Well Worth the Wait

I had first noticed the hardcover edition of this book at least six months ago and was so hoping it would come out in audio version that I even contact the author. Unfortunately, he did not yet know at that time what was the status of the audiobook.
Fortunately it came out and although I had several other books in the cue, I downloaded the book and away we went.

What sets this historical novel apart from others in the same genre is the author is a historian on Roman history. If you have not listened to his histories, I strongly recommend them. This is a story of a Roman centurion set in Roman Britain, plain and simple, his heroism, ingenuity and mastery of arms. The realism comes through and it is very enjoyable.

Unfortunately, now starts the long wait for the next installment.

3 people found this helpful

Once again!

Once again, the second book of the series I truly enjoyed both the story and narration. Peter Noble does a wonderful job of telling the story and amazingly with so many characters does a great job keeping all the many voices in line. I highly recommend!

2 people found this helpful

Excellent.

Theres no one I've read who can describe a Roman battle like Goldworrhy.

But more than understanding formations, procedures, and tactics, Goldworthy has an insight into the vicious and dire nature of men in battle that I honestly have never encountered before.

I highly recommend the entire series and look forward to reading more of Goldworthy.

If you like ancient Rome and ancient history, you simply can't go wrong with this guy.

1 person found this helpful

More action than plot

I liked this less than the first novel. Though heavy focus on action is clearly a mark of this author's style, it was better balanced in the first novel. In this one I found the prolonged and detailed action scenes laborious. In fact, though I usually can't tolerate feeling that I have missed a single detail and have to rewind if I don't get something, I found myself not caring much of the time in this one and just letting it run.

1 person found this helpful

Another Colleen McCullough

Goldsworthy does for Roman Britain what McCullough did for Republican Rome. I had a fair idea of what the mechanics looked like, but this was like seeing the machine in operation. If you are interested in Rome, the Roman Army and/or Roman Britain this novel brings the history to life.

1 person found this helpful

Great story and narration

The narrator was outstanding and the story is very entertaining the entire way through. I’m really enjoying these series.

Slow first half, much better second half

This book started off rather slow and meandering and I had trouble paying attention or caring about a plot that didn’t seem to be going anywhere. In the second half of the book, things came together and there was a fast paced and exciting story. That said, what really carried this book wasn’t so much the plot as the military adventure and battle. There is some character development but not to much. The basic storyline is following Flavius around for awhile when not much is happening, then he is off on a hostage rescue mission. All told, this is an okay action adventure story set in Roman Britain but not a great one.

Long Live Ferox!

I think the Vindolanda series is some of the best historical fiction out there. I'm serious, it's that freaking good!

Peter Noble one of the best

Peter Noble is excellent in his performance of the characters in Adrian Goldsworthy’s second volume of his Vindolanda trilogy, The Encircling Sea. Involving the same characters as in the first volume, Vindolanda, Noble takes control of these characters, creates them, makes them live and breathe. His voice is well modulated to each character. He is also sensitive to the pace of the writing, and the tension of each scene. This book contains a complex of voices. It has a range of many characters with many dialects, genders, ages, and simulations of volumes such as whispers, battle cries, angry curses of different distances, etc. This is one of the top performances I have heard and used in Audible, it certainly made the reading of this first and second volumes of the trilogy exciting and fulfilling.

Great continuation of historical fiction series

This story builds on the groundwork laid in "Vindolanda" by referencing events in the first book without rehashing them. Readers should definitely read that book first.

Several familiar characters reappear in a faster-paced story. I rather enjoyed the slow burn of the first book's narrative and found "The Encircling Sea" to be comparatively light on world-building.

Still, the story is exciting and introduces new historical themes, and Ferox retains his status as a gruff but trustworthy protagonist.

Peter Noble's narration is fantastic as always. Interesting to note that he dug a bit deeper for the northern accent, particularly with Vindex's dialogue.