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Readers > Severan Prophecies > Comments And Reviews
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Comments And Reviews
"This is not your mother's Roman historical."
--- ForemostPress.com
The Severan Prophecies is the latest feather in the cap of highly talented writer David Chacko. At home in Istanbul, Mr. Chacko is a world traveler who is intimately familiar with various cultures and also the times that both culture and religion clash. Thus far he has penned 14 novels which all have reached high acclaim; his genres vary although crime and mystery are central to each and every one.
The Severan Prophecies details the rise and fall of Varius Avitus Bassianus (a.k.a. Elagabalus or Heliogabalus) who is colloquially referred to as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (but should not be confused with the previous emperor of that name). His disregard of Roman society in general and religion and traditions in particular were his undoing, and while the public may have forgiven him a lot, the defilement of their sacred vestiges would not be tolerated. His story of ascent and later dethroning is told as a narrative by the possibly fictitious Marcellus Decimus (he may be based on the figure of Ulpius Marcellus) who saw to it that he became emperor and later on also saw to his unseating.
The Severan Prophecies is an amazing work of fiction. While I must confess that I initially disagreed with some of the historical facts used in the narrative, I later came to appreciate the thorough research the author has undergone to prove his claims and gratefully stand corrected. Mr. Chacko’s ability to paint a vivid picture of the Severan dynasty is unparalleled. Intrigue, excesses, but also the vicious grasping for power that would divide families and turn children against their parents and vice versa are part and parcel of this novel. This is not a feel-good novel which speaks of the courtly love of virtuous Roman maidens and hard-boiled Roman centurions; instead, it speaks from the perspective of a military man to whom honor matters. It describes his disgust with that which is but also his hope for that which he can change.
It is in many ways a sobering piece of writing that will leave the classically trained reader unsettled for the fact that it squarely points at the futility of the blood filled intrigues and ultimate sacrifices made by many. At the same time, it is entertaining and fast paced, and even if you have never read anything remotely historical in nature, you will not be disappointed or bored. Highly recommended!
Sylvia Cochran
RoundTableReviews.com
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THE SEVERAN PROPHECIES: A Novel of the Roman Empire
Using the destruction of the Druids, namely the prophecies of one Druid to the Roman emperor Caracalla, as the prologue to the story, this book is about the rise and fall of the glory of the Roman Empire in the late 2nd to the early 3rd centuries. It tells of the assassination of Caracalla, how a questor named Marcellus Decimus Julius was given the task of safeguarding the emperor’s family, and how a young boy named Varius was given the task to restore his family’s dynasty.
The narrative is told throughout by Marcellus, and it is a bloody and unrelenting tale of intrigue, political maneuvers, and greedy friends and relatives. From Syria to various locales throughout the Roman Empire, the prophecy of the Blue Man regarding the family of Caracalla slowly marches to its gory and tragic end. The author draws the reader into Marcellus’s various encounters as he watches events unfold as the prophecy was told, and yet how little was truly known when the story is over. This is a very enchanting and wonderfully written novel.
Brad Eden
HistoricalNovelSociety.org
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The Severan Prophecies by David Chacko is billed as "...it's not your mother's Roman historical novel." Well, I concur, for it's also a keen study of brainwashing, indoctrination, innocence trampled upon and corrupted in cold-blood with wide-reaching, tragic results. In addition, it is informative and entertaining, appealing to both male and female readers. Chacko's writing style is fast, fluid, and robust. Once I began reading it, I found it hard to put down, in fact, I could not stop until 3:30 a.m.
The action is chock-full of testosterone, battle scenes, political intrigues, unbridled sex, mysterious but bloody rituals, wild palace shenanigans, a close look into the competing religious cults (the Sun God, the Moon Goddess, and Christianity in its infancy) of the time, also a subtly told, tender love story, tested and strained loyalties, memorable characters such as the Druid seer called Blue Man who sets the tone of the tale in its opening pages, and so much more.
Once you open the pages of this novel, be ready to lose yourself in David Chacko's dynamic Roman world. The narrator of the tale, Marcellus Decimus, is a crusty Roman, intelligent, brave and loyal, a hero worthy of rooting for.
Young Varius, of the Severan dynasty, who at the tender age of fourteen takes on the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and becomes the Emperor of the World, is a sympathetic character. He is a bright, tender-hearted, handsome young boy, who starts out with great promise but is manipulated and corrupted mercilessly not only by sycophants but by his nearest and dearest for their own agenda. I found his devotion to his One God believably told and was touched by it. His descent into gender confusion with results that destroyed so many lives, was believable as well, and haunting.
The Severan Prophecies is a satisfying, five-star read. Especially if you like novels that offer more than entertainment, but are educative as well as thought-provoking. David Chacko will not disappoint you.
Kristina O'Donnelly,
author of Korinna,
a novel of Ancient Greece, Rome, and Anatolia
http://ladyliterature.com
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David Chacko's fourteenth novel, The Severan Prophecies, is an exciting and convincing narrative of one of strangest and most misunderstood figures in ancient history. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was fourteen years old when he ascended to the throne and eighteen when he died, but during his brief period of public life he set the Roman world afire.
The story is told by a high-ranking professional soldier named Marcellus, whose career parallels the four emperors of the Severan dynasty. Beginning in Brittania in the last days of the reign of Septimus Severus, the story shadows the bloody continuation as his demented son Caracalla assumes the throne. When the narrative leaps to Syria, we learn of Caracalla's assassination. The sudden jeopardy of the members of the royal family who remain alive propels a headlong race for survival.
The restoration of the dynasty becomes their goal. Marcellus leads the young boy Varius into a storm of intrigue, action, and finally battle that ends with the defeat of the usurper Macrinus outside Antioch. Thus does teenage Varius become Lord of the World.
All the settings in the Middle East and Europe are well rendered by Chacko, who lives in the places where the story passes. The characters are even more sharply drawn, a real feat when passing from rulers in their puberty to beautiful mothers who will do anything to keep their place at court to grandmothers who are the real power behind the throne. The political maneuvers grow to Machiavellian heights as the young emperor devotes most of his time to administering the spiritual needs of his empire-wide flock and his own pleasure.
Finally he runs amok, careening from the outrageous to the fantastic while he commands Marcellus to implement his needs. The havoc that a boy in the prime of his adolescence visits on the empire is furious. It's enough to say that the end is bloody and the few bodies that will finally stand are the shocked remnants of his royal family and his friend nearly to the end, Marcellus.
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"Chacko's descriptions and characters are so utterly vivid, you'll feel you're there amidst the action in ancient Rome." --- ForemostPress.com
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