Island of Ghosts

by Gillian Bradshaw

Ariantes is a Sarmatian, a barbarian warrior-prince, uprooted from his home and customs and thrust into the honorless lands of the Romans. The victims of a wartime pact struck with the emperor Marcus Aurelius to ensure the future of Sarmatia, Ariantes and his troop of accomplished horsemen are sent to Hadrian's Wall. Unsurprisingly, the Sarmatians hate Britain--an Island of Ghosts, filled with pale faces, stone walls, and an uneasy past.

Struggling to command his own people to defend a land they despise, Ariantes is accepted by all, but trusted by none. The Romans fear his barbarian background, and his own men fear his gradual Roman assimilation. When Ariantes uncovers a conspiracy sure to damage both his Roman benefactors and his beloved countrymen, as well as put him and the woman he loves in grave danger, he must make a difficult decision--one that will change his own life forever.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Roman Britain, Roman, Fantasy, British Literature

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Born in Arlington, Virgina, Gillian Bradshaw grew up in Washington, Santiago, Chile and Michigan. She is a Classics graduate from Newnham College, Cambridge, and published her first novel, Hawk of May, just before her final term. A highly acclaimed historical novelist, Gillian Bradshaw has won the Hopwood Award for Fiction, among other prizes. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and their four children.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Notes from first reading in 2017)
About as good as historical fiction gets. This might be my favorite Bradshaw so far. Not to be missed.

Reread notes, March 2024. Just as good as I recalled. Ariantes the warrior-prince is a remarkable main character, as he comes to terms with his new job, as leader of a troop of Sarmatian heavy cavalry, reassigned as border guards on Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain, in the 2nd century AD. This is a short, intense book. I had forgotten the strong religious-fantasy element (Druid) and a lovely dream-visit from Ariantes' dead wife and children. It's a bittersweet story of a remarkable clash of cultures. If you missed it, or if it's been awhile: well. About as good as historical fiction gets!

Chrisl's long review nearby may have more than you need to know, but it's all good stuff. For sure come back to it when you've finished the book.

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capitulated troops from the steppe in the east are sent to Britain to guard another frontier. At home they are declared dead, their wives widows, and they don’t believe in an island across the ocean, unless ghosts inhabit it.

So starts this story of cultural intersection. The captain Ariantes needs to learn Roman ways to look after the welfare of his troops – the only concern left to him now – but this is to Romanize, which he has no wish to do. The book is first person Ariantes and he came alive for me at once. He’s an extremely sympathetic character.

It’s a gently-told story. The Sarmatians’ old scalp collections are a great talking-point for the Romans, but Ariantes is weary of war, and though he’s matter-of-fact and unapologetic about scalps of the past he’s not here to take more. The first thing I noticed is what humanity she gives to Sarmatians – and then to unexpected Romans too. I’m such a believer that human decency was alive and well in the second century (not invented in the twentieth) that I can’t believe the complaint I’m about to make. As we went on I found the novel a little too gentle, too easily solved. People came around too soon. Not that it’s happy-happy – he knows his Sarmatians won’t be Sarmatians in a few years’ time, so we have that melancholy tinge.

[Chrisl · Rating 5 out of 5]

4/13/2020
This is one of Bradshaw's five best novels.
The voice telling the 'Island of Ghosts' belongs to one of three princes of Sarmatia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmatians
As with many of her other books, GB brings her characters very much to life for me, people from
lesser known areas of history and culture.
***
Her main character, the prince Ariantes, tells us about how Rome has sent three companies of heavy cavalry from the defeated nation across Europe to defend the Hadrian's Wall area of Britain. He is a natural administrator but can't read or write. The leader of Rome's British rulers give him a slave to be his scribe. Here's part of the scene, typical of her injections of cultural history:
page 50 -
"Natalis turn back to me with a forced smile. 'The truth of the matter is, I'd be glad if you'd take him off my hands,' he said, apparently realizing he had to explain the scene. 'He's a good, reliable scribe, but he's a Christian. I've overlooked that in the past, but there have been some demands in Gaul to stamp them out, and I don't want any scandal to attach to the office. He'd be all right in Britain. No one cares about the Christians there.
"'What is a Christian?' I asked, torn between pity for Eukairios and suspicion of Natalis at this admission that he wanted to get rid of the man.
"'A follower of an illegal cult. Christ was Jewish sophist crucified for sedition under the emperor Tiberius, and some of the Jews were stupid enough to decide that he was a god--and not just any god, but the Jewish god, who can't even be spoken of by name. The rest of the Jews naturally turned on them with all their usual ferocity toward blasphemers, so they went Greek, and now there are adherents of this lunacy in every city in the empire where Greeks are found. It appeals to slaves and riffraff, of course, not the better classes.'"

***
Frequently, for the old favorites, I like to search the web for book reviews to copy and paste ... here's one that appeals :

https://theidlewoman.net/2016/02/25/i...

