Spartacus: Rebellion: A Novel (Spartacus Chronicles, 2) Paperback – May 13, 2014

Ben Kane completes the Spartacus story with this sequel to "Spartacus: The Gladiator" and a very good job he does too. I would definitely rate "Spartacus:Rebellion" a better book although I did not have any significant problems with the first book. In fact the two books together are the most realistic and historically accurate novels about Spartacus that I have ever seen. My main criticism of the first book was of occasional wooden and corny dialogue but this has been significantly improved in part 2.As the second book starts we are thrust into a desperate battle between the army of Crixus and the Romans where Crixus and most of his men are killed. Crixus and troops loyal to him had gone their separate ways after a falling out between Spartacus and Crixus. Crixus is portrayed as a not very nice person and the reader would certainly not miss him. The new bad guys are Castus and Gannicus, two Gauls who are constantly undermining Spartacus and threatening to remove troops loyal to them like Crixus did. The setback with Crixus does not unduly trouble the slave army and several more battles against the Romans are won as Spartacus leads the troops north intending to cross the Alps and return to his native Thrace. After the battle of Mutina though, Spartacus changes his mind and heads south intending to cross over to Sicily with help from the Cilician pirates. No one has ever understood the motivation for doing this but the author provides a pretty convincing explanation. In the meantime things are slowly improving for the Romans with Crassus being put in charge of the army with the young Julius Caesar being one of his staff officers. This is conjecture because nothing in the historical record says that Caesar was involved but it certainly could have happened. The story races to its conclusion with the attempt to get to Sicily failing, Crassus bottling Spartacus up in the toe of Italy, the slaves' escape from the blockade, their pursuit by Crassus and the eventual final battle with the crucifixion of the 6000 survivors on the Appian way. Along the way some fictional adventures are introduced including a secret visit by Spartacus to Rome. There is a comprehensive appendix and a glossary of Roman terms at the end.Overall I found the book very enjoyable and difficult to put down. It's very well researched with virtually all that is known about Spartacus faithfully included together with some logical interpolations by the author. Historical Roman characters and Roman political processes are accurately portrayed. The tactics of the Roman army at the time are also well related and fictional characters such as the renegade Roman Carbo fit into the story well. The characters are all believable although the sheer nastiness of Castus and Gannicus is perhaps slightly overdone. There is plenty of blood and guts so people that are squeamish about such things might have a problem.Above all, don't expect anything like the 1960 Kirk Douglas film. Spartacus and the slaves are much less noble in this book and they are portrayed as quite capable of acts of extreme savagery. This is probably more like it really happened.Although there are some rough edges I think this is a 5 star effort.

If this were 10 years ago, this book would be an easy 5 star (few Spartacus books had been written). . In fact, they should have a half star rating possibly for the near perfect book. I would have went for that. Basically this book picks up where his first Spartacus novel stops. It was a little bit of an odd starting place but if you read the first book you see that makes it about 1/2 the whole story. Plenty of action. Not as much godlike characteristics like the TV show. Plenty of cursing, a little humor and a few British slang words (did not detract from the story). The author spent a lot of effort researching Spartacus and it shows in a more accurate account. Note there were only a few thousand words about Spartacus as Rome certainly did not want to glorify a slave that defeated a handful of trained Roman legions. I highly recommend this book and the forgotten legion trilogy also. Of course you should read the Spartacus gladiator book before you read this one. Even held up to the special effects of television this gives it a run for it's money; in fact it was hard to stop reading it.... shu

Ben Kane does it again! "Spartacus: Rebellion" is a worthy sequel to "Spartacus: The Gladiator". At the end of the first book we left Spartacus considering crossing the Alps. This book had to juggle a lot of questions: Why did Spartacus turn back? Why did the slave army split? What happened with the pirates? The historical notes that we have about Spartacus are tantalizingly few. A lot of questions remain open and we will never know the answer because possibly Rome made sure that few traces of such a threatening rebellion arrived to us.Ben Kane does an outstanding job filling the empty spaces and his tale remains gripping and historically plausible. Reading this absorbing book feels like riding a truck that is doomed to crash, but that you simply cannot relinquish. You know you're moving towards the inevitable end, but you cannot quit. The balance between historical facts and background is simply excellent and the author's notes justify every of his choices. Kane shines especially on those episodes that are unlikely or not documented but are in any case possible and well written.Spartacus TV Series fans will note Gannicus (and Castus) portrait, vastly different from the charismatic arena hero, and nevertheless quite more likely to be true. Castus and Gannicus become two villains and by the time their inevitable fall arrives you're nearly cheering for the romans to do their grisly job.Ben Kane has written two powerful books on a legendary figure that in my opinion will become a reference illustration of Spartacus life, clearly outclassing Howard Fast's novel that was the basis of Kubrick's classical film. The books are very well written and have an outstanding balance of historical facts and narrative.Kudos to Mr Kane and keep up the good work. I'm already engrossed reading "The Forgotten Legion". I for one will see Crassus fall. VICTORY OR DEATH!

Fantastic ....

Enjoyed the book

Ben Kane brings you right in the middle of Spartacus' rebellion with a masterpiece of frenetic, detailed historic battles fought throughout the heart of the Republic empire. This book majestically concludes the Spartacus Saga.

