REVIEW: Wolf's Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan

Wolf's Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan
Publishing information: Hardback; 496pgs
Publisher: Tor; 28 June 2016
ISBN: 9780765337740
Possible series
Copy: Provided by Publisher
Reviewer: Tyson

Amazon

Synopsis: "A sweeping science-fiction saga of revenge set in a future in which the Roman Empire never fell, by actress Claudia Christian.

When her mother and brother are murdered, young noblewoman Accala Viridius cries out for vengeance. But the empire is being torn apart by a galactic civil war, and her demands fall on deaf ears. Undeterred, Accala sacrifices privilege and status to train as a common gladiator. Mastering the one weapon available to her—a razor-sharp discus that always returns when thrown--she enters the deadly imperial games, the only arena where she can face her enemies.

But Fortune's wheel grants Accala no favors—the emperor decrees that the games will be used to settle the civil war, the indigenous lifeforms of the arena-world are staging a violent revolt, and Accala finds herself drugged, cast into slavery and forced to fight on the side of the men she set out to kill.

Set in a future Rome that never fell, but instead expanded to become a galaxy-spanning empire, Accala's struggle to survive and exact her revenge will take her on a dark journey that will cost her more than she ever imagined."

I am huge fan of books that take place during the time of the Roman Empire and when I was approached to to review the novel about a future Roman Empire that has taken to the stars I was curious.

Wolf's Empire: Gladiator tells the story of the various nobel houses vying for control over their sectors of their controlled space and grasping for more. Two houses lead the fight: House Viridian (Golden Wolves), who bestow the virtues of honor and nobility and their nemesis, House Sertorian (Blood Hawks), who focus more on strength and ambition. For years they have engaged in a civil war in the far reaches of known space and the emperor has finally decided to put the squabbling at and end buy organizing a competition between the two noble houses and the smaller houses that compose their alliances. The competition will consist of chariot races, wild animal hunting, and gladiatorial combat.

It is the last competition that brings us to our protagonist. Accala Viridius of House Viridian. She is a gladiator against her father's wishes. I liked Accala quite a bit she is smart, resourceful, and focused on her revenge against the Sertonians who killed her brother and mother at the beginning of the civil war in the outer reaches of space. Accala plans to use the Emperor's games to seek justice and kill those who murdered her family. There is only one small hitch, her father doesn't want her to partake in the games and has used his influence to have her sidelined on the eve of the embarkation to the planet that will host the games. Accala has to take up with the Setorians. They have a spot available and want Accala to join them in a propoganda stunt that could put everything her House and their allies have built.

As Accala gains the respect of her newfound teammates she loses the respect of her own House. All the while she waits patiently for the perfect opportunity to strike and get her revenge.

There are a few issues that I had with the book, at times Accala does seem to be a bit of a Mary Sue. It is only through her one desire for revenge that she slips up from time to time as she has only one goal in mind. The twist that the book builds up to was obvious and the fate of her brother was also a little bit of a let down. Another issue I had was that in the 7,000+ years this Empire has existed, there isn't any equality between the sexes and their tactics and technology hasn't evolved much beyond where they left off in the real world. However, with that said, the book does a great job of expanding the Roman Empire into space. The authors obviously did their homework as the inner working of the houses and the politics feel authentic. The story has a space opera feel to it, while keeping the storylines centered on a small amount of characters. The ending feels very similar to Leckie's Ancillary Justice. But with that aside, I would be willing to check out the sequel if offered the opportunity.

Overall 7/10