Immortal: A Novel of Belisarius (The Last of the Romans) Paperback – October 5, 2021

A fantastic historical novel that captures the hardships, training conditions and combat conditions in which the 6th century Byzantine army operated. The author also explores the rich ethnic dynamic that existed in the Byzantine empire at that time. An empire in which many of the military units were made up of conquered peoples: Huns, Herculi, etc.The action is fast paced, battle scenes are riveting and the characters are very well portrayed. This is a book that encourages binge reading!

Immortal is a great sequel, though perhaps not as good as the first. For it seems like because the author felt a need to logically lead to events that actually happened in real history, some of the main characters of the book suddenly felt like they gained an entirely different personality. The main general, Belisarius, makes an incredibly bone-headed decision that's inconsistent with his reputation of being a brilliant and flexible general cultivated by the book. His choice of how and where to engage in battle with the Persians doesn't make much tactical sense and the reasoning is poorly explained by the book even with the limited options he was given to work with by the legate of the emperor, Hermogenes. Everybody else just goes along with his decision as well without even questioning it's logic, just because the author needed to find a reason to justify why the Battle of Callincum takes place. An unfortunate blemish on the writing, but I still very much enjoyed and can recommend it.

Loved it. Great battle scenes and a great array of stock characters. Good job of compressing time so the book does not dragAllison McMath

This book offers our reading club, the threads necessary to reinforce our willingness to keep being enthralled with this well crafted story.

The story was well paced and did not get bogged down which made for interesting reading. If you love historical action stories the this is the book to read

Very exciting read.be ready for lots of slaughter and difficulty for the Roman’s as there eastern empire is pushed.and maybe new life too.

I have read both books in this series and look forward to the next one. The era covered is one that I know little about, as the Roman Empire era generally ends with the sacking of Rome and the fall of the Western Empire.I rate a historic fiction book and series by the usual criteria and add one additional criteria. If I am not already familiar with the history of the era covered, do I want to follow up with the actual history? As I noted, I am not familiar, but I plan to read its history.

Still a fantastic read, but nonetheless I was very disappointed as compared to book one, which is one of the best historical military fiction books I've ever read.There are a number of unrealistic scenarios that simply defy basic reason. The biggest complaint I have, as a military historian, is that the author DOES NOT give the number of the Roman armies, yet he does number their adversaries. On multiple occasions, the author cites towns and cities that are sometimes critical to know, yet they appear nowhere on either of the 2 maps he provides at the front of the book. I've had to use my phone a number of times to locate the cities in question. I also had to use outside sources to see how large the Roman army was. Had I known, it would have given me a better understanding of the situation as a whole.Speaking of those maps, they are beautiful and generally accurate. Each map takes up two pages, and the book cuts the maps right where the action is happening. I don't need to see Britain, or distant towns and cities. I need to see the cities, etc. that the author mentions, the areas where the focal points of the story lie.The author does a fantastic job conveying in easy terms the whereabouts of all the units in the battle formations, but he literally gives no numbers of how many compose their ranks. The battles are generally historically realistic in terms of how the battle lines were formed up, and what occurred during the battles. They were brutal, and well written. The author does a beautiful job describing the importance of the shield wall, and the sheer chaos of battle.TO THE AUTHOR:You are an excellent writer and story/word smith. In your third book, PLEASE give your readers numbers of armies. If you say the enemy has 50,000 men, yet NOTHING is said of the Roman side, it detracts a great deal when looking at the battle from a macro-perspective. It's a very big issue with me, and I imagine for many of your readers. We need to know both sides in order to comprehend what's stacked against what.Also, the maps are beautiful, but perhaps don't cut them in half right where all the action is happening. Nobody needs to know all the tribes of Europe, as nothing regarding Europe ever happens in the story. We need maps that clearly show Constantinople, and for the battle map, cities and towns cited need to be on the map. Otherwise, why have the maps?Your mind for storytelling is fantastic, but some of the scenarios in book two are simply unrealistic. I can't tell you any, for fear of spoiling the story line for future readers. But please work on these things. E-mail me (I've already e-mailed you) and I can give specifics. Especially NUMBERS! It's critical to know the totality of the composition of each army. I didn't know if the Romans had 5,000 men, 10,000 men, 20,000 men, or 50,000. The reader is given nothing. Yet you frequently cite the size of the enemy forces arrayed against them.Please keep writing, but also please address these issues so that your books remain credible and more easy for the reader to comprehend as the story line progresses. E-mail me if you would like further info, I'd be happy to provide insight from the reader's perspective; what the reader (like me) of historical military fiction expects and NEEDS in order to properly understand and follow along with whatever is happening.Thank you, and again, book one was amazing! I'm going to be writing my review of that soon.

I loved the character of Liberia’s, the beauty and charm of Theodora, the mystics story within a story of the wisdom of Justinian. The pomposity of Hermogenes is too reminiscent of political lackeys today. I so loved the character of General Belisaros. Varus, the former slave, now Roman leader has such breadth from the amazing warrior who faces the Persian Immortal in battle, to the lover of a princess. The arrogant Solomon is shallow and weak in the shield wall so well depicted. Huns on horses, elephants, battles and intrigue, a truly amazing tale

A master of the genre. Tense, thrilling and yet compassionate. Bringing history to life. Should be on all history e am .ists.

Featuring few pivotal characters from that timeline. Enjoyed the peak into imperial politics, bureaucracy and the ridiculous behaviour of blind or entitled men's behaviour on grave outcomes for Rome. Character growth with Varus a protagonist. Enjoyed the numerous heavy action pieces and set battles with details. Looking forward to book 3!

Thoroughly enjoyed both books one and two, the horrors of ancient battlefields and the complexities of politics at that time aptly described

I enjoyed the inside look at the interesting characters. It's light reading but historically interesting. Looking forward to the next installment.