Review: The Imperial Banner by Nick Brown Book Two in the Agent of Rome series

History resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2017


When we left Imperial Agent Cassius Corbulo at the end of "The Siege", Book One of the "Agent of Rome" series, a teenaged Corbulo had survived the brutal attack on a lonely Roman outpost deep in the Syrian desert by forces of the Palmyran Queen Zenobia.  The youngster had managed to pull together the undisciplined remnants of the Roman garrison and combined them with an auxiliary detachment of local slingers, and a drunken demoralized Praetorian "hero of Rome" to withstand an onslaught of tribesmen led by the best swordsman in the Palmyrene Empire.

As book two, "The Imperial Banner," opens, we find Corbulo assigned to recover a battle standard of the Persian Empire that fell into Roman hands at the end of the Palmyrene revolt but has since gone missing.  The Roman emperor Aurelian plans to return the standard to the Persians as part of a historic peace treaty,  so the pressure is on the Imperial Service to find it.

The so-called "Pseudo-Corbulo", once thought
to be the portrait of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo,
actually a portrait of an unknown personality
of the 1st century BC. Image courtesy of
Wikimedia Commons.

Corbulo is once again accompanied by his faithful Gallic servant, Simo. But his superior, Abascanthius, thinks Corbulo needs more protection on this assignment since the detail assigned to escort the banner to the emperor was composed of experienced veterans who all vanished as well. So he assigns a bodyguard named Indavara, a former gladiator, to Corbulo to take care of any rough stuff that should happen along the way.

We learned in Book One that Corbulo, despite his clever intellect and his distant familial lineage from the illustrious General Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, has very marginal sword skills despite the basic military training he received when joining the service.  This continues to be a bit disconcerting to me since I am used to most protagonists in this genre being highly skilled warriors.  But with at least the presence of a skilled bodyguard Corbulo should be able to survive violent encounters without relying upon an opponent's blunder.

The prelude to the book details Indavara's astonishing final performance in Rome's most celebrated arena.  The veteran of hundreds of bouts and a crowd favorite, Indavara faces multiple uneven contests in his last bid for freedom because his corrupt lanista has wagered a huge sum against Indavara's survival.  This passage was very exciting and really ratcheted up my expectations for this new character.

Relief of Mithras slaying the bull photographed at the
National Museum of Rome, Baths of Diocletian, Rome, Italy
by Mary Harrsch © 2005

As the story unfolds, Corbulo tracks the banner back to Antioch where he tries to determine if the prize has been purloined by a rich merchant or a member of the provincial governor's staff.  One of the administrators turns out to be the head of the local Mithras cult so readers get a chance to learn a little about Mithraism along the way.

But as the bodies piled up, I expected to read about more spectacular encounters between Indavara and the villain's minions.  However, most of the deaths occur "off-stage" so-to-speak, except in the final confrontation.  I would have preferred more direct action but maybe I'm just getting bloodthirsty in my old age!

Also, although the primary characters were well drawn, there was little backstory or character development for the potential culprits, so Corbulo's eventual triumph lacked the level of gratification it could have had if the reader had a chance to develop an appreciation for the capabilities of Corbulo's opponents.  Still, the author did a great job of recreating ancient Antioch and life in the 3rd century CE Roman east and I found it an entertaining read.

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Review: The Siege (Book One of the Agent of Rome Series) by Nick Brown

A history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2016

At just 19-years old, Cassius Corbulo is probably the youngest centurion in the Roman Army.  Has he won a civic crown or been the first over the wall of a besieged town?  No.  Actually, he spent a few too many nights wooing the young women of Rome, so his father signed him up for the Imperial Security Service, sort of the Roman emperor's version of the FBI.  No one, including Corbulo's father, ever thought he would end up actually leading troops in the field, especially not in Syria where Queen Zenobia's troops, trained in Roman tactics and under the leadership of the fierce commander, Septimius Zabbai, are wreaking total havoc from Egypt to Asia Minor.

But when Corbulo arrives to assume his role on the Syrian governor's staff, he is immediately dispatched to Roman outposts in the region to collect up what troops remain and escort them back to Antioch.  He is told to assume the role of centurion, since that is the equivalent rank he holds in the security service, but he feels painfully aware of his total inexperience and is embarrassed to be issuing commands to the grizzled veterans he collects.

Palmyran Loculus Cover 2nd century CE.  Photo by
Mary Harrsch © 2005

His uncle, a successful merchant in Antioch, has provided Corbulo with a knowledgeable man-servant from Gaul but, unlike other "sidekicks" in similar tales, Simo has no demonstrated skill in arms.  Corbulo, himself, despite being distantly related to the famous general, Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, and undergoing the Roman equivalent of basic training, is actually clumsy with a sword.  Fortunately, his behavioral perception and ability to judge men's characters are significantly beyond his years.  So, unlike Harry Sidebottom's Marcus Claudius Balista or Douglas Jackson's Gaius Valerius Verrens, both quintessential warriors, young Corbulo will need to use his wits and his courage rather than his brawn to outwit the opponents he will face as the story unfolds.

Corbulo receives a dispatch to proceed to a ramshackle Roman fortress named Alauran, guarding one of the precious wells in the region, and hold it until a Roman relief force arrives.  There he finds less than half of the original century assigned to the post still alive and only a drunken praetorian, a disgraced hero of Rome suffering from a severe intestinal disorder, the only remaining officer.  With no leadership, the men, who have not been paid in almost two years, have little discipline left and have little faith in a contingent of slinger auxiliaries made up of local tribesmen with whom they share the compound.  But every available man will be needed if Corbulo is to withstand an attack.

Byzantine-era silver plate depicting the world's most famous slinger Goliath.  Photographed
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Mary Harrsch © 2007

Meanwhile, Zabbai sends an elite contingent, under the command of one of the most celebrated swordsmen in Palmyra, to capture the Roman outpost.

Brown does an excellent job of describing the setting and developing the characters of Corbulo, Simo, the praetorian, the appointed squad leaders and the Palmyran swordsman and commander, Azaf.  I found it interesting to see how Corbulo was going to rebuild a fighting force by selecting men who would respond to his leadership efforts and help motivate the remaining men to mount a formidable defense.

When the attack begins, the action is non-stop and the suspense builds to a gratifying conclusion.  I was listening to the unabridged version of the audiobook and must admit, though, at one point I shouted "throw the caltrops!" as it looked like Corbulo had forgotten them when he was actually waiting for just the precise moment for maximum effect.

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