The Noise of War

Author: Vincent B. Davis II

Series: Scrolls of Sertorius #2

Publisher: Thirteenth Press

Release Date: April 8, 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

If you are a fan of ancient Roman history, then you need to get on this series! 

After the massacre of the Roman army by the Cimbri at Arausio, Quintus Sertorius finds that he is not the only survivor.  He lost his brother, 90,000 fellow soldiers, and his own eye, but he still has his good friend Lucius and his lover Arrea.  But such a crushing defeat weighs heavy on a man.  Eventually, he and Lucius discover about a dozen more survivors who Quintus then leads back to the Roman camp now commanded by Marius.  Once they arrive at the camp and begin to recover, Quintus reunites with Marius and meets his new legate Lucius Cornelius Sulla.  They have devised a plan for Quintus to become a spy and infiltrate the Cimbri camp.  Quintus realizes that this is likely suicide, but he feels compelled to accept the mission to avenge his brother and fellow soldiers.  As he embarks on this new quest, will he be able to muster the courage to help save the Republic?  Or is it all for naught anyway?

If you are a fan of ancient Roman history, then you need to get on this series!  Davis has dug up some great history that is not well known to many people, even those of us that frequent Roman history quite a bit.  He has chosen to chronicle out the life of Quintus Sertorius in this series of books.  The first book, The Man with Two Names, is of his early service in politics and joining the legion through the defeat of Arausio.  This new installment picks up where the previous left off and focuses on the continuation of his military service.  This installment also introduces readers to Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who is much more well known throughout history as a consul, and who future books will no doubt clash with as he and Sertorius lead opposite ends in a future civil war.  This book is rich with history of the Battles of Aquae Sextiae and Vercellae.  Sertorius character continues to be developed in this book as he goes from a leader, threw a period of self-pity, to becoming a leader again, who often second guesses himself but displays a brilliant military mind nonetheless.  One of my favorite parts of the first book was the developing relationship between Sertorius and Arrea.  There are aspects of this in the book, but I leave it up to readers to discover what is going on between them.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher.  The views and opinions expressed within are my own.