Review: Good Book
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 21, 2012
The plot of this book reminded me somewhat of "The General" series by S.M. Stirling/David Drake or the Belisarius series by Eric Flint, but instead of the main character being inspired by alien computers, the main character (a female noble from Sparta) is inspired by the 1st century scientific/technological knowledge present in Great Library in Alexandria (yes, THAT Great Library for you Civilization players).As I said, the main character is a noble from Sparta who is an apprentice to the scientific masters in the Library (hence technologically advanced herself) plus, as a noble from Sparta, is a warrior maiden as well.  When Alexandria (and most of the southern/eastern Roman empire) is threatened with revolt, our main character (Dyna) rallies the local militia and meager remaining legionnaires and, together with "advanced technology" developed in the Great Library, defends Egypt.It's a pretty entertaining setup and story.  The book is mostly battlefield action and moves at a brisk pace.  There is just enough character development to get you involved with the characters...you root for their success.If there is one flaw, in my opinion the book could use a bit more character development of the main character and more on some of the secondary characters as well.  If there are going to be sequels, I for one will want to know more about the characters' background, values, needs and wants, etc.  Now this was the first book of an apparent series, and I congratulate the author for not bogging us down in boring "setup"; but for the next installment, I think a little more insight into the characters would be appropriate.Looking forward Book #2.