Gods of Rome (Rise of Emperors)
This third and final book in the Rise of the Emperors series continues directly from the previous volume, Masters of Rome, beginning in January of 312 AD. It covers the final acts of the great civil conflict in the later Roman Western Empire between the pagan emperor Maxentius and Constantine the Great. Smoothly switching between the two main characters’ perspectives, the story details Constantine’s invasion of Italy and climatic confrontation at the battle of Malvern Bridge. By its nature, this makes it a much more compact book, the events occurring over a single year, and the focus is very much on military operations rather than the political manoeuvrings of the previous novels. A lot of the details of these proceedings are not fully understood, so the authors provide their own interpretations of some the more unusual events. It all hangs together logically, and it is so beautifully done that even though I personally do not agree with all of their explanations, I just wanted to keep on turning the pages. This is a really a first-class historical novel. Highly recommended.
