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Reviews of Get Out or Die |
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Published December 2003 Jane
Finnis' story is told through
the eyes of Roman businesswoman Aurelia Marcella who doesn't understand
why anyone would object to being part of
the far flung empire. This is a fast paced action backed historical
conspiracy thriller that readers will find fascinating due to the perspectives of the cast. Jane Finnis has definitely succeeded in rooting
the narrative in Roman Britain - from the interesting and refreshing
imagined viewpoint of a colonist who feels herself to have acquired
roots in the new province. I noted the care over linguistic and
archaeological details; but perhaps the most important thing is that the
overall impression is vivid and convincing, thanks to a lively but
disciplined use of historical imagination. In Finnis's lively debut, a Roman historical set in northern Britain
in 91 A.D., ill-fated legionnaires contend with a ruthless band of guerrillas seeking
to rid their homeland of unwanted occupiers….. Aurelia is engaging as the resourceful
narrator-turned-detective....the plot is timely as conquerors seek to impose
civilization on a barbarian culture that doesn't appreciate the new roads and
government or the increase in commerce. What gives Jane Finnis' first novel a special edge of interest is that it's set in 91 A.D. in the Roman province of Britannia.....Some of the natives are becoming restless,
and the headless bodies of Roman
soldiers are being found, decorated with discs of
bone bearing an ominous message: "All Romans Will Be Killed.
Get Out Or Die." This gives Finnis the chance to mix history,
mystery and mayhem – always a lively brew in good hands – with
flashes of wit about local customs. (" `How are things in the
kitchen? Did you manage to liven up that cow's meat stew?'" Aurelia
asks her sister, Albia. " `Yes,' " she answers, " `Cook
added some extra herbs and it's quite tasty now. I don't think cow's
meat will ever be anyone's idea of a delicacy, but the natives seem to
like it' " – thus
setting the stage for the roast beef of Old England and mad cow
hysteria.)
This rather breezy novel takes place in an inn or
mansio on the road to Eburacum operated by two Italian women (but
technically owned by their brother who was a Roman soldier detached to
the secret service.)....They became aware of native discontent when
Aurelia stumbled over a body outside the inn early one morning....
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This
is an excellent book, gripping, with an excellent plot and wonderfully
realised characters. The narrator of this mystery, set in Brigantia in
Northern England in 91 AD, pulled me into her story immediately with her
lively and engaging voice. Aurelia Marcella is in charge of a mansio, a
guest-house and posting station, about 15 miles from what is now York.
Her father brought his family to this area a dozen years before, after
the eruption of Vesuvius destroyed their home in Pompeii. Normally the
Oak Tree Mansio does a good business, but all of a sudden terror strikes
the neighbourhood with the discovery of a wounded man, left for dead,
and a beheaded man. More headless corpses, all Romans, begin to appear,
just as young Brigante warriors start to flex their muscles. The terror
escalates as reports of a man in a skull mask begin to circulate, and
warnings are left to Romans to "get out or die." A
good piece of historical fiction is capable of evoking an epoch long
forgotten to all but historians. Expertly detailed and well researched,
historical texts should have the ability to transport readers back to an
age they had perhaps never considered, where customs, dress, manner,
speech, and day-to-day activities all work to create a long-lost
tableau. Throw in a few dead bodies and a determined female sleuth, and
you just might get Jane Finnis’s first novel, GET OUT OR DIE. The diverse cast of characters at the fringes of
the empire--basically an expat community--includes soldiers, spies,
Druids, slaves, an entrepreneur from Gaul, a former Neronian courtier
and a social-climbing local chief who at times seems more Roman than the
Romans. History buff Jane Finnis shares her fascination with Roman history in
a new series set in the area near present-day York, England. In the year 91,
this is a frontier province, a sometimes uneasy mix of Roman settlers and
conquered Britons. There's an interesting premise here. We aren't too sympathetic
to colonizers any more, and here's a story told from a Roman point of
view. It is a given that the Roman invasion was a good thing, that the
"barbarian" natives ought to be grateful for the civilizing
effect of Rome, and that slavery is natural and reasonable. It takes a
little getting used to. Once past that hurdle, there is an interesting
story…We have the advantage of history to know that the Britons did
not repel the Romans, but it is interesting to immerse oneself in a
colony that fears it will be ousted. |