Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator
WORK NOTES: with Claudia Christian
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.morganbuchanan.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: Australia
NATIONALITY: Australian
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: three sons.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Fiction, comic book, and short story writer; teacher of Taoist philosophy tai chi and meditation.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Australian science fiction writer Morgan Grant Buchanan and actor and writer Claudia Christian collaborated on the “Wolf’s Empire” book series about a futuristic Roman Empire. Born in Australia and raised in Beaumaris, Buchanan is a writer of science fiction and historical fantasy, and is a teacher of Taoist philosophy tai chi and meditation. Born August 10, 1965 in Glendale, California, Christian is also a director, producer, voice-over artist, and founder and CEO of the charity organization C3 Foundation. She is best known as playing Commander Susan Ivanova in the science fiction television show Babylon 5. In 2007, Christian published her autobiography, My Life With Geeks and Freaks, in which she offers a poignant and often humorous account of her life growing up, acting, and encountering science fiction fans. She also published two short stories by Under The Moon.
Babylon Confidential
Christian and Buchanan met on the movie set of Barrier where she was acting and he was writing. They discussed other projects they could do together. Buchanan agreed to collaborate with Christian on her 2012 memoir Babylon Confidential: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and Addiction. Leaving behind a troubled childhood, Christian left home at seventeen to go to Hollywood. She appeared in several television shows before landing the role of strong female leader Commander Ivanova in the innovative science fiction series Babylon 5. After the series, she began drinking, and in 2005 moved to London. During her career behind the scenes, she engaged in bisexual affairs with billionaire Dodi Fayed before he dated Princess Diana, Braveheart actor Angus Macfadyen, rock stars, and supermodels.
Addicted to alcohol and doing cocaine, she suffered betrayal, stalking, shootings, extended periods of unemployment, and the suspicious death of her ex-husband. She tried rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous which didn’t work. Then she found a low-cost alternative treatment called The Sinclair Method, known for its high success rate, that saved her life. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book a “Soap-operatic memoir of a minor screen and TV star’s slow descent into booze-fueled hell and her long, slow road back to recovery.” Bob G. Cannon II commented on the Quisqualis Web site: “It presented a well told story of acting, some interesting behind-the-scenes details of productions I have enjoyed and ended with a strong feeling of victory over near insurmountable odds.” The book is not all depressing, as a writer on the Babble on Project Web site noted: “Alongside the lows there are a dizzying array of highs: friends, lovers, parties, successes and celebrations are documented in equal detail.”
Wolf's Empire
Turning their sights to fiction, Buchanan and Christian cowrote Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator in 2016. Set 7,000 years in the future, the Roman Empire has expanded to cover the galaxy. Christian declared to Paul Weimer in an interview online at Skinny and Fanty Show: “We both love history and thought it would be exciting to create a strong female kick-ass protagonist. We work well together and wanted to do something more fan-centric this time around, a sort of ‘thank you’ for supporting Babylon Confidential.” She said the book series will have the scope of Babylon 5.
In the story, Accala Viridius from one of the noble houses vows vengeance against House Sertorian for the murder of her mother and brother. She becomes a gladiatrix to hone her fighting skills and is forced to participate in the Empire’s civil war. Finding the story full of clichés a writer in Publishers Weekly said that the world-building is flimsy, and as-you-know exposition “detail bog down the novel in ways that the occasional action sequence fails to disrupt.” Nevertheless, a Speculative Herald Web site contributor commented: “I think the authors have managed to combine the ancient and the new in a remarkable way. The story has a very large scope.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
California Bookwatch January, 2013, review of Babylon Confidential: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and Addiction.
Kirkus Reviews October 15, 2012, review of Babylon Confidential.
Publishers Weekly April 4, 2016, review of Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator, p. 63.
ONLINE
Alex’s Reviews, http://alexcat-reviews.livejournal.com (March 6, 2017), review of Babylon Confidential.
Babble on Project, http://babbleonproject.tumblr.com/ (March 1, 2017), review of Babylon Confidential.
