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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

My Review Guiamo (Chronicles of Guiamo Durmius Stolo #1) by Marshall Best

REVIEW:

Marshall Best's The Chronicles of Guiamo Durmius Stolo Series is addressed mainly to the young, but I can assure you that reading it can be enjoyable at any age. Certainly I would not have grabbed Guiamo, the first volume in the series, to read it, given the age that I have, but I had to do a review for the blog tour and my passion for the ancient world made me to give it a chance. And I did well!

Guiamo is a well written book, a pleasant read and with a lot of lessons for those who are just starting out in life: about how to be better, how to help your fellow man, to put other’s happiness above your personal satisfaction. Do not be naive, the humanity has not changed much in 2000 years. People are just as good or bad as ever, they have the same qualities or defects and it seems, sadly noticing it, that nothing can change our way of being.

The central character of the story is Guiamo, a Roman orphan who for now seems to be doomed to a tragic fate, but who will benefit from the compassion and help of some special people. Yes, luck sometimes smiles to you, but also Guiamo is not an ordinary kid. Nobody will pamper him, the dramatic moments will not be missing, but by the way he is, and how he takes life seriously even at such an early age, he manages to gain the adults’ trust and admiration. A young man full of imagination, who the author credited with some of the inventions that allowed Rome to become the terrible force of the ancient world, such as the gladius, the Legionnaire short sword and the ballistae, an oversized crossbow that has devastating effects. Do not smile, you will realize why by reading the story. The development of the first book runs through the character’s childhood events until his coming of age, which, in the ancient Rome occurs earlier than in our society.

An exciting adventure, peppered with descriptions of everyday Roman life, but also with a touch of Celtic magic. It is a story about growing up, about taking responsibility, and a mystical one. It’s a novel that entwines, in an interesting way, the fantasy with real history. The author introduces in the story moments of Caesar's Gallic Wars, and the first volume of the series will end with the preparations for the first Roman invasion of Britain. The book is a great and welcoming way for young readers to take contact with history.

Even if the text is full of Latin words, they are neither unnecessary, nor tiring. The style is pleasant, even funny at times, the action is smooth, it will not tarry, and there are no useless descriptions.

A captivating book, and why not, an instructive one that I recommend to you!

I received the book for review as part of Book Tour - Thank you!

Romanian:
Seria The Chronicles of Guiamo Durmius Stolo a lui Marshall Best se adresează cu precădere tinerilor, dar vă pot garanta că poate fi o lectură plăcută la orice vârstă. Cu siguranță că nu aș fi pus mâna pe Guiamo, primul volum din serie, să îl citesc, ținând cont de vârsta pe care o am, însă recenzia ce trebuia să o fac în cadrul blog turului și pasiunea pentru lumea antichității m-a făcut să îi dau o șansă. Și bine am făcut!

Guiamo este o carte bine scrisă, o lectură plăcută și cu o mulțime de învățăminte pentru cei ce sunt la început de drum în viață: despre cum să fi mai bun, cum să-ți ajuți semenul, să pui mai presus fericirea celor de lângă tine decât satisfacerea plăcerilor personale. Nu vă faceți iluzii, omenirea nu s-a schimbat prea mult în 2000 de ani. Oamenii sunt la fel de buni sau răi, au aceleași calități sau defecte și se pare, constatând cu tristețe, că nimic nu ne va putea schimba felul nostru de a fi.

Personajul central al povestirii este Guiamo, un copil orfan roman ce pentru moment pare că va avea o soartă tragică, dar care va beneficia de compasiunea și ajutorul unor oameni deosebiți. Da, câteodată norocul îți poate surâde, dar nici Guiamo nu este un copil oarecare. Nimeni nu îl va răsfăța, nu vor lipsi momentele dramatice, dar prin felul lui de a fi, de a privi viața cu seriozitate chiar și la o vârstă așa de fragedă, reușește să câștige încrederea și admirația adulților. Un tânăr plin de imaginație pe care autorul îl creditează cu unele dintre invențiile ce au permis Romei să devină forța teribilă a lumii antice, cum ar fi gladius-ul, spada scurtă a legionarului sau ballista, o arbaletă de mari dimensiuni ce avea efecte devastatoare. Nu zâmbiți, o să vă dați seama din povestire de ce. Desfășurarea primului volum parcurge întâmplările prin care trece personajul din copilărie până la vârsta majoratului care în Roma antică avea loc mai devreme decât în societatea noastră.

