Spartacus: Swords and Ashes(Spartacus)

Spartacus: Swords and Ashes(Spartacus)
by J.M. Clements
This review is also available on Cornerfolds!
So I am a HUGE Spartacus fan. I'm rewatching it now for the third time and, let me tell you, I'm still pretty
devastated that it's over. When I found out there were a couple novels that went along with the series, I was
thrilled! The first one, Swords and Ashes, is set between episodes 1x07 and 1x08, and really went out of its way to
explain a few things.
The book begins with Batiatus, Lucretia, Ilithyia, Spartacus, Varro, and Barca heading to the home of Pelorus, a
lanista friend of Batiatus who has died by a slave's hand, for his funeral and games. According to custom, all of the
slaves in the household must die and are set to be put to death in the arena. While there is a ton of action and
killing (obviously), there is actually a lot of unexpected depth to this story. There is a scheme which is slowly
uncovered by Batiatus with the help of Spartacus. There are obviously some uncomfortable situations in the book
- look at the source material! - but they weren't there just for the shock value and actually added to the story.
Language of the world of Spartacus abounds in this book and is easily my favorite part of the entire series! Best
line in the book:
"And what of it to you, if his funeral passes without remark?"
"'I care not a shit for his departure from this world,' Batiatus said..."
Bahaha! I died! Seriously, Spartacus is not for the faint of heart!
The characters, while already having obvious personalities on the TV show, were even more developed and we
The characters, while already having obvious personalities on the TV show, were even more developed and we
really get an unusual look inside the relationship between gladiator and lanista. Watching the friendly banter
between Spartacus and Varro was both wonderful and gut-wrenching. I didn't want that part of the book to end! It
was also really interesting to go back in time to Spartacus' pre-slave life and get a glimpse into the battle between
him and the Getae. It comes full circle as his relationship with the Medea, the Getae "witch" who killed Pelorus,
progresses. She really provides a lot of insight and foreshadowing to the events that occur in later seasons of
Spartacus.
It was really fascinating to read this in conjunction with the course I'm taking on Augustus this semester. There
were familiar characters such as Cicero and it was a lot of fun to kind of put a personality with the name. I will
admit, though, that it took a long time to finish this one because I was getting a little burned out by all the Roman
material.
Those who are unfamiliar may be pretty lost with this one, but I would definitely recommend Spartacus: Swords
and Ashes to anyone who is already a fan!|
When I happened upon this first novel related to the "Spartacus" series running on Starz, I was taken aback. How
exactly was a series known for its stylized visuals and narrative excess going to translate into a novel? It would be
all too easy to tell a conventional, watered-down tale in the "Spartacus" universe, especially if the final product
was meant to appeal to a more general audience. Yet, I was intrigued, and decided to give it a go.
I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is the dark and gritty nature of the series well represented by the story, but all
of the elements that make "Spartacus" work are right there on the page. The author holds nothing back. Yes, that
means that sex, violence, and general vulgarity are part of the equation. But it also means that all of the layered
exploration of Roman society and its ugly realities is soaked into every scene.
It's not what one expects out of the typical media tie-in novel, because usually, those tie-ins are related to
franchises that have to be conscious of mass appeal. This is a book meant for fans of the show. And since this is
set during a very specific period of the first season, Quintus Batiatus is front and center, in all his profane glory.
Let's just say that the dialogue is perfectly attuned to the style of the series!
It's not all bread and circuses, of course, because underneath it all is an ongoing debate over the role of slaves in
Roman society. The historical context of the time period is mentioned often, including previous slave revolts and
the then-recent inclusion of broader Italian families into the Roman patrician class. The author assumes that the
reader will be capable of absorbing the finer details, and if nothing else, it's a nice exercise in melding the
historical with the fictional.
Perhaps appropriately, the author spends a great deal of time with the character of Varro, exploring the
ramifications of his decision to go from Roman citizen to slave for the good of his family. This is captured on
several levels, including one scene that just might have been the most uncomfortable thing I've read in a long
time. Let the reader beware: while the book is representative of its source material, that means that it doesn't hold
back in any respect.
So the question becomes: how much would I recommend this book? For "Spartacus" fans, it all depends on how
much the visual element of the show matters to one's enjoyment. Clearly, this is all about story and character, so if
the lack of visuals would be a detriment, this is probably not for you. For fans looking for a different kind of
"Spartacus" story, this might fit the bill. And with the recent news that "Spartacus" will be ending with the third
season, not airing until January 2013, this might be a good way to get an extra fix in the meantime.
|Detaylı İnceleme İçin: http://bookowski101.blogspot.com/2014...