Babylon Confidential Web site, http://www.babylonconfidential.com/ (March 1, 2017), author profile.
Morgan Buchanan Home Page, http://www.morganbuchanan.com/ (March 1, 2017), author profile.
Quisqualis, http://www.quisqualis.com/ (March 1, 2017), Bob G. Cannon II, review of Babylon Confidential.
Skinny and Fanty Show, https://skiffyandfanty.com/ (June 16, 2017), Paul Weimer, “Interview with Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan about Wolf’s Empire.”
Speculative Herald Web site, http://www.speculativeherald.com/ (August 4, 2016), review of Wolf’s Empire.
Weekly Review, http://www.theweeklyreview.com.au/ (July 24, 2014), Teresa Murphy, “Bayside writer Morgan Grant Buchanan grounded, despite galactic adventures.”
Morgan Grant Buchanan is an Australian writer of sci-fi and historical fantasy. He writes comics (Disciple, Zero Assasin), film (Barrier, 2010) and short stories (The Laws of Attraction with Nick DiChario) and is currently collaborating with Claudia Christian on Wolf's Empire, a future Rome sci-fi novel.
Morgan is a 3rd generation Cheng style tai chi practitioner and teacher with 20 years experience and lives in Melbourne, Australia with his sons Calum & Liam and wife Dr. Catherine Buchanan, an astrophysicist at Melbourne University.
Interview with Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan about WOLF’S EMPIRE
16 Jun
I had the wonderful opportunity to read a review copy of WOLF’S EMPIRE: GLADIATOR, and to put questions to the authors, Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan, about their collaboration. Given the premise of the novel, mixing space opera with the Roman Empire, and my fandom for Ms. Christian going back to the days of Babylon-5, I was delighted to have a chance to do both.
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Paul Weimer: For our readers unfamiliar with you, can you please introduce yourselves?
Claudia Christian: I’m an actress, author and I run the C3 foundation, a non-profit that focuses on treating alcohol use disorder.
Morgan Grant Buchanan: I’m an author and teacher of Taoist philosophy tai chi and meditation.
PW: You’ve worked together previously on Ms. Christian’s memoir: Babylon Confidential: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and Addiction. How did you two start working together?
Morgan: We met on a short sci-fi movie project called Barrier. I was writing and Claudia was starring. After the movie premiere we got to talking about other projects we could do together. As we were discussing Wolf’s Empire the opportunity arose to work with Claudia on her biography and she kindly asked me if I was interested.
PW: Wolf’s Empire marks your first fiction collaboration. What prompted the two of you to write a novel together?
Claudia: We both love history and thought it would be exciting to create a strong female kick-ass protagonist. We work well together and wanted to do something more fan-centric this time around, a sort of “thank you” for supporting “Babylon Confidential” as well as a project that would have the same broad scope as a show like Babylon 5.
PW: Writing a novel is a different challenge than short stories, or comics, or scripts. What did you have to learn to bring Wolf’s Empire together? What’s your collaborative process like?
Claudia: Morgan is the master of world building and structure but he lives in Melbourne and I’m in Los Angeles so we use Skype. Skype was such a Godsend on Babylon Confidential, we had to really talk and dig deep as far as my childhood and life and that could only be accomplished with many, many Skype sessions. After that we found we’d developed a good foundation for working long distance. I like working nights and Morgan’s a morning person so the time difference between Melbourne and LA worked to our advantage.
PW: Mixing Rome and Space Opera is a fabulous high concept. How did you develop the “future” that brings Rome to world and stellar domination? How did you come up with the set of Houses?
Morgan: We extrapolated ancient Rome onto a future, space opera setting. One idea was that maybe over-expansion wasn’t a weakness of the old Roman Empire; maybe they didn’t expand quickly enough. So what if Rome took over the world and then kept on expanding into space? Getting the mix right wasn’t easy. There had to be enough signals for readers to recognize Ancient Rome and at the same time a representation of future technology that made sense as something that might have organically developed out of Rome’s culture and mentality. The houses are the natural extension of the Roman families that warred for supremacy in the days of the ancient empire. We carved up the galaxy and assigned different sectors to different families as the starting point for the story arc’s broader conflict.
