Etched in Starlight is a novel featuring the converging historical paths of two people of the first century CE. One is a Roman legionnaire, Maxentius, the other a Jewish physician named Hannah. Their fates collide in 66 CE when Jewish rebels attack the Roman fortress of Masada to challenge Rome’s occupation of Judea.
Maxentius is the prototype Roman soldier. He’s organized, disciplined, professional, and good at leading men in combat. Hannah is not a prototype physician. She’s a woman, first of all, who learns medicine from her uncle. She has no interest in marriage. Instead, she cares about healing the sick and injured. Her home of Jerusalem has plenty of both when groups of Jewish zealots contest Rome’s control of the city.
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Evaluation of Etched in Starlight
Etched in Starlight is the second of Chapel’s books about ancient Rome that I’ve read, and like the first, I applaud her for a story about Roman history that isn’t the standard one. Instead of the Colosseum and gladiators, the reader gets Rome’s eastern frontier. Instead of Caesar and another “Great Man” story, we read through the eyes of a mid-level officer and a doctor. This is refreshing.
Of the two main characters, Hannah gets a little more attention and seems a bit more developed as a person. Most readers will connect with her passion for healing the sick and her pain when it doesn’t work. She, like Maxentius, has strong principles, and stands for those principles admirably.
I did wish I knew a little more about Maxentius. He had a bit less dialogue and I didn’t feel I knew his personal thoughts (outside of military organization) as well as Hannah’s. By the middle of the book, I was pretty sure where the ending would take me (which I won’t spoil), so a few more twists to get there might up the drama in the story a little more.
Who Might Enjoy the Book
Readers of fiction set in Rome or the ancient world generally are the prime audience, no doubt. Etched in Starlight does a nice job of taking readers off the main path of Roman historical fiction. However, even if fiction about Rome isn’t your thing, you might take a look at this book anyway. It has plenty of history, but mostly avoids becoming a lesson, so readers who like to focus on the story won’t get bogged down.
In addition, although the assault on the fortress of Masada is the central event that moves the plot forward, this isn’t a blood and guts book. Other than the unavoidable need to describe the injuries that Hannah treats, Etched in Starlight isn’t about gore and battles. So, if you want to see fresh blood spilled each chapter, you might pass. But if you want a story that focuses on characters and has a dash of romance thrown in, you might enjoy Etched in Starlight.
To check out my other recent reviews, please read:
Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
The Premonition, by Michael Lewis
Spectacle, by Pamela Newkirk
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