"Hot on the heels of The Beacon at Alexandria, I turned my attention to the other Bradshaw novel I had lined up, and I’m delighted to say that Island of Ghosts proved to be equally enjoyable. Like Beacon it has a classical setting, this time in Roman Britain in 175 AD, and it’s written in the same easy, engaging style. Indeed, its protagonist is thoughtful and self-contained, much like Charis, and there are familiar themes of displacement and the difficulties of finding one’s path as an outsider.
This book reminded me of the importance of a good first line. ‘We mutinied when we reached the ocean‘. Who wouldn’t want to keep reading after that and find out the who, why, where and when?  It turns out that we are on the French shores of the English Channel in the reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and our narrator Ariantes is the princely commander of a troop of Sarmatian horsemen. Most have never even seen the sea before. On realising they’ve been posted to Britain, an island so far out of sight that they can’t even believe it exists, they panic. Ariantes and his fellow princes Arshak* and Gatalas find themselves in the first of many awkward situations where they must decide what to trust. Do they rely on their own experience and intuition, which urges them to avoid the apparently endless ocean, or on the word of their Roman ‘hosts’? And there’s the rub. The Sarmatians are ‘auxiliaries’ to the Roman army, but that courteous title fools no one. They are hostages: the flower of Sarmatian youth bargained away by their people as part of a deleritous peace treaty with their Roman enemies. They have seen their families killed, their herds scattered and their wagons burned (largely in retaliation for their own bloody raids upon the Romans). Now they’ve been forced to swear oaths to serve the very men who, until recently, they’d cheerfully have killed and scalped to win glory among their people. They hate their captors but, as they’re perfectly well aware, their captors return the sentiment, none more so than the embittered centurion Facilis.
That culture clash is at the heart of the book and much of its drama comes from the different ways in which Ariantes and Arshak deal with it. Arshak, proudest and noblest of the commanders, chooses to rebel at every turn, swaggering around in his coat of scalps and doing all he can to show the Romans that he’s still a dangerous force. Ariantes is more moderate and sensible, more amenable to the idea of cooperation. While his countrymen sneer at him for Romanisation, he strives to find a way to understand and to be understood. And the more Ariantes watches and listens, as they travel north to their postings along the great Wall, the more he sees that it isn’t a case of Roman against Sarmatian. The very fabric of Roman Britain is a patchwork, with Britons of different tribes living alongside those from other parts of the Empire. And the fabric is fraying. Ariantes’ friends might long for revenge against those who’ve forced them into servitude, but there are even stronger revolutionary movements among the native peoples of the island. When Ariantes and Arshak become aware of a lethal conspiracy to force out the Romans and restablish British kingdoms, they find that it threatens everything they’ve come to value: their friendship, the safety of those they love, and their own identity as Sarmatians. Where should assimilation stop?
For all that political wrangling, this is a personality-driven story. Ariantes is a hugely sympathetic narrator: he’s the kind of intelligent, humane spirit that you’d find in a Guy Gavriel Kay novel. The book’s just as much about his efforts to come to terms with his past and his present as it is about the intrigues. Yet there are a few wonderful set-pieces: the arming of the Sarmatian host in their plumes and golden scale armour was a scene I’d love to see on film, mainly because I find it hard to imagine exactly what they’d look like. I wasn’t at all familiar with the Sarmatians before reading this (I got my wires crossed and spent most of the book thinking they were responsible for that distinctively red Roman-era crockery: turns out that’s Samian ware). Wikipedia tells me they were an Iranian people, which makes sense because their names have linguistic links to Persian and they, like the Persians, were fire-worshippers and formidable cavalry archers. When I read Bradshaw’s descriptions of their charges with lowered spears, I couldn’t help wondering whether there wasn’t some kind of basis here for the legends of Arthur and his knights and, as ever, it seems that someone got there before me. It also turns out that Arthur’s ‘knights’ in that very bad 2004 film (which I watched and promptly forgot) were shown as Sarmatians, albeit from 300 years later than Bradshaw’s story. Intriguing ideas…
Anyway, the summary is that this is another very engaging novel from Bradshaw, and definitely something to recommend if you’ve enjoyed either Beacon or books like Sword at Sunset, of which it kept reminding me. Plus, it’s opened my mind to a new way of thinking about the Arthur legend and a very interesting new ancient culture of which I knew nothing before. Naturally, I’m going to be on the lookout for more Bradshaw, perhaps venturing towards her Byzantine books next…"

