Gladiatrix
byRhonda Roberts
published by HarperVoyager in 2009read by Agamedes in June 2009
fantasy
book 1 of Timestalker
This was a birthday present. Yes, there’s a time machine to get the heroine to imperial Rome, but it’s fantasy... set in a closely parallel universe. A tough martial arts expert with a mysterious past discovers that her mother may be a time-travelling law enforcement officer. After overcoming her own fear of flying, then eyeballing government officials into submission, Kannon Dupree follows her possible mother back to a rough, smelly, politically corrupt Rome of 8 AD. The story could now be classed as historical romance, with all the famous Romans that we meet. I checked with Wikipedia – and liked the fit with what is known of Roman reality. Plenty of blood and thunder but no lingering over the details of the violence. Plenty of black & white characters, some dubious means to the ultimately successful ends. Great fun from yet another Australian (grew up in WA!) author.
Agamedes' rating: 8 out of 10
Believe it or not, Amazon does not stock this book! So, forget the possibility that I could earn a commission if you buy it from Amazon... Try this link: Harper Collins Australia. Or go to Rhonda Robert's own website for more information on the Australian author of this enjoyable novel!
1 comment:
I just re-read this book...
Enjoyed it on the second reading. But noticed that it really is chick lit (though very violent). Two sure signs of chick lit are, (1) the main male character is so handsome that he is tending towards beautiful and (2) the heroine has several changes of clothes and each set is fully described.
My second-reading rating is 7 (well worth reading) but almost 8 (the original rating). Why the change ? Just a feeling... that the author's familiarity with the Roman material leads to a lack of "wonder" in its description.
But hey ! an unashamed bonus mark for being an Australian author ! Eight out of ten :-)
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