflict both grand in scope and enormously complex in its intricacies. Livingston keeps tight control over both..
This is epic historical fantasy that builds slowly, developing a rich setting and characters, weaving the magical into what we know really happened, and showing how it changes the picture. As a series-starter, it promises great things.