**

And another copy/paste
http://mreadz.com/read-227553

"We mutinied when we reached the ocean.
      Wed been riding for fifty-one days, three companies of us with half a legion and two troops of Roman auxiliaries to guard us. We left Aquincum late in July, and rode through the heat of August: the dust and the flies were appalling. Most of the army bases where we stopped along the way didnt have proper supplies laid up for such a large body of men, as nobody had sent messages telling them to do so; of what they did have, the Roman troops took the best for themselves, leaving us sour barley soup and coarse black bread. We werent used to the diet, and it made us ill. The hooves of our horses wore down on the paved Roman roads, and the beasts went lame. The Romans refused to give us leather to make horse-sandals, so we cut up the leather bindings of our wagon awnings. Then, early in September when we left the Rhine and turned west into Gaul, it began to rain, and the water ran through the loose awnings and soaked everything: bedding, food, clothes. Everything stank of wet wool, wet horses, rotting barley, and unwashed wet men, and we hated the feel of our own skins. Only our armor and weapons were safe: they had been wrapped in oilcloths at Aquincum and packed into twenty wagons of their own, which the Romans took charge of.
      Then one afternoon, just before the middle of September, we were starting down from the hills when we saw it: the ocean. It had rained all that morning, but the rain had stopped about midday, and now the sky was clearing. The clouds parted and let down a watery light westward beyond us, and we looked up and saw a huge gray plain turn suddenly and impossibly blue. We had never seen the sea. We reined in our horses and stopped in the road, staring at it. The sun shimmered on the waves as far out as our eyes could see: no shadow of land darkened even the farthest limit of the horizon.
      Its the end of the world! whispered Arshak. ..."

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to get round to reading Island of Ghosts, but I'm so glad I finally did. I remember finding one of Gillian Bradshaw's other books slow but compelling: I read this all in one day, though I wouldn't call it a quick read. It is a compelling one, though, just as expected. I wasn't sure exactly what was so good about it, but by the time I was a quarter of the way through, I was determined to finish reading it today.

One of the factors is the main character, Ariantes. Full of honour, and in a position where revenge would be almost justified and certainly expected among his people, he is also practical and adaptable. He is willing to change for the good of his people, and he guides them to change as well. He's disabled, with a bad leg, but while this limits him somewhat, it doesn't keep him from doing what he needs to do. In short, he's an admirable character, and despite what seems like barbarism at first sight, an honourable and likeable one.

The other characters are similarly well-handled. There isn't anyone who we are expected to hate without cause, nor anyone who is portrayed as wholly evil. Even the main antagonists have their honour, or their weaknesses... whatever makes them human. It was refreshing that, though people take sides, the sides are not clear-cut, light/dark. Everyone is human.

As historical fiction, it's well-researched -- so far as I know, anyway, Roman Britain being something I know about only incidentally (though I do have an A Level in Classical Civilisations, for whatever that counts for). Certainly, it all reads believably.

I could go on: there's plenty to like about this novel. I can't think of much I actually saw as flawed. There was one point which used a plot device I don't particularly enjoy, but even that, I didn't find too jarring, and it was dealt with reasonably well even for a trope I don't like.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one of Bradshaw's with an "outsider" protagonist. Sarmatians in Roman Britain on the Wall, helping to defend the Empire. The hero, Ariantes, helps foil a plot against the Empire, falls in love with a Briton, and all the time tries to maintain his own steppe culture while adapting somewhat to the Roman culture. Ariantes was one of the most appealing figures in fiction--stalwart, tactful, and a good strong leader. Most highly recommended.

[Rachel Neumeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story. A few days ago, when I picked it up and glanced at the first page, I wound up reading the whole thing . . . again.

All about belonging and identity . . . with adventure, romance, and really everything you could possibly want. A wonderful story!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the many things I loved about this book:

-The characters. This book has such a varying array of them that it makes for quite an interesting story. My favorites were the loyal scribe Eukairios and the gruff soldier Facilis, who, while rather annoying at first, gradually revealed himself to be so much more. These two, I think, really lent the story its more human aspects.

-The battle scenes. While not as numerous as one would think, what with all these different peoples running around hating each other, the two that occurred (the thwarted Pictish attack on Corstopitum and the duel between Ariantes and Arshak) were very well written, in my opinion. They just seemed to...flow, in a way that only some battle scenes can and come across as realistic.

-The dialogue. Bradshaw's gift for it is perhaps the most notable aspect of this book. I particularly loved the many eloquent but heartfelt speeches from Ariantes and the dry humor of Facilis and Longus, which provided for some amusing comic-relief scenes.

-The plot. Like I said, we've already got Sarmatians, Romans, and Britons running around itching for a fight, so what do we get when we throw in some secret Christians, druids, and the power-hungry wife of a Roman legate? Why, the makings of a full-blown rebellion, of course! (Really, I'm starting to think this would make a pretty good movie or mini-series, at the rate we're going.)

-And lastly, our main character, our prince, our dragon, our golden eagle, Ariantes. Gah! He's just so lovably humble and honorable. But don't let that discourage you from reading this book, for he's by no means perfect. Aside from being physically crippled by a leg wound, and emotionally scarred from having lost his wife and child to the very Romans he's now bound by oath to serve, he is also very conflicted about his place in the world, which is a subplot in itself. In fact, Ariantes is a walking contradiction. On one hand, he cares not a whit for pleasing the Romans, and in no way wants to assimilate, but at the same time, knows he must, as the synopsis says, sacrifice some of his own happiness to grant his men theirs. So one minute, you'll find him sacking villas and scalping people via flashback, and the next, discussing military supply budgets at a Roman dinner party. As Eukairios noted,

"Your notion of what dignity demands is so different from a Roman's. A Roman noble might swallow a dozen insults which a Sarmatian would kill for, but he'd be outraged at the suggestion he could rest in a stable."

