Showing posts with label Martin Saul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Saul. Show all posts

Friday, June 11, 2010

The Last Nights of Pompeii, by Martin Saul

The Last Nights of Pompeii, by Martin Saul
Signet Books, 1966

Published in 1966 as a Signet mass market paperback and never reprinted, Martin Saul's Last Nights of Pompeii is more novella than novel - it's a mere 125 pages of tiny type with a poorly-constructed plot and barely-developed characters. It jumps from one illogical extreme to another, and, all told, not much happens. So what's to recommend? Simply put, it's a great example of the historical trash fiction genre of the sixties and seventies, a genre which gave us such gems as Jack Oleck's Messalina and Lance Horner's Rogue Roman.

It's 79 CE and Marcius Longinus is a tribune in Pompeii. Vesuvius, of course, is about to erupt, but Marcius and his fellow townsfolk are blissfully unaware. Marcius fought in Jerusalem with Emperor Vespasian's son Titus - Titus, who himself is soon to become Emperor, as Vespasian is near death. While in Jerusalem Marcius and Titus rescued a young girl from the carnage outside the great Temple; Marcius went on to raise her, thinking of her as a younger sister. This is Selene, and she is neither Jewish nor Roman - indeed, no one is certain who or what she is, as when rescued she had no memory of where she was from or even who her parents were. Selene is now a beautiful young woman, one of Marcius's many slaves, though he's sure to point out she's only a slave by way of warfare. And Selene has become fixated on Marcius, in love with him; Marcius gradually realizes he too is in love with her. Yet problems loom: turns out Titus's Jewish lover Berenice has prophesized that Selene, if she fulfills her love with Marcius, will cause much devastation. (Read: If Marcius and Selene get it on, Vesuvius will erupt.) Intrigue ensues as Berenice attempts to foil Marcius and Selene's blossoming love.

The above could easily fill a much longer book, but as mentioned Last Nights of Pompeii is only 125 pages long. The novel comes off more like a synopsis, Saul rushing through his story. Beyond that, he has difficulty lending credibility to the Marcius/Selene romance; Selene doesn't even appear until 60 pages in, and we're supposed to believe that she's suddenly fallen in love with this older man who took her captive after butchering countless Jews. (Even more disturbing: the whole "I raised her but now I love her like a woman" deal reminds me of the whole Woody Allen/Soon Yi situation.) So this isn't a love story written by the stars, and Saul doesn't help himself by rushing through it: in just a few chapters Marcius has convinced himself that he does in fact love Selene and plans to marry her.

In addition to the main plot you have the usual requirements for fiction set in Rome: a graphically-detailed arena scene complete with battling gladiators and helpless victims being mauled by lions, chariot races, priests of forgotten religions muttering mumbo-jumbo as they wave their wands, walk-ons from historical personages (Titus, Berenice, even Jewish historian Josephus), and, of course, a mention or two of "the Nazarenes." Thankfully these Christians aren't the main focus of the novel; they only appear in a few places, yet Saul gives them loathsome dialog, baiting Marcius and his fellow "sinners" and promising that Pompeii will soon suffer for its "sinfulness." Makes me want to go back in time and HELP the Romans shove them into a lion-packed arena. But luckily neither Marcius nor any of the other characters are swayed by their preaching, which makes me wonder if perhaps Saul is taking a swing at the Christians. (Though I couldn't help but notice more than a little anti-Semitism in the vitriol Titus spews about his former adversaries in the Jewish war.)

The novel is very much of its time: the women are either virginal innocents (like Selene) or manipulative schemers (like Berenice). There's a huge dose of misogyny in a too-long subplot in which Marcius's pal Claudius gains a new slave: a beautiful patrician woman who's been cast into slavery for having an affair with her husband's slave. Claudius gains control of her and, despite his lust for her beauty, proceeds to treat her like garbage, threatening her with whippings, assigning her humiliating chores, and refusing to so much as even look at her. And guess what? She eventually falls in love with him. Take THAT, Women's Lib!

And yes, Vesuvius's eruption is the climax of the book. We all knew it was heading there, anyway. Saul rushes through the disaster, getting some details wrong - he has the city covered in lava moments after the eruption, but archeologists now know that the townspeople had a long time to escape the city between the first blast and the eventual destruction. In fact, it now seems that the majority of the citizens safely escaped; those who did die in the catastrophe only did so because they stayed behind, thinking it was safe. (Saul makes another mistake when he has Marcius mention stirrups, something which wasn't invented for another 500 years.)

So, at times poorly written, with a plot based on a ridiculous prophecy, and with characters who are a bit too wooden, The Last Nights of Pompeii isn't a great novel, but it's at least some good and trashy fun.

The Gladiators, by Martin Saul


The Gladiators, by Martin Saul
Signet, 1967

In 1966 Martin Saul published The Last Nights of Pompeii, which I reviewed here, a slim book set in the post-Nero era of ancient Rome. In 1967 he followed that up with this novel, just as slim, a tale about a Roman citizen turned gladiator during the era of Nero's rule. I'm guessing Saul was Australian, as the book is copyrighted by some publishing house based in Australia - this Signet paperback was the first and only US edition.

Much like the previous novel, The Gladiators is basically a love story. Scaurius is the main character and narrator, Scandinavian-born but raised Roman. Just returned from warring with Vespasian in the East, Scaurius notes how decadent Rome has become under Nero. Already feeling like an outsider, he gets in more trouble when he comes across a beautiful young woman who happens to be Christian. She's on the run from the Emperor's men; Scaurius of course falls in love with her, and after various mishaps he ends up in prison with a bunch of Christians, awaiting execution in the arena.

Scaurius convinces his captors - including Nero - that he is not a Christian. At length they concede he might be telling the truth, but they keep him locked up. Only now, rather than just becoming lion-bait, he will battle as a gladiator. The second half of the novel is a series of repetitive gladiatorial matches, Scaurius usually up against a lion or three, until the last event, in which he faces off against professional gladiators. It's all very underwhelming, despite the setup.

And again much like the previous novel, The Gladiators is just underdeveloped. Scenes aren't played out to their full potential, and the narrative rushes to the conclusion. Characters as well are underdeveloped; I had a hard time buying Scaurius's sudden love for the Christian girl. And speaking of which, whereas The Last Nights of Pompeii at least strayed clear of the Christian glurge which permeates most historical fiction set in this era, The Gladiators at times revels in it, with Christians blathering ad naseum about the wonders of their faith and the sinfulness of the Romans. Saul tries to skirt this, with Scaurius not wholly buying into it all, instead coming to a New Age understanding of "one god" who stands behind all religions. I did appreciate how despite all of that, Scaurius still has no qualms with butchering his opponents in the arena and ridicules the Christians for their pacifism.

What's funny is that the novel wraps up with a three page denouement, told in summary, in which Scaurius leaves Rome and ends up in his homeland of Scandinavia, where he eventually founds a royal line. It turns out he's the son of a king, of course, and he names his son Beowulf - the idea being that he is the Beowulf of the saga. This three page denouement is more interesting than the story told in the novel itself! Yet Saul brushes over it as an afterthought; further proof that this novel was underdeveloped.