PAUL WATERS

Books on the Broad with Paul Waters, 3 November 2008

We now have two novels by PAUL WATERS. Of Merchants and Heroes, which came out in 2008, was his first. Cast not the Day has just arrived (6 February 2009). Rome looms large in both of them.

In the first we stand on the hinges of change as the Republic’s long war with Carthage draws to its close only to give way to threats from Macedonia. On a more personal level, the gentle mystical influence of Greece is beginning to transform the daily lives of young cultured Romans.

In the second we are faced with the Empire’s tumultuous 4th century as experienced on the islands of Britannia where, into the void created by the withdrawal of the legions seeking glory nearer home, surge the stormtroops of the bishops eager to destroy the temples and the fellowship of the Old Gods who have served the people so long and so well.

If love and the creation of beauty are the keynotes of the first novel, then hate and tearing apart are the whirlpools of the second.

Paul Waters writes with knowledge and understanding. Times which now are distant come alive for us with his words on the page. We look forward to his next novel – and the next and the next.

© francis cameron
oxford, 1 february 2009