Another thing I liked about Ariantes was that he wasn't gullible; a breath of fresh air in the literary world. Near the beginning of the novel, when he first met the charmingly dangerous Aurelia Bodica, I truly thought he would wind up falling for her, much like his fellow princes, especially seeing as how the synopsis mentions a love interest. But no, he was suspicious of her from the start, and managed to put the pieces together, uncover her plot, and take action quite efficiently. It didn't take him forever to realize anything that was glaringly obvious to the reader, which gave the book great pacing.

Finally, these are just a few things I was kinda iffy about...I may just be being too nit-picky, but I figured they were worth a mention:

-The vision/dream of Ariantes toward the end of the book, which subtly hints at the outcome of his duel with Arshak. Personally, I didn't appreciate this little hint, this "good omen" as Ariantes interpreted it. For the rest of the book, spiritual and magical aspects had been hinted at, but never elaborated on, so to me, this sudden "prophecy" seemed out of place and unnecessary. And this is coming from a person who enjoys a healthy dose of fantasy. For some reason, the "dream dragon" in particular just struck me as ridiculous compared to everything else.

-The love interest, Pervica. I'm kinda conflicted about her. On one hand, I think she was a great female character; not too helpless, not too tough, and with a sense of humor to boot, but to me her first meeting with Ariantes seemed kinda forced; in fact, the whole "River End Farm" aspect did. Personally, I could have enjoyed the book just as well without Ariantes having a love interest (though he certainly deserved one). Don't get me wrong, I think they're a good couple, but the general "love story" subplot seemed rather awkwardly inserted. Although I have to commend Pervica's common sense--at first, she (predictably) didn't listen to Ariantes' words of warning and went back to her farm to confront the possibly murderous druids, but later on, she agreed to live at the fort until the whole rebellion thing blew over, due to a very real threat to her life from Arshak and Aurelia. That's another thing that sets her apart from the typical female heroine: she doesn't foolishly tempt fate just to make a point about how brave she is.

But, in conclusion, while "Island of Ghosts," is classified as a Children's/YA book, Gillian Bradshaw has managed to craft a surprisingly complex tale that deals with heartfelt, believeable issues, using only the little known background of a little known people in a little known time. This book should be a classic.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have had the misfortune, fellow reader, of seeing the 2004 King Arthur film, starring Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, and Kiera Knightley as a warrior-babe Guinevere, then you will perhaps be aware that there is a school of thought which holds that much of the King Arthur mythology comes from an Indo-Iranian people called the Sarmatians. Don't be put off by the ahistoric melodrama of the movie - the notion of a Sarmatian influence in ancient British mythology is actually the hot new theory in Arthurian Studies, and is not as far-fetched as it might first appear. Those interested in pursuing the topic should locate a copy of C. Scott Littleton & Linda A. Malcor's From Scythia to Camelot: A Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Holy Grail .

It was in my own search for more material concerning the Sarmatian presence in Roman Britain that I first came upon Gillian Bradshaw's novel, Island of Ghosts, which I would rank as the best work of historical fiction I have read in the last decade. It follows the story of Ariantes, a second-century Sarmatian prince and cavalry commander who finds himself transplanted from his homeland to far-off Britain, as part of the peace settlement between his people and the Roman Empire. Here, on this "island of ghosts," Ariantes struggles to adjust to and survive in a new world, to protect the interests of his men, and to retain the essential values of his own culture.

This was a satisfying novel on many levels. As an adventure story it offered action, suspense, and romance. Bradshaw's skillful handling of the many intersecting threads of her narrative, her clear understanding of the complexities of intercultural communication and exchange, and her lucid and restrained, but somehow emotive prose, all combined to create an unforgettable reading experience. In many ways I was reminded of Robin McKinley, one of my all-time favorite authors...

Ariantes' personal struggle to overcome the demons of his past, is mirrored by his experiences as a barbarian being incorporated into the vast, multicultural Roman Empire. Island of Ghosts is in many ways the classic immigrant story, for all that it is set in ancient times, and Bradshaw is to be commended for her dead-on historical accuracy. Not only does she show a keen appreciation for the larger themes of the period, with the barbarian-Roman divide playing out in the story of one man, but the minutest historical details of her story have been well-researched.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I’ve read this book, and yet, I can’t quite pinpoint why I love it so much, and why I always come back to it. The story is brimming with warfare, romance, treachery, humor, and swashbuckling adventure in faraway lands, but I think the real reason I love it is Ariantes.

Ariantes is an impressive main character. He’s noble, clever, and honorable, and yet rarely rigid or self-righteous. In a time of war, he is unapologetically pragmatic, even while carrying a solemn weariness that makes him deeply human. He’s sympathetic and likable and comes to life on the page, capturing my attention and my heart again and again from the very start.

Author Gillian Bradshaw delivers a historically rich account of Ariantes’ people—the Sarmatians. Set during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Romans have defeated and conquered the Sarmatians, and now, three Sarmatian nobles—including Ariantes—have sworn an oath to serve Rome alongside their men. They are forced to abandon their homeland, their families, and everything they have ever known.

