After Rome is the story of Britain after the Roman soldiers left around 410 AD. The civilization that everyone is used to begins crumbling, and soon it becomes every man for himself. Cadogan and Dinas are cousins with a complicated family past and very different personalities. Dinas wants to get what he can from the lack of civilization. He begins recruiting men to become pirates. The riches he gains will then allow him to become king in a land where any ambitious leader could grab the right to be king. Cadogan takes a leadership role reluctantly when the Saxon army burns his hometown, and he becomes the de facto leader of the remaining citizens. They start life over in the wilderness, learning how to do everything on their own.
I’ve typically enjoyed books by Morgan Llywelyn, and this one was no different. She researches thoroughly and creates realistic characters that grab your interest. My only feeling of dissatisfaction with After Rome is the rushed ending. Forty pages from the end I was wondering if this was simply the first book in a series; there was so much story line to go, if told at the pace of the rest of the book. But nope! – it was all wrapped up by the time the pages ran out. It felt much too rushed to me. There was much more story potential there. It almost seemed as if Llywelyn got tired of writing the stories of these characters. Other than that, this book gave a great picture of what Britain would have been like in a time period that hasn’t been written about much. It was an enjoyable and occasionally amusing read.
I’ve typically enjoyed books by Morgan Llywelyn, and this one was no different. She researches thoroughly and creates realistic characters that grab your interest. My only feeling of dissatisfaction with After Rome is the rushed ending. Forty pages from the end I was wondering if this was simply the first book in a series; there was so much story line to go, if told at the pace of the rest of the book. But nope! – it was all wrapped up by the time the pages ran out. It felt much too rushed to me. There was much more story potential there. It almost seemed as if Llywelyn got tired of writing the stories of these characters. Other than that, this book gave a great picture of what Britain would have been like in a time period that hasn’t been written about much. It was an enjoyable and occasionally amusing read.
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