O aventură interesantă presărată cu descrieri despre viața romanilor de zi cu zi, dar şi cu un strop de magie celtică. Este o poveste despre maturizare, despre asumarea responsabilităților, dar și una mistică. Un roman ce îmbină într-un mod interesant fantezia cu istoria adevărată. Autorul introduce în povestire momente din Razboaiele Gale ale lui Caesar, iar primul volum al seriei se va încheia cu pregătirile romanilor pentru prima invazie a Britaniei. Cartea este un mod deosebit și binevenit pentru tinerii cititori de a lua contact cu istoria.

Chiar dacă textul abundă în cuvinte latine, nu o să le găsiți nici în plus şi nici obositoare. Stilul este plăcut, chiar amuzant pe alocuri, acțiunea este fluentă, nu va tărăgăna, şi nu vor fi descrieri inutile.

O carte captivantă, si de ce nu, instructivă pe care v-o recomand.

Description:

In 60 B.C., ten-year-old Guiamo Durmius Stolo, an exceptionally gifted Roman orphan, is abandoned in Gaul . Left to fend for himself, Guiamo is set onto a path of legend. Recognized by the gods as having world-changing talents, he is given a weapon that changes his destiny and the world’s forever. Combining legitimate legends with actual historical events, Marshall Best weaves an epic story that portrays the ancient world as it might have been, a world which the ancient historians recorded as fact; a time when gods ruled the earth and strange creatures dominated the land. It is the era of civilized conquerors exploring distant and primitive new lands. Scant recordings left to us today only touch on the fringe of the fantastic and brutal reality that existed in those distant lands of the west. Into this age, young Guiamo enters the world stage as the great game-changer, and by his hand the gods and beasts become destined to disappear into myth and legend.


Other books in the Chronicles of Guiamo Durmius Stolo

Cumoro (Book 2)
Guiamo Durmius Stolo sails in 55 B.C. with Rome's 7th Legion as Julius Caesar invades Britain. But Caesar has not before encountered the Fomori, a dominion of wicked creatures which wage war against the human inhabitants and dominate much of Britain. Armed with his god-made spear, Guiamo joins with the tribal kings against their Fomori foe when Caesar departs.

Morlanos (Book 3)
Having destroyed the Fomori in Britain , Guiamo Durmius Stolo decides in 51 B.C. to bring the Cruthin people, once slaves to the Fomori, to Ireland , but encounters the Fomori who reside there as well. Guiamo discovers that the gods venerated by the Druids are unworthy. The gods are displeased with him and begin to work against him.

Inis Emain Ablach (Book 4)
In 50 B.C. Guiamo Durmius Stolo finds himself victor over the detested Fomori whose leader, Cichol, is slain and those few who survived are scattered. Guiamo explores the secret places where Cichol kept his most important secrets and discovers there the treasures of Cichol's master, the goddess Domnu.

About the Author
Marshall BestMarshall Best is an avid reader, father of six and business owner. In the past several years he has found his love of writing as well. What began as a desire to write a story for his children has evolved into a nine book series.

Marshall has done extensive research into the history behind the legends, people and places of England, Scotland and Ireland involved in his books. He loves being able to weave real people and legends into his stories making them come alive. He is definitely a writer that tends to the details often mapping out timetables, calendars, geneologies, etc. that pertain to his book to ensure that it is as realistic as possible.

Marshall also enjoys putting real life issues into his books, delving into a bit of philosophy while entertaining with orcs, dragons, magic and battles. He is someone who loves a grand adventure but makes sure it's not a shallow one.
Event organized by Beck Valley Books

3 comments:

Beck Valley Books said...

What a wonderful review xx

Unknown said...

O idee foarte originala.

giorgiana said...

o serie interesanta, ce descrie o lume veche, si cuvintele in latina dau o nota aparte cartii