Review: Terra Incognita by Simon Turney

Posted September 9, 2024 by Stephanie in 3.5 stars, Historical Fiction, Review / 6 Comments

An empire on the edge. A scheme for glory.
A plan to control the greatest river in the world.

61 AD. Under Emperor Nero, Rome is rich and powerful, but dissatisfaction is rife. The emperor himself schemes avidly to increase his wealth and indulge his pleasures – and slaughter his many enemies – but also seeks glory.

The great River Nile, life-giver to the Egyptians, the Kushites, and many other kingdoms through the African continent. Nobody from the Roman Empire has ever tracked the Nile to its source… but if it can be done, mastery of the greatest waterway in the known world – and with it, the control of friend and foe alike – may be possible.

But the price of obtaining such knowledge will be terrible. Those soldiers selected to command and serve on the mission will be at risk the moment they pass beyond the Roman borders of Egypt. Kingdoms and tribes hostile to Rome, vast swathes of desert, fierce beasts… and the price of failure hanging over their heads, for Nero is not an easy man to please.

A gripping historical adventure featuring many historical figures from the classical era, Terra Incognita is perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane.

Terra Incognita by Simon Turney was a good solid historical fiction adventure set during the time of the early times of the Roman Empire when Nero was ruling it. It was also plenty funny, which is something I hadn’t necessarily expected for some reason but I did have a chuckle every now and then when I was reading. There were lots of action scenes, many of them involving the danger of the exotic animals or the army’s own people turning against their leaders. I loved the two centurions, Faventinus and Densus that made the two lead characters of the story. I enjoyed reading about their friendship and how they kept each other standing during this grueling expedition. They really were not only the backbone of the the Praetorian Guard that they were leading but also of the story.

My only reason for not giving this book more stars was that eventually the story started dragging a bit. It went on for a while to the point that I just wanted them to find the damn source or just give up and go back. There were also some repetitive scenes and elements that could’ve been written better or differently. This is not to say that Simin Turney isn’t very knowledable about ancient Rome or the Roman army because he really does know his shit about this topic and his writing really shows that. It just went on a little too long for me to fully enjoy all of the story. And even so the end felt a little abrubt all of a sudden, if that makes any sense.

Surprisingly humorous with incredicle settings and persevering characters, Terra Incognita was a riveting adventure into a true unknown land for Rome’s Praetorian Guard and the two centurions leading them, along with a tribune who’s losing grip on reality the longer they go on. In Simon Turney’s latest book Nero, Emperor of the mighty Rome gives the order to find the source of the Nile. It will be a dangerous expedition into the land of Kush which is on the brink of civial war and into the lands of unknown tribes, that are teeming with menancing animals like crocodile, hippo’s and packs of lions and hyena’s.

About the author:

Simon lives with his wife, children and dog in rural North Yorkshire. Having spent much of his childhood visiting historic sites with his grandfather, a local photographer, Simon fell in love with the Roman heritage of the region, beginning with the world famous Hadrian’s Wall. His fascination with the ancient world snowballed from there with great interest in Egypt, Greece and Byzantium, though his focus has always been Rome. A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his rare free time travelling the world visiting historic sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading voraciously.

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