kajean

A lovely story of the Battle of Teutoburg, which changed forever the expansion of Rome. The language is lyrical, simply beautiful. Do not miss this tale of first century Rome and its northern frontier as seen through the experiences of two young men from opposite sides of that same frontier. There's a cute little slave, too, and a sacred oak

A truly lovely story. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us.

The prose, as well as the setting, also reminds me of the poetry of Robert Frost. Especially, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall." Also, his much longer poem "Home Burial". Excellent work, Sir Mark, no matter your inspiration.

So Jack dies of a broken heart and spirit.

These guys are hilarious. The story is intense, but there is so much humor in the dialogue and in some of the situations.

I grieve with Jack.

I'm devastated, although the foreshadowing was clear that something tragic was coming.

Thank you so much for this beautiful, beautiful story.

There is still the new artifact from the basin.

I am in tears. Happy tears or sad tears, I can't tell. Maybe both? Again, simply lovely.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

Just a note, Sir Robert, about this delightful tale. I love classical music, though I have been known to enjoy other musical genre. I recognized Satis House, although it is MISS Havisham, not Mrs. She was a misandrist because she was abandoned (stood-up) at her wedding. As a result she became a recluse in her father's house, Satis House, where she tortured poor Pip and tutored Estella also to be a misandrist. But it appears that Maude in your tale is not of that persuasion, although she is hilariously observant. Well done, so far. Another lovable saga in the Hugillverse. Thank you for sharing your talent. This story is positively Dickensian, especially the characters and your delicious descriptions of them.

Many decades ago when I was still a very young teenager, our family drove over some mountain passes like the one Mac was negotiating. Those roads have long since been widened and paved, but I remember the tensensess in the car while we were inching along. Many many many moons later I rode my motorcycle over some other unpaved and narrow passes. Couldn't see up the vertical cliff on my right. And on my left the trees were so far down they looked like lawn! Incredible. And the scenery; absolutely breath-taking. These days I worry whether the elevator in my senior-living facility will be steady.😄 But those were interesting experiences that allow me to picture Mac's and Devin's adventures. As for the Arkansas River, I've seen the rapids thrashing through the canyons up in the Salida area. Exciting to see, but no way would I want to be on a raft out on that. I've hiked up Mt. Rudolph and found an abandoned mine on its slopes. And our ranch up in the hills was riddled with canyons and side-canyons. I'm thrilled, Bill, that you've placed these stories about Mac and Dev in my neighborhood. They allow me to be young again -- at least in my head. Thanks.

What beautiful, gentle prose! It sings.

There is more than just the missing artifact (U.S. spelling). The original idea was to regain the Nimrud Panther, AND to get revenge on all the old associates AND ALL THEIR FAMILIES no matter how distant or innocent.