As always, Blake writes with immense historical and classical erudition, while displaying an ability to render 1500-year-old conversations in realistically colloquial English.
—C4SS on The Blood of Alexandria
[Blake] knows how to deliver a fast-paced story and his grasp of the period is impressively detailed
—Mail on Sunday on The Terror of Constantinople
[Blake's] plotting can seem off-puttingly anarchic until the penny drops that everyone is simultaneously embroiled in multiple, often conflicting, scams. Aelric's survival among the last knockings of empire in Constantinople depends not on deducing who wants him dead, but who wants him dead at any given moment.—Daily Telegrph on The Terror of Constantinople
It would be hard to over-praise this extraordinary series, a near-perfect blend of historical detail and atmosphere with the plot of a conspiracy thriller, vivid characters, high philosophy and vulgar comedy.
—Morning Star on The Sword of Damascus
I can't resist recommending this first volume of a promised trilogy. Set during the last pangs of Imperial Rome, with a vivid account of the machinations of the early Church, it is well-informed, atmospheric and beautifully written.—Literary Review on Conspiracies of Rome
Fascinating to read, very well written, an intriguing plot and I enjoyed it very much.
—Derek Jacobi on Conspiracies of Rome
Blake's plotting is as brilliantly devious as the mind of his sardonic and very earthy hero. This is a story of villainy that reels you in from its prosaic opening through a series of death-defying thrills and spills.—Lancashire Evening Post on The Ghosts of Athens