For Ariantes, the losses are especially profound. With his family gone, he has little to return to, and he is wounded and silently grieving when he and his men arrive to Britain. From there, much of the novel explores their fraught assimilation. As nomadic horsemen, their way of life clashes sharply with Roman customs, but their only choices are to adapt, or to face dire consequences.

Despite being the least prominent of the three Sarmatian nobles, Ariantes’ shrewdness shines as he deftly navigates these challenges and manipulates every situation to his advantage. His intelligence earns him respect and admiration from his men, Roman officials, and me. He expertly walks the fine line between loyalties, conforming to a new culture without forsaking his personal integrity. Even though he is considered a barbarian of his time, he embodies a quiet and commendable strength that far surpasses those around him.

And that’s why I love him. In the thousands of books I’ve read, he stands out as probably one of the most sensible characters I’ve ever encountered.

[Chant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fish out of water, Sarmatians, Romans in Britain, and a bit of a love story. What's not to love?

[Gordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and interesting book with a lot of historical facts

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

We mutinied when we reached the ocean. [opening line]

Ariantes is a Sarmatian warrior, one of three prince-commanders who, defeated in battle, have sworn service to the Roman Emperor. Together with fifteen hundred heavy cavalry -- most of the surviving young Sarmatian noblemen of this generation -- they are en route to Britain. Their Roman minder, Marcus Flavius Facilis, is embittered by the loss of his son in battle, and (rightly) mistrusts the Sarmatians: they're not 'nice safe conquered barbarians', he insists, citing Arshak, the preeminent of the prince-commanders, who decorates himself and his horse with Roman scalps. (“Those tassels on the bridles?” said the procurator. “Those are scalps? I thought…”) 

 Ariantes, who has as much reason as any to hate the Romans, is nevertheless a man of honour: and he has nothing to return to, for his wife and son are dead. He is the diplomat, the smoother of ruffled pride and troubled waters, and it is largely due to his efforts that the three auxiliary cohorts reach their postings in the North of England. There, separated, Ariantes, Arshak and Gatalas become embroiled in a simmering revolt. The British -- well, some of them -- would like to be rid of their continental overlords. There are Druids, tribal alliances, a network of illegal Christians, a descendant of Boudicca, and a personable young widow who knows about horses and thus endears herself immensely to Ariantes. 

 This is a novel about compromise, assimilation and Romanisation. Ariantes -- who serves his Roman allies wine in gold cups that he looted in his raiding days ('perhaps they thought I’d bought them'); who, speaking with an arrogant young tribune, imagines the man's scalp on his own bridle -- has to learn about money, and what things cost, and sleeping between stone walls, and eating bread. Arshak is unimpressed with this Romanisation: but they have sworn an oath, and they cannot go home ... 

 Ariantes is a truly likeable narrator, balancing his personal grief with loyalty to his troop and to the Christian slave who becomes his secretary. He also has a quietly wicked sense of humour, and is not above playing up his reputation as a savage barbarian in order to disarm those he meets. And yes, actually, he is a savage barbarian at heart, and a killer. I liked him very much. 

 Island of Ghosts gives impressive insight into Sarmatian culture and society as well as everyday life in Roman Britain. I was reminded of Rosemary Sutcliff's work, especially The Mark of the Horse Lord, though the first-person narrative (and some of the more brutal scenes, mostly in flashback) give it a slightly different flavour. Still, I want to read more of Bradshaw's fiction: why is so little of it available in ebook format? 

 There is some evidence that the Kindle edition has been scanned from a printed copy: typos (Ariantes is frequently 'Aliantes', even to his countrymen) and right at the end there's an image of one of those forms for mail-ordering paperbacks: that felt like history! Also, the Amazon description of Britain as 'an Island of Ghosts, filled with pale faces, stone walls, and an uneasy past' is misleading, at least the bit about pale faces: Ariantes describes the British as 'a bit darker -- not so many blonds and redheads'.

[Ozymandias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot: 7 (slow-moving, melancholic, and focused on internal change)
Characters: 8 (unique but not always relatable)
Accuracy: 9 (generally accurate if idealistic)

This was a somewhat curious book that I didn’t know what to expect from. The basic premise is one of foreigners having to adjust to life in a new country, in this case Sarmatians in Rome. Naturally, that’s a bit harder than moving to Brazil or getting a new job in Korea. Sarmatians are barbarians, and therefore inferior genetic scum, and worst of all they’re there as auxiliaries, ie. allied soldiers fighting for Rome. So you have not just barbarians but armed barbarians wandering through the north of Britain. And these are the protagonists.

What all this means is that you have here a book that can go in any number of directions. Ariantes (the lead Sarmatian) can aquire a new loyalty to the Roman state, he can oppose it directly and lead a rebellion, he can undermine it secretly, he can be driven out by suspicious Romans, etc. Really, why should he be loyal to Rome when the empire’s busy preparing to resume slaughtering his people? And yet to rebel means most likely death (Sarmatia’s an awful long way from Britannia) and potentially the end of the truce and the immediate resumption of war.

