''The Shards of Heaven'' is a 2015 historical

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

Michael Livingston Michael Livingston is a historian, a professor of medieval literature, and a historical fantasy novelist. His 2015 debut novel, '' The Shards of Heaven'', was followed by two sequels. Early life, education and career Originally from Colorado, ...

. It chronicles

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

's war against

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

and Cleopatra, seen from the perspective of the minor historical figures who surround them.

Plot

Years after the murder of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

, his adopted son Octavian has succeeded him as a powerful force in Rome, if only as a senator with a large personal army. Octavian is somewhat threatened by the existence of

Caesarion Ptolemy XV Caesar). (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος ; 23 June 47 BC – August 30 BC), nicknamed Caesarion (, "Little Caesar"), was the last pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, reigning with his mother Cleopatra from 2 September 44 BC until her d ...

, Caesar's son by the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, who is himself

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

alongside his mother. Octavian's nemesis Mark Antony has left Italy for Egypt, where he has fathered three children with Cleopatra, and his declaration of Caesarion as Caesar's legitimate heir incites war with Rome. Meanwhile, Caesar's other adopted son,

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a population ...

, has found the fabled

Trident of Poseidon The trident of Poseidon and his Roman equivalent, Neptune, has been their traditional divine attribute in many ancient depictions. Poseidon's trident was crafted by the Cyclopes. Myths In Greek mythology, Poseidon's trident was forged by th ...

, a magical artifact with unearthly destructive power. He intends to use it—and the other so-called "Shards of Heaven"—to avenge himself on Rome for the death of his natural father, the king of Numidia.

Characters

, son and heir to the king of Numidia, adopted by

after his conquest of Numidia *

, Caesar's adopted son and heir * Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt *

, former Roman general and

Triumvir A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

, son of Caesar and Cleopatra * Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra and Antony, twin to Helios * Alexander Helios, son of Cleopatra and Antony, twin to Selene *

Ptolemy Philadelphus ; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208 , predecessor = Ptolemy I , successor = Ptolemy III , horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth , nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength , gol ...

, son of Cleopatra and Antony *

Lucius Vorenus Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were two Roman centurions mentioned in the personal writings of Julius Caesar. Although it is sometimes stated they were members of the 11th Legion (Legio XI Claudia), in fact Caesar never states the number of the ...

and

Titus Pullo Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were two Roman centurions mentioned in the personal writings of Julius Caesar. Although it is sometimes stated they were members of the 11th Legion (Legio XI Claudia), in fact Caesar never states the number of th ...

, Roman centurions formerly loyal to Julius Caesar, now in the service of Antony *

Didymus Chalcenterus Didymus Chalcenterus (Latin; Greek: , ''Dídymos Chalkéderos'', "Didymus Bronze-Guts"; c. 63 BC – c. AD 10), was an Ancient Greek scholar and grammarian who flourished in the time of Cicero and Augustus. Life The epithet "Bronze-Guts" came f ...

, chief librarian of the Library of Alexandria and tutor to Cleopatra's children

Writing and publication

Livingston, a historian and professor of

medieval literature Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...

, had been writing fiction for years while publishing multiple academic works. He wrote ''The Shards of Heaven'' during the decade after the publication of his first short story in 2005. Asked about his choice of setting, Livingston said: Noting that "''The Shards of Heaven'' is intended to fall in the gray area between legend and history", Livingston said that while researching the novel he read "a great many articles and studies that might bring most folk to tears: from scholarly arguments about the construction of Roman

trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...

s to countless ancient descriptions of places like the Great Lighthouse or the

Tomb of Alexander the Great The tomb of Alexander the Great is attested in several historical accounts, but its current exact location is an enduring mystery. Following Alexander's death in Babylon, his body was initially buried in Memphis by Ptolemy I Soter, before bein ...

." Livingston previewed the cover of ''The Shards of Heaven'' on his website in March 2015. He said that the image, created by Larry Ronstant, was inspired by the covers of

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...

historical novels such as ''

1356 Year 1356 ( MCCCLVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 20 – Edward Balliol surrenders his title as King of Scotland, to Edward II ...

'', and features "roughed up" Roman centurion armor as would have been worn by Vorenus and Pullo. ''The Shards of Heaven'' was published on November 24, 2015.

Sequel

In a November 2015 interview, Livingston noted that the sequel to ''The Shards of Heaven'' would be called ''The Temples of the Ark''. As of January 2016, the author's web site referred to the second installment as ''

The Gates of Hell ''The Gates of Hell'' (french: La Porte de l'Enfer) is a monumental bronze sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from the '' Inferno'', the first section of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. It stands at ...

''.

Critical reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' said that "this multipronged tale is dense with action and incident; it’s grounded in history, mythology, and religion, but not weighed down by them." '' Kirkus Reviews'' wrote, "Readers with an interest in this era will be captivated by the weaving of fiction with the reality of the past and the weaving of the reality of the past with the magic of the unseen world, even if the religious inquiries of the text aren’t especially fresh." In a

blurb A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dust jacket of a book, and are now also fou ...

featured on the novel's cover, historical novelist Bernard Cornwell called ''The Shards of Heaven'' "a brilliant debut", writing that "Livingston has spiced real history with a compelling dose of fantasy! Wonderfully imaginative and beautifully told."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shards of Heaven, The 2015 American novels 2015 fantasy novels American fantasy novels American historical novels Fictional depictions of Augustus in literature Fictional depictions of Cleopatra in literature Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Novels set in ancient Egypt Novels set in ancient Rome Novels set in the 1st century BC Cultural depictions of Caesarion Tor Books books