I've waited until I finished the second book to review these two, since I read them back to back and a 2-part series is relatively rare. Given that, I will not be writing a separate review for each book. This review is for both Spartacus the Gladiator and Spartacus: Rebellion.I've been a fan of Ben's writing from the start. His Forgotten Legion series was groundbreaking in a number of ways and quite astounding as a debut. I was then fairly stunned by Hannibal, which I consider to be one of the finest pieces of ancient Historical fiction written. Despite the high quality of FL, Hannibal showed a new maturity in writing and more depth of character and soul.So on to Spartacus. I won't say, for the record, that this series is better than Ben's Hannibal (and its future sequels.) It is as good as Hannibal, and that's just dandy by me. I wouldn't have wanted Ben's style to change after Hannibal, as that book hit the spot just right for me. What I will say about these books is that there has been a slight change in conventions that I found refreshing and excellent (more of that shortly).I won't say much about the plot, to be honest. Anyone who follows any review I write knows that I don't like to risk spoilers. But, that being said, the general tale of Spartacus is a matter of record that most people will have at least a basic knowledge of. So, bear in mind that you sort of know how this saga is going to end. I mean, there's only a certain amount of license a writer can realistically get away with (and Ben Kane seems to be very sparing with artistic license anyway) and to have the books end with Spartacus riding off into the sunset would be a little hard to swallow.So prepare yourself. I spoke to Ben at the History In the Court event a few days ago and he wondered whether I'd cry at the end, given that apparently a lot of others had. Well, Ben, I have to admit to a few sneaky tears there, but to be honest there had been eye moistening for at least two chapters in anticipation...One thing I find I have to say and it's the only thing that could be construed as criticism, I suspect, is that in both books, I actually wished they were slightly longer, despite that they were long anyway! The reasoning behind this is that the time spent in the ludus at Capua has some of the most important plot buildup of the whole story, but I felt that I would have liked to see more of the non-plot-important gladiatorial contests during that time (some are reminisced about or alluded to that I'd have liked to have read directly.) It is possible, of course, that this is my own problem fuelled by having recently watched the Spartacus series and craving such fights - bear in mind that it's almost impossible to read Spartacus without drawing certain comparisons if you've watched the series, but I'm confident these books will come out of the comparison favourably. Similarly, in the second book, a number of the smaller battles or skirmishes that are not critical are referenced only in reminiscence or conversation, and I kind of missed seeing them myself. Again, perhaps just my bloodthirsty tendencies showing through.But on with reviewing: One thing that I particularly loved that was, if memory serves me correctly, a new convention in Ben's writing, is the regular inclusion of an `inner dialogue' for the major characters. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about this, but as the books progressed, I decided I really liked it and loved the effect it had on conversation. Often two characters will converse, but their private thoughts have a secondary conversation above them. This really gives a boost to the understanding of the motives and desires of the characters.Another big win for me was the character of Carbo. Clearly a fictional creation, Carbo is the Yin to Spartacus's Yang in many ways and provides a counterpoint to the main star. I will say that he is in no way a sidekick or comedy relief. He is a strong protagonist in his own right, but helps to balance Spartacus. Well done for Carbo, Ben. Not only is he an important character, a plot foil, a companion and so much more, he is also the main chance the book has for any sort of positivity in the outcome.Similarly, I loved Navio, and the portrayal of the young Caesar. On the Roman side, it is interesting to see Caesar and Crassus at this stage in their development, giving an insight into what creates the men who will exist and are portrayed in the Forgotten Legion.Incidentally, as well as the sadness of the inevitable conclusion, there is one scene in the first book (a death scene) that I actually found worse. It was for me a harrowing read with all the soul-crushing skill of a Guy Gavriel Kay work. Fabulous in its awfulness.In an echo of the plot construction of the Forgotten Legion, there is an overriding element of the mystical and the divine in this work which goes deeper than simply describing the attitudes of the people in the setting, but actually provides foretellings, insights, and even explanations as to the reasons for the events of the Third Servile War. One day I may well go back through these books and read them with a different mindset, going in to them with the idea that the whole string of events is somewhat defined and informed by prophecy and divine whim, rather than the straight historical viewpoint I attacked them with this time.All in all, these two books create the deepest, most realistic and yet refreshingly different telling of the Spartacus rebellion yet. Forget Blood and Sand and Kirk Douglas. The characters here are authentic feeling and very much sympathetic, even on the Roman side. The fights and battles are up to the very high standard that fans of Ben Kane's work will have come to expect. The undertones of divine influence are subtle and yet powerful. As always, Ben appears to have meticulously researched everything and the historical accuracy of the books is as strong as I can believe it could get. There is never a let up in the story's pace or the action, and you will genuinely be as sad at the conclusion that you have no more to read as you are at the storyline itself.It's a win on many levels. It's so sad that there's nowhere to go and the series has to end there. There could always be the possibility of a prequel, of course, since sequels are unrealistic. But anyone who watches Ben on twitter will be able to heave a sigh of relief knowing that he's working on the next Hannibal book now.

Good read