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Engrossing and sometimes exciting further adventures of Canio, ex-soldier and present owner of an opulent villa, along with its staff, in southern 4th century Roman Britain. [I believe the author modeled the structure on the Fishbourne Roman Villa, the ruins of which can be seen today.] Canio is tasked by the present Provincial Governor, or Praeses, to find and to give to him the Hecate figurine Canio and two other soldiers had discovered two years previously. One of the soldiers, Peltrasius, is now one of Sabinus' bodyguards and has probably told him of the statuette and its supposed magical properties. Sabinus says he wants to give it to the Governor of all Britannia, Civilis, the Vicarius. The Praeses wants Canio to find it and bring it back to him--for what real purpose Canio speculates on later. Canio; a strange middle-aged woman named Bodicca; and a small boy accompany him on a journey to have a duplicate made, which he hopes will fool Sabinus. After a metalworker creates an excellent copy and the old priest from whom it had been stolen originally, authenticates it, Canio waits till just before the deadline he's been given and presents it to Sabinus. Will it pass muster?

I thought this a logical and gripping continuation of Canio's story; frankly, I wasn't sure where it would go after the last novel in the series. I found the title to be well chosen; most of the characters in their individual ways were "deceivers": through lies, half-truths, misrepresentations and deceptions, both big and small, down to a mosaic floor in one of the inns showing pagan scenes replaced with Christian symbolism and figures. The tree on the cover was not the "stag-tree" mentioned in the novel, but I felt the ochre carried out one of the author's themes: the dying of the seasons. The story did take place in late fall. I felt the author expressed this theme in his yellow-leaf metaphor and the ochre carried it out. I thank the author for sending me a copy. Any of this author's works have given English-language self-publishing a good name.

Highly recommended.… (lisätietoja)

Gripping further adventures of Canio in the Cotswolds area of southern Britain. Now the owner of a magnificent villa near two streams, he lives with the mysterious Trifosa, his mistress. Lunaris, an agens in Rebus [a member of the intelligence community and a type of spy or secret police] pays him a visit. Lunararis's duties are pretty much anything to protect the State, including assassination. He wishes Canio to become friends with a neighbor, Antoninus, and to report back to him. Antoninus's brother had been involved in a political conspiracy and rebellion years ago and the agens feels Antoninus may have been involved too. He wants proof of the man's complicity. He blackmails Canio by saying if he gets it and passes it on, Lunaris will not reveal that the villa was bought with ill-gotten gold. This is personal revenge, not a State matter. Canio decides to play along with him, although he feels it's not quite right; Antoninus had been away with the army during that time. After Lunaris leaves, Canio gets a fleeting glimpse of someone--who? Trifosa? Something supernatural? The visit and a dinner party at Antoninus's villa set the adventure in motion.

The author showed us his strong characterizations and his gorgeous descriptions of the countryside that I feel are strong points of his writing. Canio is developing as a character; from being completely self-centered in [The Moon on the Hills] he is showing more of a conscience; he is putting himself in danger to help Antoninus prove his innocence, although Antoninus had possibly been Trifosa's lover and definitely her childhood companion. Going by her present too-transparent feelings, he may now have a rival for her affections. I also liked that Vilbia, the priestess, was integral to this story. The author wove very creatively into his story the Spoonley Wood Roman villa and the statuette of Bacchus that was discovered a century or more ago. The book cover shows Spoonley Wood.

Very highly recommended.… (lisätietoja)

Absolutely gripping novel of Roman Britain -- Corinium [Cirencester] in 367 AD. I read it straight through twice, one time right after the other. A soldier, commander of the Corinium "Civil Guard", Saturninus, has a frightening nightmare about a mysterious man named Caelofernus, who will kill him by the time of the full moon -- 4 nights hence. He also dreams of his vanished sweetheart, Pascentia. Is she still alive as the dream shows him, having survived a storm at sea and a shipwreck on her way to Gaul? He visits a young priestess of the spring of the goddess Leucesca, Vilbia, to find answers. She confirms his dream, by their seeing visions of Caelofernus and Pascentia that the goddess has sent in water of the goddess's fountain. Saturninus and his second-in-command, the insouciant, laissez-faire womanizer Canio, journey and search for Caelofernus. Will they find him before the deadline to deal with him in spite of false leads and lies and will Saturninus find his lady love?

The author has written gorgeous descriptions of the Cotswold area. They reminded me of the nature writing of Bryher in "Roman Wall". There is a précis of action in this volume in "Sower of the seeds of dreams" [v.2 in this series] which I did read, but I found it much more valuable to read this volume itself. A lot of the backstory and characterizations are cleared up. I felt as though I was right in the middle of the action; it was so vivid. I also was impatient to discover the denouement and sometimes would urge the characters on to follow or not to follow a certain course of action.

Highly recommended.… (lisätietoja)

Set in Roman Britain, in the province of Britannia Prima [today's Somerset and Gloucestershire], late 360s AD, this novel was a nicely crafted story of a Roman soldier and the priestess of a British goddess, each on separate quests, who travel together. I enjoyed this novel, set in a time period not much written about, with a satisfying blend of historical fiction and fantasy. A statuette of Hecate,the Roman death goddess, brings together two unlikely companions: Canio, a soldier in the 'Civil Guard', which I assume would be similar to the Urban Cohort of classical Rome, although its jurisdiction would include the countryside as well as the city; and Vilbia, a priestess of the goddess of a sacred spring, Leucesca. The soldier and the priestess join forces and travel together to the south of Britannia. He wants to find a treasure of gold buried in a lake, and she wants to restore her wavering faith in the goddess she serves. The novel recounts their journey of discovery. They are accompanied by Antares, Canio's horse. Antares is almost another character.

The novel recounts their adventures--bucolic, difficult, exciting, fantastic. I could relate to the two main characters: Canio, a flawed but increasingly complex and well-rounded character as the story progresses and Vilbia, the young, virginal, mysterious priestess. I liked their relationship: completely brotherly and sisterly. I liked their dynamic--sometimes serious, sometimes comic. I liked their badinage. Such gorgeous descriptions of Britannia in the spring and summer were presented!! I felt like I was travelling with the couple. The ending was not really satisfactory to me; but because of motivations, it was probably inevitable and logical. Canio stood at a metaphorical crossroads; his choice would determine the outcome. The author kept using the motif of two yellow autumn leaves floating down a stream to express this. This novel was well written. Canio reminded me somewhat of Curtius Rufus in Wallace Breem's "The Legate's Daughter", each a flawed but sympathetic protagonist. One could read this as a standalone novel, but there is a prequel, : The Moon on the Hills, also a sequel: One Summer in Arcadia, both of which I want to read.

Recommended very highly!! I have reread twice more than the original date and each time it is just as charming, with its mixture of historical fiction and a tiny bit of fantasy.… (lisätietoja)