BOOK REVIEW: Real meeting of titans in writer's first offering
BRAVEHEART meets Gladiator is a fair description of Livingston author Gordon Anthony's first book, The Shadow of the Wall, which has all the hallmarks that made these two films box office gold.
Mr Gordon may not like the cliched association, but he should take it as a compliment because if Ridley Scott or Mel Gibson thought of doing follow-ups they would do no better than adapting this tale to the big screen.
The narrative takes us between timelines from when principal character Brude is captured by the Romans from a Pictish community in Scotland on the fringes of Hadrian's Wall, to his valiant return 13 years later to a changed place ruled by his now ruthless childhood friend Colm.
During the missing years when Brude is assumed dead by all back home, his travels are that of a slave before he is bought and sent to Rome's Coliseum to entertain the masses as a feared and respected gladiator.
The story explores his background in AD 196 and his dream of returning to his beloved land in AD 209. All through his travels we connect effortlessly with the gallant hero whose destiny might ultimately set his people free and change the course of history.
The love interest is from his childhood sweetheart Mairead, who was taken by Colm as his wife and, of course, when Brude's unwelcome face appears back in his birthplace, Broch Tava, the village helmsman's insecurities cloud his actions.
Switching again back to Rome, Brude's nature quickly endears him to slave owners and Rome's political hierarchy where, after winning his freedom by killing all in a death or glory bonanza in the Coliseum, he enjoys the sordid fruits of Rome as much as a slave can to an influential figure.
There's a quite a few twists and turns along as well as some potted history of the Roman Empire and it's impossible not to roar Brude on to realising his hopes and dreams.
While the language is sometimes laboured it's nonetheless a worthy and remarkable first effort by Anthony, who is partially sighted and I'm sure he will tweak these minor nigglesd in any follow-up.
The father-of-three from Eliburn was forced to retire from his bank job in 2008 on medical grounds as he suffers from retinitis pigmentosa (RP), and has now substituted employment with his love for history and writing.
Many people with RP are not legally blind until their 40s or 50s and the author dreaded its onset for years as the condition, which had been previously diagnosed, also affected family members.
Mr Anthony is able to carry on reading and writing using a specially adapted keyboard and software. The book is dedicated to his wife Alaine.
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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