The outsider perspective really helps make the novel. While there have been many books set in the Roman army, the protagonists are almost always ethnic Romans fighting for the honor and glory of their empire. Yet so many of Rome’s soldiers were recruited from outside the empire, and so much of that “honor and glory” stuff is really just killing and slaughtering of anyone in their way. The book also gives us a look at Roman Britain under Marcus Aurelius, a generally sleepy sort of province with a giant stinking wall running along the top of it.

I enjoyed the book, but it didn’t seem as evocative to me as many other readers seem to feel. You got some idea of what it meant to live on the Wall, and a little more about what it meant to be a mistrusted barbarian contingent in the Roman army, but the book seemed to keep its distance somewhat. I suppose that’s the downside to having an outsider for the protagonist: you’re naturally restricted to an outsider’s view of matters.

[Morgan Dhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gillian Bradshaw's Island of Ghosts is a complex and entertaining tale, set in Roman Britain during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The narrative thread of the novel is played out against the story of the Sarmatian auxiliary forces taken into the Roman army and posted to Britain after the Empire's victory over the their people. Little is known of the fate of the Sarmatians - a nomadic people, known as formidable mounted fighters, who had migrated from Central Asia into Eastern Europe - once they arrived in Britain, but Bradshaw has taken what is known about them, and about the much better documented history of the Roman occupation of Britain, and created a story of romance and political intrigue.

Bradshaw paints a picture of colonial Britain that puts considerable emphasis on the diversity of cultures, and the issues of cultural clashes beyween them - the imperial military culture of the conquering Romans, the unassimilated Sarmatian warriors, the varied British tribes and their different histories with the Empire, the Christian underground, the hidden remnants of the druidic order - as well as on the different political factions within these groups.

Navigating these complexities is Ariantes, the commander of one of the first three Sarmatian dragons (a unit of 500 soldiers) to arrive in Britain. Weary of wars fought for glory, emotionally devastated by the death of his wife and children during the wars with Rome, determined to take care of his men and honour his vow to serve the Empire, Ariantes is caught between Romans who distrust the "barbarians" they assume the Sarmatians to be, Britons who hope for freedom and a return to the old ways, and his fellow Sarmatians who are unwilling to make the changes necessary to live in the new land they have come to.

A well-researched and thoroughly engaging historical novel.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written, with a character-driven plot and a strong emotional narrative, Island Of Ghosts is the story of Ariantes, the leader of a group of Sarmatian warriors, barbarian auxiliaries brought to Britain to be stationed beside Hadrian's Wall.

Ariantes' arrives with divided loyalties. He and his followers were incorporated into the Roman army after a defeat and feelings are still raw on both sides. Regarded with contempt by the Roman military establishment, he struggles to keep his followers from a suicidal mutiny, a task made all the harder when indigenous Celtic tribes begin to exploit their divided loyalties.

I have often wondered how successfully barbarian warriors managed to integrate after entering the Roman army en bloc. The loss of one identity and the struggle to take on a new one must have been formidable. Gillian Bradshaw brings this rather academic question to life by focusing on the personal. There is plenty of careful research in this book but at its heart is a love story that is both convincing and moving. That is not something one finds too often in fiction set in the ancient world.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over 1500 Sarmatian heavy horsemen from well beyond the Rhine serve in Britannia on behalf of the Roman Empire despite the ongoing distrust of the Romans and the lingering resentment of the Sarmatians following their narrow defeat by the Romans. The process of acclimatizing themselves to Roman service and culture is fraught with difficulty, especially for Ariantes, the one Sarmatian noble and leader who is willing to work with the Romans to save his men from what their reluctance to serve could bring down on them all. Ariantes resents being seen as a Romanized Sarmatian, just as he works hard to prevent disaster. It is a very interesting novel that speaks to the subject of acculturation at the same time that it serves as a novel with a lot of action and drama. Ariantes himself is one of the more interesting figures in historical fuction, and Bradshaw, who is a skilled writer, makes the novel ring true both dramatically and historically. I rank it with the best of Cecelia Holland's work.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well written, a great story with many twists and turns. Ariantes is a soldier from what is probably Hungary who is taken prisoner by the Romans and forced to go to England and fight for Rome. All are accomplished horsemen, and are sent to Hadrian's wall to keep the "barbarian's" from crossing the wall. He is an honourable man and is determined to do his best in spite of some of his countrymen not liking what they are doing. Bradshaw shows that so called non-Romans can be honourable and honest and Ariantes almost loses his like to keep that way. His love of horses brings him to meet a special woman and plans to use her farm to raise superior horses. I enjoyed this book.

[Kathryn McConaughy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually avoid reading historical fiction set in the Roman Empire, as it's close enough to my own area of study to make mistakes obvious, but Bradshaw does a wonderful job of taking us into this world where living in houses is like lying down in your own tomb and drinking out of someone's skull is a compliment. Ariantes is the best kind of hero--the kind that will never realize what a hero he is. And what a supporting cast. Astonishing.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing novel, even the second time around. It has everything in perfect balance--historical setting with such details that it comes alive, characters with depth and likability, suspense right up to the end and a bit of romance. Gillian is a master historian and writer.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Gillian Bradshaw's best. Highly recommend.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gillian Bradshaw's writing reminds me of Rosemary Sutcliff in her ability to craft a historical novel that allows the reader to visit the past.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Gillian Bradshaw does best: historical detail, engaging plot, lots of intrigue and plotting, and interesting characters!