PW: There are motifs and references throughout the novel that reference or mirror real Roman history. What sources and research did you use?
Claudia: We started putting the idea together in 2009 and since then have done a great deal of reading. Mostly source material as well as Gibbon’s Decline And Fall.
PW: Accala is the burning star of the heart of the novel as a protagonist. Who and what were your inspirations in creating her as a character?
Claudia: Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5 for sure, she’s got Ivanova’s sense of righting wrongs, of the right way the universe should be structured and if it’s not in that form then she’s going to beat it into shape personally. In terms of historical inspiration, Accala is a modern Aeneas, a seed archetype who will take the empire in a whole new direction. There are also references to the Roman hero Mucius Scaevola. Throw in a soupcon of Katharine Hepburn and I suppose Gloria Steinem is in there somewhere, ha!
PW: You chose a tight focus first person perspective for the book. Why did you handle Accala’s story that way?
Morgan: We wanted to put the reader right there in the protagonist’s shoes, not have them watch on from a distance. We felt that would help create a more immersive experience, to really sink the reader into future Rome. It was certainly more engaging for us as authors to write and we hope readers will have a similar experience.
PW: One of the small and important bits of the novel I loved was Accala’s discus. Where did the design of that come from?
Morgan: We researched ancient weapons to fit out the main characters with their equipment. Originally Accala was going to have a gladius (short sword), the gladiator’s traditional weapon, but we felt strongly that as the hero she needed a unique, signature weapon. Reading about the ancient Olympics in Greece provided inspiration. We decided to take athletic equipment, the javelin and the discus, and turn them to a gladiatorial purpose. So Accala has the discus, and her nemesis the javelin. There’s a symbolism in their choice of weapons too.
PW: Now that Wolf’s Empire is out, what comes next?
Claudia: Wolf’s Empire part deux and a new sci-fi noir series that we’re pitching! Morgan is going to be stuck with me for some time 😉
PW: Thank you so much to the both of you.
Wolf’s Empire hits stores on June 21st, 2016.
Bayside writer Morgan Grant Buchanan grounded, despite galactic adventures
July 24.2014 7:13 am
BY Teresa Murphy
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Most days Bayside writer Morgan Grant Buchanan is seen at his favourite café, tapping away at his laptop. While coffee aromas swirl around him, he is in another world – currently, it’s a galactic Roman empire set in an imagined future.
Sometimes other writers will join him, but the rule is, work first, chat later.
Recently he disappeared for a week – to a Trappist monastery in Yarra Glen.
“The aim was to finish the book, but it’s expanded to over 200,000 words so I didn’t quite get there,” he said last week at Malt Café, his “home away from home” in Beaumaris, after dropping his kids off at school.
Wolf’s Empire is about a noblewoman who becomes a gladiator to take revenge on an enemy house. Buchanan is co-writing it for Macmillan Publishers with US-based actor Claudia Christian, star of the sci-fi Babylon 5 series.
Their first book penned together was earthier: Babylon Confidential: A Memoir of Love, Sex and Addiction about Christian’s life in Hollywood.
A published comic book and short-story writer, Buchanan met Christian after he wrote the script for Barrier (2010), a sci-fi film in which she starred.
Buchanan grew up in Beaumaris and now lives with his wife and their three sons in Cheltenham.
Morgan Grant Buchanan is an Australian writer who works across a variety of media, primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy.
He has worked as a comic book writer and editor (Disciple, Zero Assassin, City's Angel) and was the scriptwriter for Barrier (2010), a sci-fi space race film starring Claudia Christian (Babylon 5) and Bruce Hopkins (Lord of the Rings).
He is the co-author of Babylon: A Memoir of Love, Sex and Addiction, the Hollywood addiction memoir of Claudia Christian.
