On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club – Bloody Dominions (The Conquest Trilogy, Book 1) by Nick Macklin #BookReview #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour @NMacklinAuthor @maryanneyarde

 

Bloody Dominions

(The Conquest Trilogy, Book 1)

By Nick Macklin

Journey with those at the heart of the conflict as Caesar embarks on the tumul-tuous conquest of Gaul 58-51 BC. Book One 58-56 BC.

As Caesar’s campaign begins, tests of courage and belief will confront the three protagonists, shaping them as individuals and challenging their views of the world and each other:

Atticus – an impetuous but naturally gifted soldier, whose grandfather served with distinction in the legions;

Allerix – a Chieftain of the Aduatuci, who finds himself fighting both for and against Caesar; and

Epona – a fierce warrior and Allerixs’ adopted sister.

Experiencing the brutalities of conflict and the repercussions of both victory and defeat, Atticus, Allerix and Epona will cross paths repeatedly, their desti-nies bound together across time, the vast and hostile territories of Gaul and the barriers of fate that have defined them as enemies. In a twist of fate, Atticus and Allerix discover that they share a bond, a secret that nobody could ever foresee…

I am not well versed in Roman history. Sure, I know that whole Et tu, Brute? incident, and that Brutus is (was) an honourable man. I also know that this is quite a violent era. The seemingly unstoppable Roman army ploughed their way through county after country, as they extended their empire. But, I know next to nothing about what nations and tribes ended up on their knees, or even how a Legion worked!! Thanks to this novel I now know a little more about this fascinating time in history.

When Atticus and his friend Julius are new legionaries, in the XIIth Legion, all they want to do is to prove themselves in a fight, to join a battle and gain glory. Unfortunately, Atticus’ first spell with conflict doesn’t bring glory, but an insubordination charge (facepalm moment), immediately putting him at odds with his commander, Aquila (whom I hated with a passion). As both Atticus and Julius find themselves in the midst of more action, they quickly learn that glory means nothing if you are dead.

Allerix and Epona, siblings and the children of King Albiorix of the Aduatuci, are both warriors. While Epona defies all expectations (you’ll have to read the book to find out what those expectations are), Allerix rides out with a group of men to provide support to the Romans. When Allerix meets Atticus, though, it does not take him long to realise that not all Romans are the same, and some of them would choose peace over slaughter.

This book, how do I start? I was simply blown away by the detail, the action and the fighting, the near-endless battles and the terror every time one of my favourite characters found themselves in a fight. The author has done an absolutely marvellous job of getting me to care for all the main characters, bringing life to each one. The battles were depicted with such intense detail that I felt as if I was there, trying to evade death alongside the characters. This book was a whirlwind from start to finish, and I simply could not put it down.

If you know nothing about this era, do not despair! This book does not care whether you are an expert or someone with limited knowledge (like me), it will pull you in just the same. This is book 1 in a trilogy, but it has also only recently been released – this, unfortunately, means I will have to wait to find out what happens next! 

Quotes taken from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

I received my copy of this novel from The Coffee Pot Book Club, but you can grab yours at your favourite ONLINE (including Amazon) bookstore. This novel is also available at Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and WHSmith.

Nick Macklin

A history graduate, Nick enjoyed developing the skills that would stand him in good stead during the extensive research he conducted prior to writing his nov-el. Whilst the ancient world unfortunately didn’t feature to any extent in his history degree, (the result of failing miserably to secure the A level grades that would have permitted greater choice) he maintained a lifelong and profound interest in ancient history and especially the Roman Empire, continuing to read avidly as he embarked on a career in HR. Over the next 30 years or so Nick occupied a variety of Senior/Director roles, most recently in the NHS. Unsur-prisingly, writing in these roles was largely confined to the prosaic demands of Board papers but Nick never lost the long-harboured belief, motivated by the works of writers such as Robert Fabbri, Robyn Young, Anthony Riches, Simon Scarrow, Matthew Harffy and Giles Kristian, that he too had a story to tell. When he was presented with a window of opportunity c3 years ago he took the decision to place his career on hold and see if he could convert that belief into reality. 

Nick always knew that he wanted to set the novel against the backdrop of a significant event/period in Roman history. Looking to narrow that down to something offering the potential for meaningful character and plot develop-ment, but that hadn’t already received exhaustive coverage, he settled on Cae-sars tumultuous occupation of Gaul. Spanning 8 years, the prolonged clash of cultures offered ample opportunity for the kind of dual perspective from which he was hoping to tell the story, whilst the violent conflict provided a wealth of exciting material to explore the changing fortunes of war and its impact at a personal level. The switching of allegiances, nations fighting for and against Rome also provided the potential for some intriguing plot lines. As his research unfolded, he was also struck by just how heavily the Roman psyche during this period was influenced by the scare they had received 50 years earlier when Germanic tribes invaded their territories and defeated their legions. Seeing ref-erences to the veterans of that war watching their sons and grandsons enlist for a similar campaign, he started to think about developing that link on both sides of the conflict. And so, the idea for the Conquest Trilogy was born.

In Bloody Dominions Nick has sought to produce a novel in which unfolding events are experienced and described from the perspective of protagonists on both sides of Caesar’s incursion into Gaul.  Conscious that the role of women in Roman fiction, Boudica aside, is largely confined to spouse, prostitute or slave, Nick wanted to ensure that one of his lead characters was female and a prominent member of the warrior clan of her tribe. The novel is driven by these characters but the framework against which their stories unfold is histori-cally accurate, featuring actual participants in Caesar’s campaign and drawing on real events as they occurred. As such Nick is genuinely excited about his characters and the story they have to tell.

Nick lives in Exeter with his two daughters and is currently juggling work as an Independent HR Consultant with writing the second novel in the Conquest Trilogy, Battle Scars. 

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