Lion of the Sun
by Harry Sidebottom
Reviewed by David Maclaine
Lion of the Sun is the third installment of Harry Sidebottom's series on the Roman Empire's third-century crisis, as seen through the eyes of his protagonist Ballista, an astute military leader whose non-Roman background tends to raise the hackles of his snobbish peers. In this installment he has been released from captivity after Emperor Valerian's defeat in the deserts of Mesopotamia, and must do his part to prevent the complete unraveling of Roman rule. Among the challenges he faces is the continuing Persian invasion and the malice of those who have seized power in the east. When Antioch falls and Ballista's beloved wife goes missing, his life enters a very dark phase. But fresh challenges appear on the horizon when he finds himself on the road again with yet another deluded "emperor," once more heading into hostile territory.
A certain loosening of focus occurs as Sidebottom's Warrior of Rome series proceeds. The action covers more ground, and nothing in this third installment matches the sustained building tension of the first two books, in which a hard-fought siege and a dangerous desert campaign gripped attention. But if the action meanders, the story remains well-crafted, and its background still glows from the burnish of Sidebottom's impeccable research. In Lion of the Sun Ballista gets a brief taste of a very high honor and has a first serious encounter with a power that will doubtless play a bigger role as the series unfolds: the Kingdom of Palmyra. As always, Sidebottom's endnotes are a delight and his bibliography an invitation to dive into the sources he recommends. If the itinerary wanders a bit, this can hardly offset the pleasure of surveying a previously unknown era through the work of a brilliant scholar and superb crafter of fiction. (2010, 400 pages)
More about Lion of the Sun at Powell's Books or Amazon.com
Lion of the Sun appears on the list of The 50 Best Historical Novels for a Survey of Ancient Roman History
Other novels in which Palmyra plays a role:
Centurion by Simon Scarrow (2007), about a Roman centurion sent to defend Palmyra from Parthia, #8 in the Eagle series. More info
Siege by Nick Brown (2011), about a young Roman intelligence agent during the war between Rome and Queen Zenobia of Palmyra; #1 in the Agent of Rome series. More info
Last Act in Palmyra by Lindsey Davis (1994), about a Roman informer's efforts to find out who murdered the playwright for a traveling comedy troupe; #6 in the Falco mystery series. More info
Nonfiction about the Roman Empire in the third century:
Rome and its Empire: AD 193-284 by Olivier Hekster (2008). More info
Aurelian and the Third Century by Alaric Watson (2004). More info
The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine by Pat Southern (2001). More info
Online:
Crisis of the Third Century, an article by Hugh Kramer at the Ancient Coin Club of Los Angeles website
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