Although a historian by profession, I really feel that I do not know enough about the older history of the territory of present-day Slovenia, and I was really looking forward to the informations this book might give me. And even
it is true that I gain some new knowledge, in overall I was rather disappointed.

It was really difficult to separate the fictitious from the real characters, the fictitious from the actual events, and every single interesting event was abruptly interrupted by a continuation of the action that was increasingly difficult to follow.

All of this caused a growing loss of interest in reading and ultimately it really took a lot of effort to complete the book. And I must say I am sorry to say that, because I was really happy to get a chance to read something like this. In the end, it wasn't a bad read, just not the one I was expecting.

White Panther is what epics are made of - rich, heavy on the detail, and filled with vibrant characters. I found it a little slow going at first, but it hauled me in regardless, setting the scene beautifully.

A fictional account of the early years of the Noreian kingdom (second century BC), in Latin Noricum, roughly modern day Slovenia. Written by a Slovenian politician, a man who has served as his country’s prime minister, unsurprisingly this is a patriotic piece.

Far too long, the narrative is often stilted and ponderous, if not downright clichéd. There is a huge cast of characters; a map would have assisted with the plethora of place-names; some editing might have helped with a more coherent story. The translation is tortured and often gives the strong impression of not understanding the text, reading as a literal and sometimes uncomprehending rendering. For example, the translator does not seem to know that a ‘stade’ was an ancient measurement and generally translates the term as ‘stadiums’.

This is a pity, as the story grows stronger as it proceeds. The author certainly knows his ancient history, linking the Noreians with the anti-Roman nations of the day, such as the Macedonians under King Philip V. The final chapters deal with the first external threat to the fledgling kingdom, an invasion by a migrant and warlike people, the Cimbri. These chapters are impressive, filled with warfare, heroic sacrifice and a major testing of the warriors and people of Noreia. No doubt this is simply a prelude for further volumes and the significantly more perilous threat of the growing Roman Empire.

I will openly admit that I was somewhat bias going into this book. Slovenia is beautiful. If you haven’t been, go. It’s green and golden and the land of lakes and mountains and oh, I love it so. It is rare to find historical fiction based in the smaller countries of Europe, let alone little old Slovenia. So that was a big tick.

It read a little like YA? I am not opposed to YA in general, but YA historical fiction isn’t really my bag. It also features quite a lot of military strategy chat, and I do admit to skimming over some of that…

Other than the fact it was based in Slovenia, I don’t have much overly enthusiastic to say about this coming of age novel. It is one I would recommend to my male teenage cousins, to try to coax them into the world of fiction. It won’t rock their world, but they’re more likely to read historical fiction than fantasy.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, this was a unique historical fiction in that you do not find a lot of historical fiction regarding the various European tribes outside of Rome and Greece. The book follows the childhood and life of Lan (a Noric boy), from his early everyday childhood, his brief sojourn to Rome, his romances, and his military exploits. The book is mostly a coming of age story. It read like a young adult novel in some parts, which didn't bother me. There were a lot of odd grammatical errors and formatting issues. I still enjoyed the book, however. The reason why I gave it 3 stars is that I thought parts of it dragged, especially the first 3rd of the story, I didn't quit get where the plot was going, but I would honestly recommend to push through the book until you get a 3rd of a way, the plot starts to pick up. I thought the military parts were somewhat dull, but that may be personal preference as I am not usually a fan of novels with a lot of military strategy in them.