The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy

 

The Fort (City of Victory Book 1) by Adrian Goldsworthy.

Published 10th June 2021 by Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

AD 105: DACIA

The Dacian kingdom and Rome are at peace, but no one thinks that it will last. Sent to command an isolated fort beyond the Danube, centurion Flavius Ferox can sense that war is coming, but also knows that enemies may be closer to home.

Many of the Brigantes under his command are former rebels and convicts, as likely to kill him as obey an order. And then there is Hadrian, the emperor's cousin, and a man with plans of his own...

Gritty, gripping and profoundly authentic, The Fort is the first book in a brand new trilogy set in the Roman empire from bestselling historian Adrian Goldsworthy.

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Welcome to the Dacia in the year AD 105, somewhere around the region of what we know today as Romania and Moldova, where an uneasy peace lies between the people of the Dacian Kingdom and the Roman Empire, following the Dacian War between 101 and 102 AD. Although ostensibly under Roman Rule, after Emperor Trajan's defeat of King Decebalus, unrest is on the rise, driven by rebellion in the hearts of the native population, and it seems war may be on the horizon once more.

Our story begins with Centurion Flavious Ferox arriving at the isolated fort of Piroboridava on the Danube to take command in these unsettled times. His job is made all the more difficult by the fact that his enemies not only lie outside the fort's walls, but inside as well, because the Brigantes under his control - made up former rebels and convicts - are just as likely to want him dead too, rather than accept him as their commander. If this wasn't problem enough Hadrian, the Emperor Trajan's cousin, is also on his way to Dacia to set in motion ambitious plans of his own, and Ferox is going to be right at the centre of trouble when the conflict starts.

This is a gripping story that takes you right into the midst of the height of the Roman Empire. There is quite a lot going on here and it did take me a while to get my head around quite what was going on and who was who at first (a cast of characters would have been very helpful here), especially since the story runs back and forth between events in Rome, the fort under Ferox, and the frenzied plotting of the Dacians, as the preparations for war get underway. However, before long, I found myself completely immersed in a story full of conflict; bloodshed; detailed descriptions of the locations, landscape, and buildings; and the art and technology of warfare, at this time. But, for me, it is the story of the people that is the most interesting and the way Goldsworthy uses his background as a historian to give a real insight into the nature of Empire; the rigid social structure, and the multitude of nationalities and cultures that make up the big picture.

Not only does Goldsworthy give us the more familiar picture of life within Rome itself, with its snobbery and constant power plays between Emperor and Senate, it is the part of the story in the outposts that really matters in this book - the make up of the armies that fight side by side; the people they live amongst; and the shifting nature of allegiances. Ferox's situation, and indeed his own background, show that the Roman army was composed of all sorts of men, drawn from across the empire, and sometimes made up of units whose link to Rome was not only tenuous, but more a matter of a choice between conscription or death. It's not just a question of rank and file soldiers; but also of nationality; religion; tribal affiliation; and their comrades in arms, who might sometimes also be female; and it's not therefore, surprising that this story is full of tension and divided loyalties both within the fort and outside.

I was so impressed by the way Goldsworthy manages to really bring history alive in this thrilling tale, full of compelling characters, and although he does admit to tinkering a little with the facts in one of the best Historical Note appendices I think I might ever have read, I learned a huge amount about this era and what life looked like in this corner of the Roman Empire.  I thoroughly enjoyed this first part of the new City of Victory series and cannot wait for the next instalment to meet up with some of these fabulous characters once more.

The Fort is available to buy now in hardback, e-book and audio formats from your favourite book retailer.

Thank you to Vicky Joss from Head of Zeus for sending me a hardback copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Adrian Goldsworthy has a doctorate from Oxford University. His first book, The Roman Army At War was recognised by John Keegan as an exceptionally impressive work, original in treatment and impressive in style. 

He has gone on to write several other books, including The Fall Of The West, Caesar, In The Name Of Rome, Cannae and Roman Warfare, which have sold more than a quarter of a million copies and been translated into more than a dozen languages. A full-time author, he regularly contributes to TV documentaries on Roman themes.