The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston

The Shards of Heaven (Shards of Heaven, #1)

by Michael Livingston

Julius Caesar is dead, assassinated on the senate floor, and the glory that is Rome has been torn in two. Octavian, Caesar's ambitious great-nephew and adopted son, vies with Marc Antony and Cleopatra for control of Caesar's legacy. As civil war rages from Rome to Alexandria, and vast armies and navies battle for supremacy, a secret conflict may shape the course of history.

Juba, Numidian prince and adopted brother of Octavian, has embarked on a ruthless quest for the Shards of Heaven, lost treasures said to possess the very power of the gods--or the one God. Driven by vengeance, Juba has already attained the fabled Trident of Poseidon, which may also be the staff once wielded by Moses. Now he will stop at nothing to obtain the other Shards, even if it means burning the entire world to the ground.

Caught up in these cataclysmic events, and the hunt for the Shards, are a pair of exiled Roman legionnaires, a Greek librarian of uncertain loyalties, assassins, spies, slaves . . . and the ten-year-old daughter of Cleopatra herself.

Michael Livingston's The Shards of Heaven reveals the hidden magic behind the history we know, and commences a war greater than any mere mortal battle.

Reviewed by Beth C. on

3 of 5 stars

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Julius Caesar is dead - who will now rule Rome? Will it be Octavion, one of Caesar's adopted sons? Or will it be Cleopatra and Mark Antony who prevail and set Caesar's true son on the throne? Added into the mix is Juba, another adopted son of Caesar who burns with revenge and is searching for the Shards of Heaven in order to carry it out. When he find a shard and learns its powers, how far will he go to find the others?

In some ways, this book is excellent. The overall writing style fits the story, and the descriptions of the places and the battles are fantastic. There is a lot of religion (Judeo-Christian) about 3/4 of the way through this book - so much at that point that it was jarring and felt somewhat out of place. It was woven in better after that, but I honestly started to wonder if I had accidentally picked up a book meant for a religious audience. That in itself would not a bad thing, but it felt somewhat...abrupt...the way it was done.

The characters do seem to suffer somewhat in the story. There were only two characters that I really managed to feel much for, and neither of them were main characters. They contributed quite a bit, but were definitely not focal points. The main characters all seem shallowly drawn, though I have hope that they will be more fleshed out in the next book. I'm hoping it's just a result of so much happening in this book to get things started.

Overall, though, I really did like the story. It's an intriguing story line, and one that could be amazing from here on out. It's somewhat difficult to explain more about that without giving spoilers. Suffice to say that there are secret societies, questions of Gods vs. God, and battles galore. It's quite the intertwining of fantasy and history, and I do look forward to reading the next book. I will probably recommend this to a few friends, but I will also probably look to get the sequel from the library vs. purchasing it to keep.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 October, 2015: Finished reading
  • 21 October, 2015: Reviewed