The Parthian (Parthian Chronicles Book 1)

Darman spins an excellent fictional plot line,wrapped in known historical facts to give us a non-stop tale of action and adventure.A prince of Parthia is captured by Roman Legions and sent back to Italy as a slave. He escapes and meets up with the famed Spartacus and his infamous slave rebellion. He joins them as their head of cavalry because every Parthenon is an outstanding horseman and warrior. He also meets the woman he hopes will eventually marry him, but not before many huge battles are fought against many Roman Legions.I proudly award this novel 5 STARS!

Early in this book I realized it was not written by an educated man. Educated authors correct mis-spellings, skipped words, wring word usage such as 'taught' in stead of 'taut", etc. The dialogue is crock full of British modern slang, perhaps because Darman is a Brit and thinks everyone, everywhere, and in every era spoke like Brits in a pub. If you like that, fine.It's just a romantic story, nothing else. On page 127 he describes the construction of a Scythian bow, which is something I know a bit about. He describes the wood used as yew, which is what the British used. Wrong. Mongols and Scythians did not have ready access to yew and it does not grow at all in southern Italy. He at least got right that sinew and horn were glued to the bow shaft but described the glue as derived from bitumen, tree resin, and animal grease (??!! grease as glue ??). Actually, fish glue was used. It was manufactured by boiling fish air bladders.At this point I realized that no one should assume that Darman has performed historical research adequate to the task he has taken up. I think the term is "ill-prepared", but that doesn't deter his audacity. Just treat his books as fictional entertainment and assume he got it all wrong and made it up.

I saw one negative review, but though I also noticed some spelling errors, I did not find that they detracted much from the story line. Who doesn't love stories about Spartacus and ancient Rome? I'll be reading more for sure!

Darman writes in a smooth clear style. The characters in this novel are well developed, interesting in their own ways and interlaced in the action to make an easy to read saga. I recommend it to those who indulge in historical fiction.There are a few errors of which Darman should be aware. Regarding horsemanship, Darman should know that the flanks of a horse are to the rear of the horse, just in front of the hind quarters. Therefore, the rider cannot dig his/her knees into the horse's flanks. If anyone should ever dig his/her knees into the horse, the ribs would be affected, not the flanks.It also seems odd to me that writers of fiction set in the ancient Mediterranean persist in thinking that people in that world wore boots. Everyone there wore sandals, although the Roman soldiers wore a model of sandals which were called boots, calligae. But they were still sandals, and no one could hide a dagger in a sandal.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I found few typographical errors and misspellings. Perhaps the book has been re-edited? The logistics and tactics used by a large ancient army make for interesting reading. It also makes me think. In a typical battle, tens of thousands of arrows are used. I wonder how long and how many men are needed to make that many arrows? How do they make the perfectly round and straight shafts needed? I see a Google search in my future.After the first battle that Gallia took part in, any sensible commander would have dropped her from the ranks and sent her back to camp duties. As part of the reserves, she decides to quit her post and go out on her own because she "Wants to kill Romans". At the height of battle a commander must know that he can call on his reserves to turn the tide and bring victory. They have to be there not going off on their own.Of course, the premise appears to be that Gallia is so beautiful that she can do anything she wants. If this book were to be made into a movie, I wonder which actress would be chosen to play the fantastically, jaw droppingly beautiful Gallia. I can think of a lot of good looking actresses but none that would make men automatically drop in awe. Fiction is fine but let us keep a little reality.The book seems to answer the question of why Spartacus and his men never continued over the alps but turned south again to pass once more through Italy. The battle scenes and descriptions of the areas seem very accurate and real. The dialogue flows as it should. This is a very informative historical novel that also makes me think. Good job.

I enjoy historical fiction in all of its forms and by all(well, most) of its authors. This story is as enjoyable as any others of this genre. I agree with other reviewers that the characters are a trace overblown but this is historical hero fiction and it is true to form.So great story, terrible book.Why terrible? Well, I'm assuming that the original was written in English and the hard copy version was edited by someone who also spoke english and the typesetters, human or mechanical, were familiar with the language. So the paper books di not refree tio the "men fo Parthia" or contain words or phrases such as "fkanked" or "perimeter edge with red." The Kindle for Mac version does. At least once per chapter. In palces, it read like a set of instructions, for a child's playset, made in China with instructions written by a person, who understood but didn't speak, English, but did have lots of commas laying around, unused, and edited by someone or something that also had limited English skills, including structure sentence limited. I'd gladly pay a little more for a product quality checked by real live PROFIICIENT in English, human proofreaders and/or editors. But then proper English in both spelling and structure is something one assumes when purchasing a product presented in this language.Buyer beware. Read the first page of the book in the Look Inside feature. Much to regret fo mine, I did not,?.!,,,,.

Excellent novel based on the slave revolt lead by the Thracian gladiator Spartacus. All the known main characters of the day feature. Will definitely add book 2 to my list.

Being a fan of these Roman tales, I admit to getting a bit jaded as they go over the same territory, literally and figuratively, again and again. I was interested in reading the tale of Spartacus' slave revolt again via a new and unique participant, and Peter Darman did not disappoint. Prince Pacorus the Parthian is a wonderful hero and the tale told through his voice was entertaining. I'm looking forward to following his further adventures.

The book is full of action. The author is very detailed in describing events such as battles. If you like Scott and Tyrney, you'll love Darman, at least this first book of his chronicle. I bought me the second book right away and I can't wait to start!

I enjoyed this tale immensely, excellent combination of fiction and historical fact, a worthy beginning to commence a series, well done.

The idea of seeing Rome through the eyes of the scion of another highly sophisticated and sovereign nation is a stroke of genius in terms of narrative power, and a truly refreshing perspective after so many -albeit excellent- novels covering the period, from early Caesar to the Valerius collapse.A Parthian prince becomes a leading officer and close friend of legendary figure Spartacus, as we follow the slave revolt from the inside.A great read, and an interesting, refreshing look at Rome through the eyes of an outsider and the rage of those she mercilessly crushed.