What if Roman Empire neverl fell? That's the premise of Sargassa, first installment in Ex Romana series. Although it starts as adult fantasy, it's more of an alternative historial dystopia (you'll find out why at the end of the book). Sophie Burnham created a world resembling our own though... built on Ancient Rome with all its glory - social hierarchy, gladiators, slaves etc. One of the most important people out there is Imperial Historian who oversees the history. And the current one is killed... which leads to the plot of our story.

Sargassa is a slow read. Very slow. The writing style itself is pretty captivating but I had a problem to get into the story in the beginning. I don't usually read high fantasy or historical books (especially in English) so I struggled for a while. Not because it was bad but because I couldn't truly dive into the story. I devoured the book after I managed to do that though. The second half of the books is action packed and all the characters come together in one big action. I can't really say much without spoiling it but the main plot twist in the end? Wow. Didn't expect it at all.

Characters are just as important as plot. We follow several different Povs which helps the complexity of whole book, showing different benefits and cons of different social statutes etc. Big focus is also on sexuality and self-appreciaton. You'll get a lot of queer characters.

In the end, Sargassa was truly a hidden gem. I can't wait for the book 2 because this? I digged it. And in few last chapters I couldn't get enough.

Thank you Netgalley and DAW Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

"In a world where Rome never fell."

When I first heard of this book and read its synopsis I was hooked. A story that follows a rag-tag group as they delve deeper into the secrets of the world they are living in and learning they are ready to watch it burn. However, the book didn't hit the mark for me. While the writing was excellent I found the story to be very plot heaving. We were introduced to our main characters through their POVs but the focus still remained mostly on the world they were living in. I found that since it was plot heavy I ended up not feeling strongly toward any of the characters. I felt at one point that on of the MCs could be killed and I just wouldn't care because I wasn't able to connect.

While, this book didn't end up being for me I think that anyone who loves a strong political fantasy will find this book to be their cup of tea.

Sargassa by Sophie Burnham, well written but not a book for me. Thank you for giving me a chance with this book but it didn't succeed at keeping my attention and making me want to come back.

This sounded fascinating, but the description of the book seems completely at odds with what I started reading! The beginning is so busy, confusing and just an explosion of characters, history, motivations... I couldn't keep track of it all enough to get very far. Really sorry, DNF.

The disjointed beginning of Sargassa, a thriller about revolution, information, and who gets to have power and why, belies just how masterful the novel becomes.

The opening of Sargassa—contrary to the rest of the book—feels sloppy. It has a great hook—the Imperial Historian of Sargassa, part of a Roman Empire which never fell, is murdered. However, this momentum is squandered by info-dumping and rapid jumps in time and character perspective.

Fortunately, these issues are resolved within the first 50 pages or so. Once the setting is established, the excellent world-building and characterizations come to the fore. What really stands out is how well the characters are emmeshed in a Roman society heavily divided by ethnicity and class. Their world-views are heavily shaped by their privilege or lack thereof and power makes its way into every relationship, either drawing characters together or working to force them apart. Close third-person narration captures this dynamic in intimate detail. The romances—based first and foremost on emotional need rather than physical attraction—deserve special mention, particularly the central sapphic relationship between Selah and Tair.

Still, the story lacks a consistent sense of tension beyond the excellent personal dramas. Despite the clever political maneuvering in the background, the POV characters are often too unaware of what is happening to create suspense. For example, when the Imperial Historian is murdered, neither Selah nor Arran, his children and POV characters, are overly concerned about solving the mystery or being assassinated themselves. It plays out more like a drama than a political thriller except for some POV chapters.

A little before page 200 (about halfway), the characters start to become more directly involved in the political danger and the novel kicks up a notch. The political and the personal dramas begin to ratchet up to a fever pitch, culminating in series of clever reveals and tough (one in particular) character choices. It is up-lifting, earth-shattering, and devastating all at once. I’m going to have a hard time waiting for the sequel.

I have posted this review to Goodreads and will post it my Twitter ( @laramie_graber) and Instagram (@laramiegraber).

I'm loving the current trend of including Greek and Roman history in sff atm. This is more of a fantasy based on an alternate history but the author has skilfully blended fantasy with history and this goes down smooth as ice cream. Great characters and an exciting, intelligent story made this one of my favourite reads of the year.

If someone ever asks you, “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” just hand them Sophie Burnham’s Sargassa, lean close to their ear, and whisper, “More than you can possibly imagine,” because, my god, this kept the history nerd in me grinning for over 400 pages!

I was tempted to turn this into a spoiler-filled review because there was so much I wanted to geek out about, but I also know many people ignore spoiler warnings and read the review anyway. I really want everyone to experience this without any prior knowledge of the plot.

