Review: 2.5 Stars
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 09 11, 2013
This is on the verge of being a really good book. It needs more editing to tighten things up. The narrative tends to get bogged down in gun porn (each weapon is meticulously described, and often the history of it is thrown in for good measure) and philosophical ramblings. The latter one in particular really bothered me. The main character would spend pages in dialogue with another character going over and over the philosophical ramifications of their time travel. It got really tiresome and completely interrupted the flow of the book.On the flip side, I would have liked to have seen more detail regarding the Roman world they found themselves in. The surroundings are described briefly, but Crichton never really brings it alive. How does it smell? What do they eat? How does it taste? And what do these soldiers think of this relatively alien society? There's no social awkwardness or misunderstandings, no modern vs. ancient viewpoint clashes. These sorts of things would have really brought the book to life. As is, it falls a bit flat.