Evet, biliyoruz ki bazı efsaneler kanla yazılır...
M.Ö. 71 yılda Roma'dayız. Batiatus Hane'sinin en güçlü gladyatörü, Capua Şampiyonu Spartaküs ve diğer
gladyatörler, köleleri tarafından vahşice öldürülen Pelorus Hane'sinin sahibi Pelorus'u onurlandırmak için yapılan
arena gösterilerine giderler. Pek tabii ki Marcus Gaius Glaber'in eşi Ilithya da, Batiatus'un eşi Lucretia da bu macera
gladyatörler, köleleri tarafından vahşice öldürülen Pelorus Hane'sinin sahibi Pelorus'u onurlandırmak için yapılan
arena gösterilerine giderler. Pek tabii ki Marcus Gaius Glaber'in eşi Ilithya da, Batiatus'un eşi Lucretia da bu macera
da yerini alacaktır. Ama asıl oyun Pelorus öldükten sonra onun mallarını kimin alacağı üzerine oynanır. Bu oyunda
özgürlüğünü kazanmış bir azatlı olan Timarchides, Verres ve Batiatus vardır. Ölen Pelorus ise Timarchides
arasındaki yakınlık(!) öne sürülerek malların Timarchides'e geçmesi öngörülür. Varro da bu yakınlığın kanıtlanması
için kurban verilir. Ancak gerçekten de Pelorus ve Timarchides o şekilde bir yakınlık yaşamışlar mıydı? Bunu
çözmek de bizim asil Romalı sorgucumuz Cicero'ya düşer.
Söylemeliyim ki kitap gerçekten akıcı, dizisini aratmıyor. Spartaküs'ün dingin zekası ve güçlülüğü yine ön planda.
Ve karısı Sura'ya kavuşmak için yapmayacağı şey yok... Varro ise bir diğer sevdiğim karakterdi ancak bir süre sonra
ne yazık ki bir istismara maruz kalıyor, o kısım üzücü idi. Aslına bakılırsa kölelik sistemi, lanistalar (gladyatör
yetiştiren ve onları pazarlayanlar), dominuslar, azatlılar, vahşet, o zamanın yaşam şekli bu kitap ile oldukça gerçekçi
bir şekilde yansıtılmış. Spartaküs'ü ve Köle İsyanını hepimiz az çok biliriz, işte bu kitap ile her ne kadar kurgu olsa
da dönemin koşullarının nasıl olduğunu, sahiplerin köleleri nasıl kullandığını vs. görüyoruz.
Kitabın başında "Andy Whitfield için" yazısını okuyunca da boğazınıza bir düğüm takılmaması işten değil tabii...
Ve söylemeden geçemeyeceğim, şu kitapları redakte eden ve son okumasını yapan kişiler biraz daha özenli olsalar
ve editör de buna son bir kez bakıp öyle basıma gönderse hiç fena olmaz. Bir yerde Kalafat diye geçen sözcük bir
yerde Malafat diye geçmiş mesela. Tırnak işareti açılmış, kapanmamış. Tanrısal anlatım kısmına tırnak işareti
konmuş vesaire. Bunlar okuma sürecinin akıcılığını bozan ve insanı okumadan soğutan şeyler. Lütfen biraz dikkat...
Serinin devamını merakla bekliyorum, diziyi zaten "Ah Yağmur Getiren ah!" şeklinde kapatmıştım, bu seri de zevkle
ama sonunda hüzünle okunacak gibi görünüyor. Dizideki karakterlerin olması da ayrı bir hoşluk :)|This wasn't too
bad. I wouldn't have named the antagonist Verres when one of the protagonists is named Varro, but that may just
be me. A bit slow at the start, but it had a decent end, but on the whole in keeping with the series. And that may
well be the problem with the book - because it takes place in the midst of the series (after Spartacus summoned
the rain but just before Sura arrives), nothing can happen that changes the situation for any of the characters they cannot leave the story any better or any worse off than they came in because the book cannot be made
necessary to the show. Any growth or character arc must, perforce, be on characters not seen in the show - which
isn't why one picks up a book based on a show! Still, the author captured the sounds and personalities of the
characters, and the tone of the show fairly well.|Hopefully this will be as good as the TV show