He is also co-writing The Wolf's Odyssey, a series of novels and graphic novels set in the future Galactic Roman Empire with Claudia Christian. Morgan has collaborated with sci-fi author Nick DiChario on their short story The Laws of Attraction and is currently working on a sci-fi children's picture book with New York artist, Eytan Wronker.
Morgan is a 3rd generation Cheng style tai chi practitioner and teacher with 20 years experience. He represented Australia at the European Tai Chi Championships in 2002.
Morgan has also studied with various teachers of Western mysticism since 1991 with a specific interest in alchemy and meditation. His interest in movement practice extends to Shamanic Dance and Bodywork which he has practised with dancer and healer Zsuzsanna Soboslay.
Morgan is a keen martial artist having studied Shotokan Karate, Judo, Brasilian Jiu Jitsu, Kung Fu, Pencak Silat & Western Boxing.
He has lived in America, South Africa, England and currently resides in Melbourne, Australia with his sons Calum & Liam and wife Dr. Catherine Buchanan, an astrophysicist at Melbourne University.
www.morganbuchanan.com
www.babylonconfidential.com
MORGAN GRANT BUCHANAN has written comic books, the screenplay for a sci-fi movie, and short stories. He co-authored Babylon Confidential with Claudia Christian and teamed up with her again to write Wolf's Empire: Gladiator, a 250,000 word space opera from Tor Books.Morgan has been the subject of print media articles and has appeared on television and national radio to discuss writing and his interest in Taoist philosophy and meditation. He lives in Australia, teaches tai chi, and is married to an astrophysicist.
MORGAN BUCHANAN
AUTHOR-Sliding Backwards Is Moving Forward
(Text from above image with a few extras and links)
Morgan has written comic books, the screenplay for a sci-fi movie, a celebrity memoir, short stories and Wolf's Empire: Gladiator, a 250,000 word space opera with Claudia Christian (Tor/Macmillan 2016).
Morgan has been the subject of print media articles and has appeared on television and national radio to discuss writing and his interest in Taoist philosophy and meditation. He's married to an astrophysicist.
Morgan is currently living in the year 1984 while working on a literary time travel novel. If you want to try and contact him you can send an email to lofipilgrim@morganbuchanan.com
The website image was designed by Morgan on an Apple Macintosh in 1984 and transmitted to the present. Accompanying it was a message that helps explain the menu selection in the above image: "Take the advice of the sage who designed the Apple menu - search, find, change..."
Watch out for news of Morgan's return on social media by following him on Facebook and/or @lofipilgrim.
For publishing enquiries please contact Morgan's agent Frank Weimann at Folio Literary Management, The Film Center Building 630 9th Avenue, Suite 1101 New York, NY 10036 email: fweimann@foliolit.com
Webpage designed on a 1984 Apple Macintosh.
Photo courtesy of David Honl.
