The Last King
Michael Curtis Ford
(Reviewer - D. H. BROWN)
2004 Thomas Dunne Books
ISBN: 0312275390

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Rome's Greatest Enemy.

While the Goths or the Huns were foes of the mighty Roman Empire, the fiercest was a king on the shores of the distant Black Sea: Mithridates Eupator VI of Pontus, known to history as Mithridates the Great.

For over 40 years, Rome seeks, with its greatest generals, to contain this legendary warrior. Time & again Mithdridates is defeated & Rome declares victory ... & then he comes roaring back with an even mightier army.

The Last King tells who this man was & his kingdom, & why his story has become the stuff of myth & legend, & part of our collective psyche, from which many a fairytale stems.

Sr. Staff Reviewer D. H. BROWN writes:

I want to say right in the forefront that any further accolades that I might heap upon the head of Michael Curtis Ford for his meticulous writing, scene setting, & accurate historical dramas, will have already been said by others. So with that in mind, let me say that The Last King upon landing in my reading pile, was at most, greeted with a “Ho-hum, here's another great book from Michael Curtis Ford.” Rebecca gave me a posting date & I proceeded to meander my way toward it, reading my usual eclectic mix of mysteries, science fiction & other works which catch my eye. Don't get me wrong! I wasn't avoiding it, I mean, after all I had read & reviewed his two previous works & had no reason to believe that The Last King would be nothing other than the best book to come my way.

The first thing to catch my eye when I opened it were the great maps of Rome & Asia 1st Century B.C. inside the front & back covers. As I applied my eyes to take in the terrain wherein this great adventure would be set, I saw the Black Sea, & a little point of land sticking out with a black dot that said “Sinope”. Now that riveted my attention.

During the travels granted to me by my rich Uncle Sam, I spent quite a bit of time at that little forward base during the Cold War, at a place known as The Hill. Mainly looking southward over the isthmus at the sleepy little town of Sinop. “Wow!” I thought & a whole raft of memories began reappearing. I remembered driving along that dusty road from Sinop to Samsun, & following the trail of Crusader castles; climbing steps of forts & fortifications & tripping down hundreds of steps to the underground well grottos that made them self-sufficient. I read a lot of books at the time about this fort built on top of that fort, this town built on top of that town, vineyards & olive groves that were thousands of years old, & my most enduring memory of my time in that area, was that even the air smelt old.

So now, I can't wait to turn the first pages of The Last King: Rome's greatest enemy. Michael Curtis Ford crawls inside your skin with his words, does a magic little thing & transports you back to the time of legends, when men were men, women were women & slaves were slaves; & the intrigue of the day makes our present day politicians appear to be wimps by comparison. Fathers killing sons, sons killing fathers, brothers killing brothers, mothers killing sons -- all with one aim -- to remain on the top of the heap, for as long as possible -- & leaving a good-looking corpse was not always an option.

Needless to say I was transported! I started reading about 10pm, took a break, continued reading about 1am & was still reading at 5am when the clash of my eyelashes with my cheeks overrode the sounds of battle in my minds ears. I was a total wreck the next day but I finished it. I felt like I had marched, raced, been routed, harassed, destroyed, fled in panic, charged in triumph, seized opportunities & was devastated by charges. By the time I was done, I really needed to come back to the present, because to have lived in that time would not have been survivable for me.

So, maybe you're getting the idea that I enjoyed The Last King. That's really too weak of a word. Enjoy. Sounds like a casual event, doesn't it? I wiped blood from my eyes, blew dust from my nose for a week after pulling my head out of Michael Curtis Ford's world. Did I enjoy it? Oh yeah. Did I like it? Oh yeah. Was it interesting? Oh yeah! Do I want to read more? Oh yeah!! History will never be the same for you once you read a book by Michael Curtis Ford!

You can start with The Last King & read his other two books in reverse order, or start with the first & end with the latest ... no, never mind! If you pick up one you'll have to read them all! I can't wait to find out where next I'm going to have to fight in the ancient world at 3am. I must warn you, you start reading & you're drafted! Whether you want to go or not, you will go, & you'll enjoy every minute of it.

More from Michael Curtis Ford:
The Ten Thousand
Gods And Legions
The Sword of Attila

Visit www.michaelcurtisford.com

Do catch our Interview with this extraordinary & modest author.
(05/30/04)

D. H. Brown
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Staff Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
D. H. BROWN is the author of the critically acclaimed HONOR DUE and the Citizens Warrior Series. The son of missionary parents and with the help his Uncle Sam, he has touched base in more than 40 countries.  In 1986 he produced the independent children's film Lessie's Rainbow.  During the late 80s and early 90s, he wrote the book Common Sense and delivered the seminars of the same name for the Community Action Network of Seattle (CAN).  While doing his early Vietnam recovery work, he counseled Veterans and spoke widely to men's groups in Washington state, and was a founder of The Lodge of the Wolf.

D. H. BROWN has worked as a  Logistics and Weapons Specialist in Viet Nam;  day laborer; Director of Security;  Armored Car Driver; Police Officer;  Professional Hunting Guide;  Trapper;  Dog Sledder; Homesteader;  Truck Driver;  General Contractor;  Minister;  Editor; Writer;  Speaker;  Restaurateur;  Movie Producer;  Antique Restoration Specialist;  Personal Care Worker;  PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor;  Webmaster and Web Designer. "I write about what I know."

He lives deep in the Pacific Northwest rainforest with his wife, author and editor Rebecca and Buddy Dog, working on his next book.Editor; Writer; Speaker; Restaurateur; Antique Restoration Specialist; Personal Care Worker; PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor, Webmaster and Web Designer among others.
“Always Learning” He says.