Revolting Slaves receives 5-star review
Revolting Slaves, an historical fiction novel by David P. Morris, was originally published in 2023.
A recent reader gave the book this five-star review on GoodReads:
An amazing saga of the almost mythical Spartacus and his fellow seventy gladiators who escaped from the killing machine of the gladiator school and built and led an eventual army of over 70,000 slaves in a revolt against Rome. The story spans over three years and the author has done a fantastic job of writing what could have been, as there are not many facts of the actual happenings and none of what life was like for the growing army as it wandered southern Italy, meeting with and defeating whatever Rome could throw at them.
For a first published book by the author, this is a tour de force. The amount of detail of the campaigns of Spartacus and the movements of tens of thousands of slaves turned soldiers is impressive. The first two published accounts of the events surrounding Spartacus and the years of 73-71 BC were both written over a hundred years after the death of Spartacus and the defeat of his army. This story has quotes from the books of Appian and Plutarch as the chapter headings, along with quotes from other literary sources. They are an interesting way to begin each chapter and give an idea of what the chapter will be about.
The book has a narrator, Publipor, a thirteen year old goatherd and slave who the ragtag group of escaped gladiators come upon on their way out of Capua. Publipor stays with them as his inclination to gather his goats and go back to another beating fades with the fear and awe he has at being among these fierce men, especially Spartacus, a giant of a man who must have had great charisma. As he is written here the author taps into that charisma and Spartacus commands every scene that he is in, especially the ones of his humanity and desire for a life of freedom with his wife, whom the author calls Helica, a seer and former slave who travels with the army and has great influence with Spartacus borne out of passion for him and a desire to have revenge upon the Rome that has brutalized her.
We see through Publipor’s eyes the fellow escapees who are following Spartacus. Captured men from different parts of the Roman Empire; Germani, Gauls, Celts. These colorful characters who are the core group of the army are wonderfully written and described by the author. These are men who have lived by the fist and the sword and continue to throughout the story. They are brutal and foul talking, yet are desperate for freedom. Their language, including that of Spartacus, is a sort of bastardized Latin. I was looking up translations while reading the book, but it does not interrupt the flow of the story whether the brief Latin phrases are understood or not.
Along with this being a story of a bid for freedom, it is a story of an astounded Roman Empire that its legions of soldiers are being outfought, outwitted, and sometimes outnumbered in the defeats by the rebels. There are many scenes of meetings in Rome of officials maneuvering with and against each other for how this rebellion should be handled. Careers are being destroyed with each defeat and alliances are being crossed and double crossed.
There is a sad coda of a revelation that the rebel army might have been able to go on and escape to Sicily as planned, but they are set upon and defeated and it is partially because of the unwitting betrayal of one of them, a character whom I liked very much, so it was a shock and a sad scene.
He is in the remainder of the rebel army being put to death in gruesome ways at the end of the book. This is how the book begins, too, with inhumane punishments.
The barbaric punishments that Rome subjected these slaves to was very hard to read, for me.
The slave army subjected the defeated Romans to punishments in the cities in Southern Italy where they battled in their march across the land. There is a huge amount of violence in the book, it is all germane, it is all written dispassionately. The singular deaths were the saddest, especially the ones where Publipor was involved as he has become a leading horseback scout for the army.
To offset the barbarism of many scenes is a great deal of humanity, especially the coming of age love story between Publipor and the girl, Pila, whom he is given to protect after the sacking of Pompeii by the rebels. Pila and Publipor grow up in their few years with the army and are married at the request of Helica and the officiating of Spartacus. The author does very well with balancing the harrowing with the peaceful moments. Even in the midst of the hordes of death there is life and that is the note on which the book ends. Spartacus and his dream of freedom are gone, but life does go on with a poignant scene of hope for the future.
This is a wonderful book. My review does not do justice to a story that drew me in to where I forgot where I was when I stopped reading. I highly recommend this memorable read and am giving it all the stars.
Revolting Slaves Synopsis:
In 73 BC, a haunting beauty yokes four world class athletes to escape the Capuan school for gladiators. A hapless young shepherd is swept along by legendary Spartacus and his brigands upon their breakout. The youngster spends his formative years becoming a talented scout when budding romance gives him a reason to fight. Transport yourself two thousand years to a land and time that's startlingly different, yet strangely familiar. Secure your sword and strap on your helmet for the fiercest, no quarter brawl for freedom, the world has ever known.