⇒ [PDF] Bear and the Wolf eBook Ruth Downie SJA Turney

Bear and the Wolf eBook Ruth Downie SJA Turney

Download As PDF : Bear and the Wolf eBook Ruth Downie SJA Turney

Bear and the Wolf eBook Ruth Downie SJA Turney

I haven’t read any books by either author, so when I saw this short story I thought it would be a good way to try them out (as it were). The synopsis gives readers the basic outline, but can the authors follow through to give a good story when the book is only eighty-nine pages? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’.

The story is set in Britannia in A.D. 210, about a hundred and sixty-six years after the first Romans landed on Britannia’s soil, and yet the Romans still can’t afford to relax as there are pockets of unrest by the Britons, especially those who live on the other side of what is now called Hadrian’s Wall.

There are some wonderfully descriptive passages of the terrain that are so well done I could see them and shudder or admire accordingly. I didn’t find the two main protagonists, Brigius and Senna to be completely rounded, but the broad brush strokes characteristics of the Numidian cavalry and the Second Infantry are extremely well done. Caracalla, the only historical person in the story is very well portrayed in a few sentences.

I could see the ending coming and found it very nerve-wracking waiting for the climax, but the Epilogue soon settled jangled nerves.

I am glad I bought this book and it will be one I read again when I feel like a short story rather than a novel.
It is very well-written and edited and was easy reading.


Tags : Amazon.com: Bear and the Wolf eBook: Ruth Downie, S.J.A. Turney: Kindle Store,ebook,Ruth Downie, S.J.A. Turney,Bear and the Wolf,Victrix Books,Fiction Historical,Fiction Short Stories

Bear and the Wolf eBook Ruth Downie SJA Turney Reviews

Entertaining historical fiction in ancient Britain.. Romans and Britains clashing beyond the wall with surprising results. Well written and proofread.
Waste of money. Interesting but too short. Styles between authors disjointed and disrupted continuity. Maybe the authors think the readers are gullible to accept this curtailed account.
I very good read, for anyone who loves Roman historical fiction. My only complaint is the story is just to short, by the time the author develops the plot it is finished. Takes about two hours to read and I thought where is the rest of it. But it was real entertaining.
One of the most difficult tasks for a writer is to compress a novel into a short story. Such a challenge is even greater when writers share the task.

Downie and Turney pull this off brilliantly.

She does the set up. It must have been fun for Turney to take this beginning and find a way to deepen the characters and close in a very satisfying way.

While this is a novella it satisfies like a novel. Our characters are well rounded. They have an almost impossible problem to solve. The entire issue comes to a very satisfactory conclusion that is beyond the readers ability to anticipate. It's like a good mystery story.

I loved the setting as well. I have been to Vindolanda many times and have trained at Otterburn nearby. They bring this desolate and beautiful landscape to life. They also bring the Fort, which had many iterations alive as well.

I also felt the fun that they had in collaboration. Their fun shines through.

The book offers anyone wondering what this genre is like a welcome introduction. Also to two of the greats in the genre.

Read this book!
Downie never fails, and in this case credit goes to her collaborator Turney. It's a story of an incident--which may be true--in Rome's efforts to conquer and pacify Britain and how the pressures, both personal and social, threaten to cause a massive war with bloodshed beyond anything seen since the original conquest.
We have egotistical Roman commanders, vicious and perhaps overrated Numidian cavalry, hotheads of the British tribes, a British man who's sworn to Rome in one of her legions, and his extraordinarily competent wife.
I can't give away the ending except to say, would that more such arrangements could be made.
Beautifully drawn background and characters.
I was not familiar with the author Ruth Downie, but I am a big fan of Mr. Turney, so I purchased this book.

The first few pages did not really pull me in, but I continued reading and began to get a good feel for this book. I liked it a lot. You very quickly get to know each character as the author presents them to you. The story was very compelling and my one complaint of the entire book is that it is really short. I read the entire thing in maybe two hours; I wanted more.

Downie writes the first part and Turney writes the second part. I found the transition between authors to be seamless and not at all awkward.

I would look forward to something similar from these authors in the future.
Very happily I stumbled upon this short novel by favorite author Ruth Downie and SJA (Simon) Turney while looking for some Anglo Saxon books. I did not realize there was such a book, but was very glad that she and Simon Turney had another collaboration. ( see " The Year of Ravens")

Here it is"A short story of love and danger on the empire's most hostile frontier..from two acclaimed authors of Historical Fiction "

It read like a full length novel with depth of character and plot as well as very accurate historical detail. A quite marvelous authors' note tells of "Prince" Caracalla son of the Emperor Severus who was violent and without scruples.

The setting is Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall, where Senna the main female character's tribe lived within a long day's walk. As a reader who has an anthropology degree and love this era, the landscape was meticulously described. "The Maeatae live next to the cross-wall ,which cuts the island in half", was how it has been explained, which suggests it is not the Antonine Wall .

Brigius, the main male character is Senna's man, of the Votadini tribe and a solider in the Second Nerviorum stationed at Vindolanda. There is a very intricate plot and a complex battle scene which I must reread now to get straight. ( I read too fast) I must also try to figure out which of Senn's family survive this event by rereading the battle.
I haven’t read any books by either author, so when I saw this short story I thought it would be a good way to try them out (as it were). The synopsis gives readers the basic outline, but can the authors follow through to give a good story when the book is only eighty-nine pages? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’.

The story is set in Britannia in A.D. 210, about a hundred and sixty-six years after the first Romans landed on Britannia’s soil, and yet the Romans still can’t afford to relax as there are pockets of unrest by the Britons, especially those who live on the other side of what is now called Hadrian’s Wall.

There are some wonderfully descriptive passages of the terrain that are so well done I could see them and shudder or admire accordingly. I didn’t find the two main protagonists, Brigius and Senna to be completely rounded, but the broad brush strokes characteristics of the Numidian cavalry and the Second Infantry are extremely well done. Caracalla, the only historical person in the story is very well portrayed in a few sentences.

I could see the ending coming and found it very nerve-wracking waiting for the climax, but the Epilogue soon settled jangled nerves.

I am glad I bought this book and it will be one I read again when I feel like a short story rather than a novel.
It is very well-written and edited and was easy reading.