Having read recently three of the Marius' mules / SJA Turney series of books on Caesar in Gaul, I wanted to read a novel about a warrior from the "other side". I enjoyed this one, the story of Vercingetorix, leader of the Averni tribe. As a boy he watches the horrific death of his father, is reared by the druids, and has a hallucinogenic Vision showing him his destiny and that of the Gallic peoples. In his Vision, he sees the statue of himself the French people have erected; to this day he is a French national hero. In the author's conception he has much druid knowledge, besides being a fighter. The story tells of his friendship with Caesar for awhile until Caesar's British invasion [which didn't last]; Caesar's deceit and manipulation turn him into Caesar's implacable enemy. From then on, he struggles against the Romans, uniting the Gaulish tribes. The novel culminates in the battle of Gergovia, siege and burning of Bourges and final defeat at Alesia. These three battles were well done and very exciting. At Alesia, Caesar's military engineer comes up with an ingenious solution: circumvallation. Details of this battle were so vivid, I wouldn't be surprised if the author used Caesar's own writings as a primary source.

There were elements of fantasy, which I had to get used to. Caesar, in his falling-sickness seizures, would have visions; also Vercingetorix would have visions or dreams. Vercingetorix was fully fleshed out and sympathetic. Caesar was also a complete person, fitting our concept of him. All the other characters didn't really have personalities; they were there, it seemed to me, only as a background or sounding board to Vercingetorix or Caesar. The writing style was strange; there was a lot of surrealism and the author used certain phrases over and over, such as, 'the jaws of death'. There were maps on the endpapers but no notes or bibliographies, so I am assuming the history was not terribly accurate, except for the most important incidents. When I guessed that might be the case, I read the novel just as a very good story. I liked the strategies presented of both the Gauls and the Romans, with each side trying to outguess the other: what the other side likely would or would not do. I liked Caesar's march across the Alps in the winter to get to Gaul to surprise the Gauls. I am sure druid rituals were pretty much the ideas of the author, since we don't know much about the druids. I recommend this novel, but maybe the history should be taken with a grain of salt... ( )

http://nhw.livejournal.com/857436.html

The story of Vercingetorix vs Julius Caesar, not really successful because Spinrad can't quite make up his mind whether it is fantasy or not, and whether it is for adults or young adults. ( )