I like alternative histories, it is a completely unmined field of novel entertainment, if done right. This one is done terribly wrong. Apparently the Romans have both constructed spaceships but those appear still like rowboats completely with chain anchors. The poor crew has resort to using parchment because their charts aren't digital, even though consoles light up in the background. If that wasn't enough the writing is so convoluted with ever changing perspectives that I had to go back every few sentences to make sure I had read everything correctly. ( )

Wonderful!

Very good second act. Left wanting a sequel! The science is solid and the history is intriguing. Cliff hanger at the end! ( )

I couldn't follow the story. It's like watching a pro ball game - you could have a long afternoon nap after the first inning, and when you wake up, the game is still going and the score's still even. A lot is going on, but nothing. ( )

Peplumpunk no thanks

Not as good as its predecessor [b: Proxima|17983396|Proxima|Stephen Baxter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375157355s/17983396.jpg|25216071], but I avoided the audiobook this time because the last time it was just that bad. Reading this on paper was a lot easier than listening to that awful fake accent.

The story is about characters who kind of get transferred into an alternative reality after a catastrophic event at the end of the first book - they end up in a world where Rome never fell, and Imperial Rome lasted into the modern day. That's completely ludicrous, in a word, but "Romans in space" is interesting as high-concept sci-fi, so I let that slide. It gets even more batshit further into the novel, though: they later end up in a world where Inca is the dominant culture, and they've relocated off-world to a spinning tube in the sky... yet the inhabitants are mostly described as primitive farmers and superstitious. Then the world ends with a sudden heat-death when they travel to Ultima, which is actually the same as Proxima - the concept was explained and backed up with some statistical reasoning (apparently it's a real thing), but I didn't buy the argument. Just as in the earlier book, they have to circumnavigate to the dark side of the planet for some reason.

Also, I didn't like several of the characters. There wasn't really any character development over the novel, and the Romans were entirely interchangeable except for one with a distinctive tic - which he only develops in the later chapters.

I much preferred Proxima's storyline. I got into it near the end, though, and read about a third of the book in one sitting, more than usual. So it certainly has its ups and downs. ( )