The Parthian

My latest historical fiction read has been Peter Darman's book 'The Parthian'. First time I have read his work and very mixed reviews for a book that is very good value on the Kindle.

First the story. Our hero is Prince Pacorus, a Parthian prince who gets captured by the Romans and ends up a slave in Italy. He is liberated by Spartacus and he creates a Parthian style light horse unit in the slave army. So the book is really about the slave revolt, a popular fiction theme at present. His unit helps give Spartacus the edge over his Roman opponents in a series of battles the length of Italy, until eventual defeat when Pacorus slips back to Parthia.

Other reviewers seem to either love or hate this book. It is certainly hard work in places and could have benefited from some aggressive editing. Typos are particularly irritating and unnecessary in a professional publication. The story line is less than plausible in places, but then the story of Spartacus is pretty amazing. On the plus side the battle scenes are well described and the historical context well researched. I certainly had no problem putting it down, but I equally never felt the urge to give up. I won't rush to get the next title, but could be tempted.