Write Out Loud (Reviews and Writing)

“After this storm, I think there’s more in the distance…”

I remember the first time I read the fourth book of the Harry Potter series (The Goblet of Fire). Up until then, the books had been fun and brilliantly written children’s books – Narnia for a modern age, if you like. But then the fourth book turned everything on its head and the Harry Potter world took a dark turn. It was super, but incredibly shocking. None of us expected the ending. We knew that nothing would be the same again after this. And it wasn’t.

The Enemies of Jupiter is Caroline Lawrence’s Goblet of Fire. It starts in the familiar tone of the previous books but by the middle it is looking overcast and by the end the sky is well and truly black. For the first time, we get a real cliffhanger. There’s no chance of me not going straight onto the next book in the series! With this book, Lawrence has taken us down are dark path with these four young detectives. Pre-teens yet more mature than some of us ever get to be.

The premise this time is that the plague continues to ravage the land and has particularly affected Rome. Titus invites Dr Mordecai, Jonathan’s father who is having great success at healing plague victims, and the four friends (who saved his life back in book IV) to solve a new mystery – a dream of Titus that Prometheus has opened Pandora’s box. Titus believes finding and stopping this ‘Prometheus’ will bring the plague to an end. Little does anyone know that there is a secret plot already hatched that will have destructive results.

Leaving aside the bizarre mixing of Roman mythology and the fact that Pandora’s ‘box’ is a mistranslation and is actually a jar, this book takes us through the life of ancient Romans just as the previous books did. We learn a lot about (competing) medical treatments, the relationship of the subjugated jews to Rome and life in general in Rome itself. As always, Lawrence succeeds in making learning history fun. I continue to marvel at her clever ability to use plots to present Roman history clearly.

But, as I say, this book ends darkly. If you’ve got this far with the series, you’re invested in the characters and world that has been built by the author. You’re going to read the next book without a shadow of a doubt. Some time ago in this series I wondered how Lawrence was going to keep the momentum going as each of the four detectives seemed to have had a book each to reveal their back stories. Now I have something of a clearer view. What’s more, I notice that certain themes for the characters continue to bubble away which leads me to think that the dark times will not be over with their presumed conclusion in book VIII. After this storm, I think there’s more in the distance on their way.

Another brilliant book then in the series. I’m absolutely hooked and there seems to be no waning of that was I approach the halfway mark. There’s no altering my view that the box set is worth buying for any young readers who love ancient Rome. At the very least, don’t buy less than the first eight books. Although, in my next review I may end up having to say nine. There’s no telling what Caroline Lawrence is going to do next.

My Verdict:

You can buy me a coffee if you like! More accurately, you can help support my work either as a one off or monthly if you really want to show your love…

Read all the reviews for this series:

• Reflection: The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries I – The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries II – The Secrets of Vesuvius by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries III – The Pirates of Pompeii
• The Roman Mysteries IV – The Assassins of Rome by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries V – The Dolphins of Laurentum by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries VI – The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries VII – The Enemies of Jupiter by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries VIII – The Gladiators from Capua by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries IX – The Colossus of Rhodes by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries X – The Fugitive from Corinth by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries XI – The Sirens of Surrentum by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries XII – The Charioteer of Delphi by Caroline Lawrence
• The Roman Mysteries XIII – The Slave-girl from Jerusalem by Caroline Lawrence

Social Entrepreneur, educationalist, bestselling author and journalist, D K Powell is the author of the bestselling collection of literary short stories “The Old Man on the Beach“. His first book, ‘Sonali’ is a photo-memoir journal of life in Bangladesh and has been highly praised by the Bangladeshi diaspora worldwide. Students learning the Bengali language have also valued the English/Bengali translations on every page. His third book is ‘Try not to Laugh’ and is a guide to memorising, revising and passing exams for students.

Both ‘The Old Man on the Beach’ and ‘Sonali’ are available on Amazon for kindle and paperback. Published by Shopno Sriti Media. The novel,’The Pukur’, was published by Histria Books in 2022.

D K Powell is available to speak at events (see his TEDx talk here) and can be contacted at dkpowell.contact@gmail.com. Alternatively, he is available for one-to-one mentoring and runs a course on the psychology of writing. Listen to his life story in interview with the BBC here.

Ken writes for a number of publications around the world. Past reviewer for Paste magazine, The Doughnut, E2D and United Airways and Lancashire Life magazine. Currently reviews for Northern Arts Review. His reviews have been read more than 7.9 million times.

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