[Josie Crimp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best bit of historical fiction I've read in a long time - great characters, an unpredictable plot and seems very well researched. A good read before walking Hadrian's wall!

[SamuraiKitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Island of Ghosts" is about a "group" of Sarmatian Calvary soldiers and their officers who are to become part of the Roman soldiers/legions? settled in Britain to keep order and crush any rebellions/or raids near/at Hadrians Wall. Per Bradshaw's authors notes: "The Sarmations were a nomadic people of an Iranian language that at one point extended from the plains of Eastern Hungary as far as the Caspian sea." When the Sarmatians lost to the Romans in a battle, part of the surrender was that they send their finest Calvary soldiers and officers to Britain. The Sarmatian Calvary were considered great warriors on horse, and the Emperor wanted them. To their own people, when this happened, they were considered from that point forward as dead. They could never return to their people, even if given the choice. To the Romans, and natives of Britain they are considered Barbarians. The story centers/is told from the point of view of Ariantes, a leader of one of the "dragons" (legions) of Sarmatians. What really interested me about this book is how Bradshaw showed a process that I believe even immigrants today to a new country and culture(s) must go through. At first Ariantes is angry, and wants nothing to do with the Roman soldiers, their language, and their customs. And the Romans are not exactly warmly embracing the Sarmations either. Their is little love lost between the two peoples - the fact that they have fought each other, with loved ones killed on both sides in horrific ways immediately sets up hatred on both sides. But Ariantes slowly begins to realize that in order to do the best for his men, he has to start working with the Romans. Explaining even simple things like differences in dietary needs, because what his men eat is completely different from what Roman soldiers require. He takes a lot of heat from the other Sarmatian leaders. They call him a Romanizer, and sneer at his efforts. But while the other leaders refuse to work with the Romans, and cling to their beliefs and traditions, they sink. While Ariantes and his men are given more and more of what they require, and are given certain freedoms to express their beliefs and customs. Ariantes struggle - caught between Sarmatian and Roman ways of doing things, and going most times on instinct alone was interesting to read about. He knows in some ways he's selling out, but he also knows that if this is going to be the life that he and his men must now lead, and that this is going to be their homeland, that he cannot cling to a Sarmatian way of doing things if they are to survive, and be successful.
It was interesting to see the cultural differences play out. The Sarmatians found the idea of sleeping in barracks like being encased in a tomb. They had wagons which they slept in, and Ariantes insisted that his men be allowed to continue this practice. The Romans think they are insane. The Sarmatians scalp their enemies in battle and wear the scalps like war trophies on their coats with pride. The Romans are horrified; it reenforces the belief that they are Barbarians. The Sarmatians are horrified at the fact that Roman soldiers kill women and children in war - it s not something that they would ever do. Nor do they keep slaves, like the Romans. They think the Romans are Barbarians.
Yet slowly, the two sides of soldiers begin to see each other as more than their differences, and friendships and trust is formed. Ariantes and his men flourish, and he gains respect not only from the other soldiers, but also from the Roman officials, who begin to turn to him for an understanding of Sarmatians, and how better to deal with them. It puts Ariantes in the middle, caught between his past and what could be his future, and the bonds of loyalty to old friends and to new. And in fact survival, because their are people who want him dead.
This book might not be for everyone. It's slow to get going, and the story line isn't necessarily anything new as plots go. But I really did enjoy the story, and as I said, the exploration, for me, of what it means to be new to a culture, while holding onto ones own culture I found fascinating. Finding a way to walk through both, with giving up some things while gaining others, and still be a person of integrity really made this story shine for me.

[Elena T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book from a charity shop solely because it conveniently combined my long standing fascination with Sarmatians and my new found curiosity for Roman Britain, I never expected it to be anything more than okay. It turned to be excellent.

Gillian Bradshaw's plot is reasonable and well-constructed with a secret conspiracy as its apparent highlight, but a far more interesting undercurrent of uncertainty about the destiny of a people trapped in a hostile, foreign world at its core. She unravels the mystery element slowly, avoiding the temptation of turning the novel into a fast paced historical thriller in favour of character and world building. She takes the time to really bring the past back to life, immersing you in another time and place that feels, yes, far from our own but never contrived. There were a few questionable choices of events, but on the whole I was impressed.

The characters were also very satisfying, surprisingly dynamic for the most part. They would often be presented as stereotypes, but only to show how these versions of people are just the surface. As the novel moves on, they break out of their molds and surprise both the reader and the protagonist, from whose point of view the events are presented. A protagonist that is sensible, smart and capable, but that feels mummified by duty and honour, never free to be himself completely.
Too bad for the failed last-minute attempts at humanising the somewhat caricature-esque villain, who had the potential to be a magnificent character if patiently developed and who, together with the predictable love interest, cost Island of Ghosts the fifth star here on goodreads.