As a matter of fact, don’t even read the description. If you love alternate history, delicious villains, dystopia with incredible world-building, and characters who are one step away from either saving the world or breaking it, I guarantee you’ll love Sargassa.

One thing I want to praise in particular is the world-building. I love both history and SFF, so I’m the type of reader who is really difficult to impress with an alternate history narrative. Writers usually underestimate how difficult it is to take something from real history, especially two massive historical events such as the Roman Empire and the discovery of the Americas by Europeans, and then use these events to create an alternate timeline. Usually, this premise falls flat because the alternate history simply isn’t believable. But Sargassa is a great example of how writers should write alternate history. That’s why I keep emphasizing that history enthusiasts, especially those who love the Roman Empire, will absolutely fall in love with this story. It will keep them repeating the phrase, “Interesting. Yeah, I see how this could’ve happened.”

A quick tip: consider reading the appendix “An Official History of Roma & Her Client Empires” before reading the story. I discovered it after finishing the novel, but I think it would’ve been nice to read before starting. Not that the plot itself was confusing or anything, but if you have a more list-based mindset like me, the appendix is a great resource.

Overall, Sophie Burnham’s debut was a fantastic read and one of my favorite stories of 2024. It’s probably just one of my favorites in its genre. I finished Sargassa and immediately Googled if there was a sequel, only to remember mid-search that this was only an ARC of the first book. I think that’s really the biggest compliment I can give to a debut and a first entry in a series.

There's a lot to like about this book. It's very well written, for the most part, and the plot is absolutely riveting. I had a hard time putting the book down.

I did find it a bit difficult to get into - I think the time jumps in the opening chapters, and then the viewpoints from all the different characters contributed to that, but once I got past the first few chapters, it was very compelling. The book is plot driven rather than character driven, which is okay, but I do like more character development. The main characters are somewhat interchangeable, and the villains are VILLAINS. There was one character who was mildly morally ambiguous because he was motivated by belief in the system, rather than pure evil; I would have liked more of that. I also found the couples annoying - sort of insta-love and again, not much character development.

there is a big twist at the end, which I kind of saw coming, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment. I also very much liked the other twist at the end, which involves one character doing something unanticipated.

Even though this sounds very critical, I enjoyed this book very much - good writing and a good plot go a long way to captivate my attention. I'm a bit disappointed I'll have to wait so long for the next installment.

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley.

An alternative history Roman empire

Approximately 2000 years ago (no one knows for sure how long it's been), Augustus Caesar became the first princeps of Roma. The Empire grew, and Caesarian explorers crossed the Sargasso Sea to discover the continents on the other side. Some of them moved north to Sargassa, where they defeated the Ynglots and established the state of Roma Sargassa. But then 800 years after Augustus, Italia was decimated by plague. A few years later Roma was sacked, leading to a general breakdown of civilization, called The Great Quiet. No one knows how long the Quiet lasted -- historians estimate it was about 300 years. Much of the pre-Quiet historical record was lost. Eventually, Roma was re-established. Five years later Antal Iveroa was appointed the first Imperial Historian. The office of Historian passed from him to his descendants -- in 753 PQ (Post Quietam) Alexander Kleios became Imperial Historian. In 779 PQ Alexander Kleios was assassinated. Thus begins our story.

The preceding history is condensed from "An Official History of Roma and Her Client Empires", which appears as an appendix to Sophie Burnham's novel Sargassa, the first book in her planned series Ex Romana. I read the appendix before reading the novel, and I advise you to do the same. It spoils nothing and makes the novel easier to follow.

A Sargassan citizen who commits a crime will be forced into servitude. The children of servae (slaves) can be apprenticed to a trade, and if they do well (as judged by their masters, of course) become Sargassan citizens -- vernae, but they remain clients of their masters. There exists a resistance movement, called the Revenants, fighting for their idea of democracy. The government of Sargassa call the Revenants terrorists. The Revenants are immediately blamed by the Cohort Publica (think "police") for the Historian's murder.

Alexander left an artifact behind for his heir -- his daughter Selah. It's called the Iveroa stone, and everyone wants it. (view spoiler)

This was a good story, with lots of good characters, including not just good guys but at least one delicious villain. Near the end we get a huge reveal, which I will not spoil. I certainly intend to read the sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for an advance reader copy of Sargassa. Release date 8-Oct-2024.

Another case of "well written but not for me."

It's dystopian, which is not a genre I enjoy, and it also features the kind of characters who you always feel are about to make a terrible decision that will plunge everything into tragedy, which I also don't enjoy. That's about taste, not quality; the author writes well, the mechanics are unusually good, and the premise (the Roman Empire somehow survived and, as far as I can make out, colonized North America; I think that's where we are), but it just isn't the right book for this reader.