Inceptio

I've had this on my Kindle for quite a while - just needed time to read it. And what a read! Forget finding time - everything else took second place - I loved this book! It is well written, fast-paced, absorbing and intriguing. The characters are believable - and the plot and setting equally so, even though belief of reality must be entirely suspended.

What I found most thrilling was that this is not a run-of-the-mill thriller, nor is it historical fiction, but the idea of combining an alternative history with a darn good thriller is fantastic.
Why on earth is Alison Morton self published? This is high quality mainstream stuff, just proving that Indie writers are every bit as good as - if not better than - traditionally published authors!

Well done Alison - more please!

This is the first book that I have read in the genre of alternate history, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. What I got was a great story, full of many intense and wonderful characters. For me, the story really took off when the protagonist, Karen arrives at her mysterious grandmother's house in Roma Novan. At this point the story is propelled along with marvelous descriptions of life in this alternative reality. Peppered with Roman terms, the prose and description easily painted visual pictures of a society that blends ancient Roman traditions with the realities of modern society.

Twists and turns in the plot keeps this book rushing along, not only in the thriller aspect of it, but also with several surprises in the romantic element. The main character, Karen, undergoes quite a transformation, which makes the story a page-turner. All in all a very satisfying read!

In present day New York, Karen Brown's daily life is starting to unravel. When inexplicable events shake the very foundations of her world, she at first disbelieves what is happening around her. However, after a failed kidnap attempt, Karen is advised to flee to her dead mother's homeland, but even as the mysterious Roma Nova offers a sanctuary, it also opens more questions than answers. The action is fast and furious, and soon Karen finds that she is drawn into a dangerous set of circumstances, which will test her endurance to limit and which will force her to question the structure of her belief.

What then follows is a well written and decidedly competent alternate history novel which draws you in from the very beginning and which offers an intriguing look at Roma Nova, a world which has been ruled by women for the past sixteen centuries, and whose secret anonymity comes alive on the page. Alternate history is a fascinating concept, and yet can so easily become a minefield of improbability, where the world within a world being created can become a mere parody of what is real. However, I had no such issues with Inceptio, which thanks to the author's skill, Roma Nova and its role in the world, soon became a real and very authentic place.

I think that this is one of those books you could so easily miss, particularly if alternate history is not your genre, but you would be missing out on a real treat. It is ideal escapism, with the ingredients of history, mystery and romance expertly combined to form a well balanced and perfectly presented start to a promising series.

"The boy lay in the dirt in the centre of New York's Kew Park..."

A great opening line, to make the reader do an instant double-take, on a par with the one caused by the clock striking thirteen in George Orwell's "1984". Kew Park, as in London's Kew Gardens, not Central Park? - how did that happen? I was immediately drawn in to this intriguing alternative history scenario.

And what a premise it was! - that ancient Roman society and culture was not extinguished with the fall of the Roman Empire but transferred by a small determined group of traditionalists to a new territory, Roma Nova, north of Italy, where it still survives to the present day. The development of what we call the USA has also taken a rather different course, and that's where the story begins, before crossing the pond to Roma Nova. (I'll be intrigued to see what American readers make of this concept, by the way!)

Though still speaking Latin, the Nova Romans are far from untouched by 21st century life, operating futuristic technology, and populated by fatigue-wearing, gun-toting copes who fight to maintain the integrity of their nation's principles and traditions. (Their Saturnalia celebrations are a great draw for the tourists, apparently!)

What kept me turning the pages was the pacy story of a heroine who overcomes an extraordinary set of challenges, with just enough romantic interest thrown in to add an extra dimension without slowing the action.

By chance, I took this book to read on a holiday in the tiny principality of Luxembourg, fiercely proud of its individuality and its heritage, despite being surrounded by much larger, more powerful states. I found myself thinking, in an unguarded moment, that Luxembourg should be on good diplomatic terms with Roma Nova. For a moment there, I'd believed it was real and was half-way to planning my next holiday there. Quite a trick to pull off, Alison Morton! Looking forward to the sequel already...

With her second book, Perfiditas, Alison Morton plunged me into a fascinating alternate history where the Roman Empire didn't entirely die out; instead, a breakaway group formed a new Rome, one that became more of a matriarchy and yet held true to Roman values through the years. In that book, Morton created a satisfying, engaging mystery, one that used its setting well while never neglecting the characters or the story. And while I had no problem following Perfiditas, I was always curious how Morton began her series - which brings me to Inceptio. Inceptio is a little overstuffed - it begins by following our American heroine as she learns of her roots in New Rome and her link to a major corporation, moves on to to her new life in her homeland, then evolves into a crime novel as she decides to get involved in the fight against the drug trade that's moving into the country. The fact that the book isn't done there makes it all sound a little cluttered, and it definitely is; there are times where you feel like Inceptio is at least two books in one, if not three. And yet, somehow, Morton makes it all work for the most part, grounding her plotting so much in her characters and their arcs that you're willing to overlook the fact that it keeps changing to a new storyline. Moreover, as she proved in Perfiditas, Morton has put in a lot of work and research into the creation of New Rome, and it pays off by creating a rich, complex setting that informs the characters and yet feels organically created. (Even the choice to have New Rome be a matriarchy works well; rather than feeling shoehorned in, it's handled so matter of factly and effectively that it never occurs to you to question it, and instead you just enjoy the fact that it gives the book a nicely different dimension than many books like this can handle.) I'm actually glad I started with Perfiditas, which I think is a better book than this one, but Inceptio is still a great read, one that marries alternate history, drama, action, and crime to create something that's a little crowded but always engaging, and nicely written to boot. It's a series well worth checking out, and I'm glad I made the time for Inceptio after my great enjoyment of its sequel.

an excellent book that grips you from the start. the story line was totally unexpected but once hooked I couldn't put it down. Definitely recommended and can't wait to read the next book