South of Burnt Rocks West of the Moon - Softcover

Berger, G J

4.46

48 ratings by Goodreads

9780988398214: South of Burnt Rocks West of the Moon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0988398214 ISBN 13: 9780988398214

Publisher: G. J. Berger, 2012

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After three great wars, Rome has crushed Carthage. Now the undefended riches of Iberia beckon--gold, tin, olives, wine, and healthy young bodies to enslave. Burnt Rocks tells the story of Lavena, last child of the strongest remaining Iberian tribal leader at a time when Rome plunders and loots her land. At times helped only by her father's favorite dog, a special horse, or guided by spirits of the earth and sky, she strives to unite her people and oust the Roman menace. Based on real characters, places, and events, Burnt Rocks recreates that shadowy history--and eternal human nature rubbed raw.

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About the Author:

When G. J. was eight, his mom told him the story of Hannibal crossing the Alps with elephants and a great army. He asked her what happened to Hannibal after that. Mom didn't know, but he was hooked, had to find out, had to write about it.

G. J. spent much of his young life on the road and at sea. often working as a crew member on a tramp steamer. Wherever his travels took him, old walls, canals, even storage holes deep in the ground, made him wonder about how they got there, about the people who built them, how they lived and got along.
The result is this and two other novels-to-be wherein the places, the history, even some of the "Burnt Rocks" characters do and did exist.

When not writing, G. J. tries to roam around the places he writes about, likes to sit and soak up the times back then and bring them to modern life in his stories. G. J. is convinced that for all the changes in last 2000 years, people loved and hated, suffered and rejoiced, destroyed and built the same ways then as they do today.

G. J. lives in San Diego with his favorite grammarian and English Professor. They visit their two sons and grandson as often as the kids will have them.

Review:

"A wonderfully crafted balance of Roman-era drama and the fierceness of battle." - Kirkus Reviews

Winner--best Published Historical Fiction for 2012. San Diego Book Awards, June 22, 2013.

"[W]ell researched and engrossing novel . . . .
A well-drawn cast of Roman characters helps to flesh out the occupiers into conflicted and sometimes sympathetic counterweights to Lavena and her comrades, and the author's short Notes appendix does a great job orienting readers not familiar with the time period . . . .
Berger does an excellent job of conveying the feelings of the characters as both oppressed and oppressors and really succeeds in bringing this time period alive.
Recommended." Historical Novel Society Review, Aug. 1, 2015

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