This definitely won't be my last Gillian Bradshaw.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
It has been far too long since I last read a Gillian Bradshaw book and I can't for the life of me think why. They are always gorgeous.

This story is set in Roman Britain and features a fascinating mix of contentious peoples. Ariantes, a warrior prince who is also in touch with his feelings? Yes please for the hero! But Bradshaw always does best when she writes strong women and she gives us two female characters who are as complex as the male lead. It's a tense time in early Britain, needless to say, and the interplay between all the disparate groups prove that the basic needs for humans - besides food, water, shelter - haven't changed much over the years: decency, respect, communication, understanding, fairness. In all these, Ariantes proves himself adept over and over at working with his captors while making sure his men do not feel denigrated. It's quite a powerful story and can easily be applied to today's times. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Favorite quotes: "The freedom of the pen, which can run backward in time to take account and forward to draw up a budget, which can speak directly to unknown persons far away, was intoxicating. It terrified me that I liked it so much... But I dreaded being left voiceless, while around me the letters flew and Romans spoke to Romans about my people, and we stood like mute and bewildered children in an alien world."

"The world of the dead is one we cannot share. However long we stand, gazing at the tomb, in the end we must turn and ride home. We are wonderfully and mysteriously suspended in a web of bone and blood, able to think and move, love and believe."

"...I was realizing yet again the terrible gulf between the world we had inhabited before and the world we lived in now."

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bradshaw’s Island of Ghosts is a bit of a chill, slow-paced fiction. There are a lot of dialogues and surprisingly not one bloodthirsty battle so commonly found in Ancient Roman fiction. While Bradshaw always chose a very interesting topic, setting, and characters to explore in her novels, this one doesn’t really deliver. Perhaps, because Bradshaw completely relied on political intrigue, long dialogue, and yet no distinguishing battles at all (which is the key ingredient in a novel like this).

Island of Ghosts follows the story of Ariantes, a Sarmatian prince, who was sent along with his troops to the island of Britain as part of the Roman-Sarmatian alliance. The Roman emperor intended to use the skill of Sarmatian’s heavy cavalry to defend the Roman-British border from Pictish raids. But upon setting foot in there, a conspiracy was afoot, a conspiracy that threatened the life of Ariantes and his troops. Ariantes himself was torn between keeping his savagery identity as a Sarmatian prince and becoming Romanized as he found a lot of Roman’s discipline, thoughts, and rationale alluring.

The book is interesting but I can’t say that I will re-read it again as it’s a bit boring near the end of the book. The conspiracy ended in such an anti-climactic way (again, no battles involved at all).

[Evan Þ. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our protagonist is one of the commanders of the Sarmatians who originally fought against the Romans before Emperor Marcus Aurelius defeated them and, as part of the peace treaty, recruited some of them as auxiliaries to serve in Britain. The plot is, essentially about his navigating the calls of honor and duty to Rome, both for himself and for his own troops and for his fellow Sarmartian commanders.

He himself is willing to meet the Romans halfway (such as by working within their logistics system to get better horse feed), despite some of the other Sarmartians accusing him of Romanizing. And (as he finally admits partway through the book), that isn't totally wrong - he's tired of war and welcomes the chance to establish a peaceful life in Britain. But he can't admit this, or he'll lose any respect from or influence with his fellow Sarmatians.

Amid this, a conspiracy broils to establish an independent British kingdom, and the leaders are happy to recruit Sarmartians impatient with Roman civilization. Our protagonist must navigate that - both for himself and his fellows. Here as elsewhere, Bradshaw plays internal and external plot threads off each other very well.

[Meggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bradshaw studied Classics at Cambridge, so it shouldn't be surprising that she creates an immersive and detailed fictional version of Roman-era Britain here. There's so many cultures in play: the Brigantes and other English groups; the Romans, both Italian-born and British; the Christians and the Druids; and then the Sarmatians themselves.

First person narration doesn't always work for me (too much navel gazing at times), but I appreciated it here; Ariantes's culture is (understandably) foreign to the reader, so I liked being in his head.

The first quarter is loads of Roman bureaucracy, and a little slow. (I found it all interesting, though, and it also introduced the issue of Ariantes Romanizing more than he and his people would like.) Once they land in Dubris/Dover, a map of Roman Britain is a helpful resource!

If anything, I found the climax a little unbelievable that so many people rallied to his side, even if I understand why each person supported him.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this on my shelves for probably a dozen years. When I read the blurb, I wasn't sure it was for me, but I was pleasantly surprised. I would give it another half star for all the wonderful historical detail about the customs, cultures of the various people populating this book- Sarmatians (whom I had never heard of), ancient Romans, Britons, and other various tribes & sects of 2nd century Briton. It primarily follows the Sarmatian Ariantes and his dragon (troops) as they travel to Briton to serve as soldiers stationed at Hadrian's Wall to defend Roman interests against the Picts. as part of a peace treaty between the nomadic & warrior-culture Sarmatians and the Roman Empire. This a multi-layered plotted story and worth spending time with the characters. Took me longer to read only because I had much on my personal plate to deal with!