Great Stuff from Riches A real insight into AD 6

He describes battles so well. You can see and smell the combat. Look forward to onslaught.

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3 people found this helpful

Brilliant !!!

I think of all the Roman novelists Anthony has become my favourite. Brilliantly written novel and as for the reading of it, superbly done. Now getting straight into book two 🤗

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A First Class Read

Didn’t want put this book down, however one must eat and sleep. The narrator of this book really brought it to life and I can’t praise him enough.

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1 person found this helpful

Compelling and complex story

It’s unusual to read such a multi faceted story of the Roman Empire, both from the side of the empire and its auxiliary countries. I found the characters subtleties and thought processes fascinating. Motivation for actions were clearly described.
There seemed few of the stereotypes I often find in such fiction. A great performance by the narrator as well

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Complexus Romanus

This is a book where I think the author has extended his ambition.  While the exciting Empire series flowed fairly easily this book attempts to be a more in-depth historical fiction.  It's set at a time when the Roman Empire was particularly chaotic and dwells on the fascinating cosmopolitan nature of the legions.  The art of being able to subsume so many different nationalities into the Roman military added great strength but also contributed to the plethora of factions within the intrigues of Rome.For a long time the Germanic tribesmen enjoyed a fearsome reputation as some of Rome's fiercest warriors but when they are slighted by a new Emperor the relationship becomes strained.

In "Betrayal" Riches tracks a wider cast of characters from the nobility to the common soldier.  There is rich detail and depth to them and some fine, although sometimes possibly over-lengthy dialogue.  More than most books I've listened to it does require concentration, there are a lot of lengthy character and place names, mostly in Latin to contend with.  Other reviewers have suggested reading the historical note first and if you wish to do that then in the  Audible UK version it's the very last chapter (14) and lasts about 20 minutes.  While this may help, especially if you are unfamiliar with the period, it does contain significant spoilers to the story . . . then again, as the author points out it is "a big old chunk of history to wrap your head round from cold" so the choice is up to you.

Within the story there is plenty of intrigue, insights into life as a soldier and some very well executed battle scenes though I think the motivational speeches could possibly have been edited a little.  The deep research the author has undertaken is obvious and well used.

I don't know where Riches found Mark Noble as a narrator, he's not one I have heard before but he does a fine job with this.  He puts a lot into his voicing including a quite throat-rending depiction of the Germanic characters.

In all this felt like it had more depth than the Empire series.  As a result it is not quite as easy on the ears though possibly it's ultimately more satisfying.  The author promises us that the characters will provide us with plenty of excitement to come and Betrayal builds a great platform for the remainder of the series.  

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12 people found this helpful

Betrayal

Although I found most aspects of the book very enjoyable
I found that there were to many characters
With similar names
Which I’ve got to admit at times confused me

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Nailed it

I read most Anthony Riche's releases but Betrayal (the first in a trilogy) is beyond a doubt the best by far.. Anthony's excellent description of battle and superb character creation continues but he has polished his story telling .. The characters achieve amazing things without divine intervention or superhuman feats ... All the characters are excellent with there own strengths and personalities

A great balance

Can't wait for the next one

P.S if I ever meet a descendent of the batavi and he doesn't sound like Mark Nobles version I will call him out as a fake .. excellent narration

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4 people found this helpful

hmm

I liked the piece but at first thought there were too many protagonist, that said I got into it and enjoyed the story....

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1 person found this helpful

A difficult topic to write about

Where does Betrayal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have very much enjoyed Antony Riches previous books so I looked forward to his latest offering this is however somewhat different in style.

The backdrop to this novel is the year of the four Emperors this took place in the year AD 69, in which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and finally Vespasian. This prompted by the suicide of the emperor Nero in 68 was followed by a brief period of civil war.

This means that to fully cover the topic must have been difficult, especially when it also introduces the revolt of the Batavi which took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior ( It was an uprising against the Roman Empire started by the Batavi, a small but militarily powerful Germanic tribe that inhabited the delta of the river Rhine; and joined by some neighbouring Germanic tribes,

The writer spends a lot of time outlining the events that took place there being such confusion during the year AD 69 The book as such is short on the action that Antony Riches has treated us to in the past ... that said I did enjoy the book The reader did a very good job narrating a complicated tail and look forward to Mr Riches next book in the hope that he returns to a more action packed offering

Would you be willing to try another book from Anthony Riches? Why or why not?

Yes he an excellent writer

Which character – as performed by Mark Noble – was your favourite?

The Batavi

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The action scenes

Any additional comments?

Next time less explanation and more action please

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6 people found this helpful

On a par with Empire

This is a great start to the series. I enjoyed the setting and the choice of time period. Keep up the good work!

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1 person found this helpful