Rome, 77 AD. Darius Drusus, just fifteen, has allowed his smouldering rage at his abusive centurion father to flare up into a blaze of emotion. An attempt to protect his mother goes wrong and he finds he must now flee home, leaving his father for dead.
Arriving in the port town of Ostia, Darius is convinced his destiny lies in his own hands, but all that changes upon meeting an old ropemaker called Ambrus who has been waiting for him these past fifty years…
In an epic tale, Darius discovers he is to become the Auctoratus, the volunteer gladiator, who together with Ambrus and ex-slave Tertius form a triumvirate of friends who are put on a path to rescue the world from evil.
Never before told story of angels, gladiators, demons and adventures which force the fate of humankind into the hands of the Auctoratus.
From the heart of a boy comes the strength of a man. Book description
Auctoratus, the Volunteer Gladiator is a young adult fantasy novel. I did not realize this while reading the novel. The story gripped me sufficiently that I was totally unaware that I was reading a book designed for the teenage market. The story follows young Darius whose life is turned upside down with an act of justified violence that leads him onto a journey that totally reshapes is life. When Ambrus, a ropemaker, takes him under his protection. Darius finds his life turned into a roller coaster ride of adventure and violence as he trains to become a gladiator.
The story is told from the 3rd person point of view, giving depth to the storyline. The Characters were well written and three dimensional so much so that even the supporting characters came to life. What I enjoyed most was the humorous interaction between Darius, Ambrus and Tertius which had me laughing throughout most of the book. The author’s comedic timing was fantastic and really makes the story that much more enjoyable. It is within these relationships that Darius and his companions find their strength to overcome even the most difficult of obstacles. As this is the first book in the series we really see Darius evolve from a teenager into man with the help of his companions.
The book was well written and had a modern day feel to the dialogue and was easy to read. The plot is complex and very intricate with its many different fantasy elements, which at times left me a bit confused and wondering how the author was going to brings things together. However, as I continued to read the sub plots were revealed which give more depth to the story and brought everything together nicely. Since this is the first book in the series I knew the story would continue in the second novel and when I finished this book I wanted the next book in my hands! I was left hanging and wanting to know how things played out.
The only thing that I found lacking was the Kindle formatting, there were large gaps in-between the paragraphs and it was hard to tell where the chapters finished and started. This book is now available in paperback as well.
This book is a fun and heartwarming story and I highly recommend it for all ages. I enjoyed this so much that I want my 11 year old son to read this. I know he will find it quite enjoyable and exciting to read. With that said I give this book 4 stars, the formatting issues subtracting from an otherwise great novel.
4 Stars!
You may find Robert Young here :http://www.auctoratus.com/
Reviewed by Witchofthemists.
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