The Procurator Trilogy
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The Procurator Trilogy
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Procurator
by
Kirk Mitchell
An extraordinarily long-lived and static Roman Empire has entered the machine age but with another erratic Julian Emperor and facing revolts around its edges. In the East we follow a procurator, Germanicus Julius (weren't Roman provincial governors like Germanicus called proconsuls instead?), struggling against fanatical Muslim-like terrorists with a psychic killing power. In the course of the novel Mitchell adds a fascinating religious layer to his military focus to develop an ultimately compelling and deep story. The initial atmosphere of the novel is gray, bleak, mechanized, and military. Some scenes are pretty horrifying. Yet Germanicus is involved in a crucial love triangle with his assistants, although the author did not first lead me to care much for those three. (The lady's motivation never did come clear: this book could use a prequel). But the dynamics of the novel require that eventually the three must make tragic choices. As we learn more of the rebels and their ideology this story remarkably rises into a gripping theological fantasy of transcendent change based on Jesus sayings forgotten in this alternative timeline. Mitchell's writing style is merely competent and the characters didn't evoke my sympathies until late in the story as the plot moved from the military onto a theological and dreamlike plane. In one of several wrenching dream scenes Germanicus even slips momentarily into our parallel world of 1944. |
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The New Barbarians
by
Kirk Mitchell
New Barbarians was a very sophisticated follow-up to Procurator. This is the tale of Caesar Germanicus's harrowing exploits across the sea, dealing with the Aztecans of the wild Novo Provinces. What impressed me the most was Mitchell's skill at showcasing a variety of races and cultures in one powerful story. Besides Romans and Aztecans, we have Antiochians, Indee, Anasazi, Germans, Sericans, and Nihonians. And all are vital to the plot. As in Procurator, we have betrayal counterbalanced by unwavering allegiance; we have politics and military strategy shaping the story, we have mysticism in the form of dreams and visions alongside the alternate-Rome version of cutting-edge science; and we have romance. Germanicus has a new love, an Anasazi woman, but should he gamble so many lives to lay siege to the Aztecan city where she is held prisoner as a potential human sacrifice--for Germanicus is not certain there is another reason to fight these battles in a strange territory. All he really wants is to be back in Rome, doing the unthinkable: changing an Empire into a Republic. But it seems the woman must be saved... |
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Cry Republic
by
Kirk Mitchell
This fine adventure story wraps up Kirk Mitchell's "Procurator" trilogy. The first book ("Procurator") introduced Germanicus Agricola, military governor of Anatolia, serving in the name of a Roman Empire that never fell. In the next book, Germanicus travelled to the New World, to make war with the bellicose Aztec Empire, and their enigmatic Chinese allies. Throughout his career, however, Germanicus had only one goal: the dismantling of the Empire, and the ultimate restoration of the legendary Republic.Alas, the tradition-minded Empire has little room for idealists. Germanicus, his plot detected before it can reach fruition, is forced to flee East in fear for his life. Meanwhile, a cruel usurper seizes the Roman throne, determined to profit from the chaos. A bloodthirsty and paranoid tyrant, he ruthlessly goes about the task of eliminating his rivals. His main target, inevitably, is Germanicus. Germanicus himself makes his way to Anatolia, in the desperate hope of finding allies, or, more probably, a peaceful death. He finds more than he could have expected, however. For in the East, away from the pagan heartland of the Empire, monotheism has survived through the milennia. And now, both the Jews of Palestine and the Muslim-like Anatolians see something special in this _pasa_ from the West, something which may forever change the course of events, both temporal and spiritual. This book, like the previous ones, provides a satisfying mixture of alternate history and theological fantasy. The timeline is not particularly plausible (the Imperial structure has apparently survived almost completely unchanged for two thousand years), but the static and conservative empire, straining on the brink of a major technological revolution, makes a fascinating setting. An excellent concluding book. |
