Philip Matyszak writes a very good narrative history of the campaigns in this book. There are good campaign maps and battlefield diagrams, something that is often missing in books covering this period. This book is for the general reader and he tells a great story.

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Balkan Wargamer

This book is a terrific read. Even though it is only 180 pages long, (plus references, maps, picture section etc), I found it richly rewarding. It is not quick reading. It kept me going for almost 2 weeks, where I normally devour a book in 2-3 days. I often needed to re-read sections, to adequately grasp the details. The language is mostly precise and articulate, peppered with humorous but appropriate modern jargon (e.g. p155 “Mithridates had left several juicy castles stuffed with treasure”).

Incidents which are based on less reliable sources are identified, and the author offers personal interpretations which seem quite believable. The summing up of the epilogue was particularly useful.

The book is intended for the general reader rather than the academic but I suspect that it might be confusing if the reader does not have some familiarity with the history of late republican Rome. Eg. It would be an advantage if the reader knows something of characters such as Sulla, Pompey and Sertorius. The 13 page introduction is an excellent summary of the situation of the Mediterranean world in the first century BC and should not be skipped over.

8/10

John Viggers, Freelance