"Epic alternative historical novel"
The Exodus failed to take the Jews from Egypt into the
Promised Land. Thus Christianity never surfaces as the
Jewish people remain enslaved in Egypt. Still Rome rises
to defeat the neighboring Barbarians. The rest is history
(at least alternative) as key global events fostered by
ROMA ETERNA starting in A.U.C. 1203 (A.D. 405 our time)
into the next fifteen centuries occur as the Roman Empire
ebbs and grows. Robert Silverberg rewrites several of his related short
stories into an epic alternative historical novel that
engages the reader with intriguing theories of how much
different the world would be if one pivotal event (albeit
Moses leading the Jews) had a different ending. Though
entertaining and easily hooking the audience, the tale
still feels more like a short story collection as none of
the characters (over the fifteen hundred years) feel fully
developed. Still sub-genre readers will relish this
fascinating saga of a seemingly eternal Roman Empire as
each subsequent chapter builds off of events that
chronologically (and literally) preceded it. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted May 5, 2003
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