Altar of Blood, Empire IX, by Anthony Riches

Lots of suspense and corpses a plenty, but more of a Roman adventure than a book that fits tidily into the crime genre. Set within the Roman army during the 2^nd century, when Commodus was the ruthless, unpredictable megalomaniac on the imperial throne, the action takes us from Rome to the dangerous German tribal lands east of the Rhine where tribal priests still offer up human sacrifices on bloody altars.  

No sex or romance but plenty of violence as a small group of Romans infiltrates the land of the Bructeri Tribe. Their covert mission is clear but poses many dangers, not only from their known enemies, but also from a hidden foe. Central to the action, and in fact the whole series, is the fate of one Marcus Tribulus Corvus, otherwise known as Centurion Marcus Aquila. Since the death of his wife in childbirth he has suffered from a terrible depression which is eating away at his very being. Will Gerhild, the Germanic seer and priestess they encounter, be able to save him from himself and the darkness that threatens to engulf him?

This is the ninth book in the series, but the first I’ve read. It succeeds well as a stand-alone. The author, Anthony Riches, is an obvious expert in Roman military history. I knew a bit about the ways of the Roman army having studied Julius Caesar in school, but reading Altar of Blood (published this year by Hodder) I learned a whole lot more and it was by far more entertaining than trying to work out the subordinate clauses in the Latin text. This book takes no short cuts with detail: from the equipment and weaponry of the Roman soldiers to the religious ideas and practices of the day. The order of the Roman army is juxtaposed with the chaotic violent dictatorial rule of Commodus and the brutality of the way of life in the 2^nd Century. No one was ever safe.

The author plays with ideas too, as to why for example, the Roman Empire, despite being so powerful and well-resourced, had trouble taking over the territory of the various Germanic tribes. Good historic fiction deals with ideas that can be applied today as well, that is one of the attractions for me. The Romans were successful in taking over cultures that were organised in towns and large centres of population with trade, luxury goods, a certain dependence on imported material goods and civic structure. It’s far more difficult to convert or control independent spread-out farmers to your way of life or thinking. Politicians find this a problem today as well.

If you are interested in the Roman period and would enjoy reading a novel of comradeship and survival against the odds with added intrigue and suspense, and blood, guts and gore doesn’t put you off, then Altar of Blood is for you. I don’t often read the acknowledgements but in this case I did. So this for you if you have supported someone through thick and thin or have been supported with unswerving loyalty. Anthony Riches put it this way: ‘Helen Riches, you’re the sail, the rudder and sometimes the anchor too, on this boat of ours, and I couldn’t have done it without you.’ 

Indiana Brown