Reviewed by Nin Harris

Den of Wolves, the first novel in Luke Devenish’s Empress of Rome trilogy, is a fictitious and stylised account of what happened behind the scenes from the time-period of Julius Caesar’s assassination to the years after the death of Germanicus in Antioch. Den of Wolves’s highly stylised displays of the excesses of Roman skullduggery and politicking is as much a tribute to Robert Graves’s I, Claudius as it is to various cinematic and paperback potboilers set during the timeline of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. While not aiming to be a straightforward and straight-laced account of life in Roman times, it is mostly historically consistent.  

The cinematographic influence is obvious; each page seems to bleed both colour and spectacle. Devenish knows how to hook his readers with the plot, and dishes out spectacle after spectacle of murder, betrayal, sexual excess, peppered with enough scatological references to turn the more tender-minded reader green to the gills; caveat lector!  

The main connection driving this story is the relationship between the slave Iphicles and his mistress, Livia Drusilla. Devenish ties the connection between mistress and slave to that of Cybele and Attis in a very intriguing way, allowing the reader a glimpse into the inner workings of the mystery cult; this frames the unnaturally long life of the slave who is also the narrator of the projected three novels of the Empress of Rome trilogy.

This narrative ploy takes the story out of the province of historical fiction into the in-between places between historical fiction and speculative fiction, further augmented by other myth-based fantasy elements, reminiscent of Marion Zimmer Bradley. As such, Den of Wolves may be arguably considered interstitial in its delivery, rather than purely historical. Many of the supernatural elements of the plot cannot be explained away by history or rational belief, but are still consistent with older storytelling forms that require a suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader.

Devenish highlights Egyptian influence in Roman life at the time, which is symbolised by the mystery cult of Cybele, and the influence of the mysterious Egyptian slave, Martina, who creates an interesting link between Cleopatra and Livia Drusilla. This influence contrasts with the Stoic ideals exemplified by Piso, who tries to hold on in vain to the Ways of the Fathers in a political climate that is so literally poisonous that every meal seems to be an adventure of survival.

Unfortunately the Stoic way of life—employed as a foil to the excesses of the blood-soaked depictions of life in Rome—does not really get much more than cursory exploration; it would have been interesting to see a more rigorous contrast between the conflicting ideals. On the other hand, Devenish does very well in his portrayal of characters such as Piso or Sejanus, who are either maligned or overlooked in some ways by history. His development of these characters is arguably one of the strengths of this novel; hopefully this is sustained throughout the next two books.

Den of Wolves is an interesting read for fans of historical potboilers and those with a high tolerance of what the author himself calls “swords, sandals, sex and sin” books. It is an obviously well-researched, if sensationalised narrative; the author has noted his decision to use debunked and apocryphal historical accounts that he considered more exciting and relevant to his story. As such, possible scholars of Roman history or lovers of Stoic philosophy should consider themselves forewarned; proceed only if you’re willing to allow for a lot of artistic and creative license.

However, the novel remains consistent with the mores of the time and it does leave this reader very curious about how Devenish plans to expand on the lives of Agrippina the Elder, Agrippina the Younger, the very intriguing Sejanus and the ever-present Little Boots.

 
Empire of Rome: Den of Wolves
(2008)

by Luke Devenish
Random House Australia
ISBN: 9781863256216
AUD$32.95