Novels
Wolf's Empire: Gladiator (2016) (with Claudia Christian)
Non fiction
Babylon Confidential (2012) (with Claudia Christian)
LC control no.: no2016152056
Descriptive conventions:
rda
Personal name heading:
Buchanan, Morgan Grant
Located: Australia
Field of activity: Tai chi Taoist meditations
Profession or occupation:
Authors Screenwriters
Found in: Wolf's empire, 2016: title page (Morgan Grant Buchanan)
page 3 of jacket (Morgan Grant Buchanan has written
comic books, the screenplay for a sci-fi movie, short
stories, and a celebrity memoir with Claudia Christian;
he is also a teacher of tai chi and Taoist meditation
and lives in Australia)
Associated language:
eng
================================================================================
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AUTHORITIES
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540
Questions? Contact: ils@loc.gov
Babylon Confidential
California Bookwatch. (Jan. 2013):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Full Text:
Babylon Confidential
Claudia Christian with Morgan Grant Buchanan
BenBella Books
10300 N. Central Expressway, Ste 400
Dallas, TX 75204
9781937856069, $16.95, www.benbellabooks.com
Babylon Confidential: A Memoir of Love, Sex & Addiction tells of the author's move to Hollywood at age 17, caught up in a glamorous career as she worked with notables from Bob Hope to Charlie Sheen in over 50 films and dozens of TV shows. But underlying her charged life with Hollywood billionaires and rock stars was a descent into alcohol addiction that eventually threatened her life. How she moved away from the sober-binge cycle of abuse through a little-known medical cure called The Sinclair Method makes for engrossing reading especially recommended for any collection concerned with alcohol abuse and recovery.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Babylon Confidential." California Bookwatch, Jan. 2013. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA314934588&it=r&asid=7a9e3b1001d608a0d25eca73468b1eeb. Accessed 23 Jan. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A314934588
Wolf's Empire: Gladiator
Publishers Weekly. 263.14 (Apr. 4, 2016): p63.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Wolf's Empire: Gladiator
Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant
Buchanan. Tor, $26.99 (496p) ISBN 978-07653-3774-0
Actor Christian and author Buchanan (Babylon Confidential) disappoint with an almost aggressively dull, exposition-dense novel set in a world in which the Roman Empire neither crumbled nor changed its core nature, even as humans evolved into a space-faring people. In this world, House Viridian is at war with House Sertorian, and young Viridian gladiatrix Accala is intent on seeking revenge for the deaths of her mother and brother. Naturally, things don't go her way in this extremely patriarchal future, and she soon finds herself forced to work with the Sertorians in an attempt to put down an alien rebellion. Christian and Buchanan pile the cliches high and heavy: Accala is portrayed as a vengeance-seeking but dithering gladiator who just can't bring herself to kill opponents in the ring, and Bulla, a simple-minded house slave from a race called the Taurii, spouts dialogue straight out of racist minstrel shows. The worldbuilding is flimsy, and the long, ponderous passages that describe everything in first-person, as-you-know detail bog down the novel in ways that the occasional action sequence fails to disrupt. Agent: Frank Weimann, Folio Literary. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Wolf's Empire: Gladiator." Publishers Weekly, 4 Apr. 2016, p. 63. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA448902698&it=r&asid=1f264b03d4c4532944c3d5553b10b544. Accessed 23 Jan. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A448902698
Christian, Claudia: BABYLON CONFIDENTIAL
Kirkus Reviews. (Oct. 15, 2012):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Christian, Claudia BABYLON CONFIDENTIAL BenBella (Adult Nonfiction) $16.95 11, 6 ISBN: 978-1-937856-06-9
Soap-operatic memoir of a minor screen and TV star's slow descent into booze-fueled hell and her long, slow road back to recovery. The specter of alcohol and addiction always seemed to dog Babylon 5 actress Christian. Her grandfather had been an alcoholic, and her father was a man who recognized, and walked away from, his penchant for drink. When the author was only 8 years old, her brother was killed by a drunk driver. Fifteen years later, as a young actress living in a Los Angeles apartment, she landed the role of a cocaine addict in the 1988 film Clean and Sober. Christian was not then hooked on either drugs or alcohol, but she was living life in the "Hollywood fast lane," doing "blow," drinking and having indiscriminate sex with both men and women. Until her early 30s, Christian was primarily a recreational drinker. However, after becoming entangled in an emotionally destructive affair with Braveheart actor Angus Macfadyen in 1996, she "drank to escape." Another bad relationship followed, as did longer and longer stretches of unemployment. By 2002, she had sunk deeply enough into alcoholism that she could no longer control her urges to drink. Neither stints in rehab nor AA meetings helped. On the verge of giving up, she discovered a low-cost alternative treatment, the Sinclair Method, with "an 80 [percent] success rate." Amazingly, Christian never blames her childhood--which included rape by a neighbor and troubled relationships with her parents--for any of her later mishaps. But neither is she at a loss to tout her "glory days" as a B-list actress or to serve up occasionally entertaining but at times overdone Hollywood dish. A National Enquirer-esque peep show of a book partially redeemed by its underlying mission to cultivate awareness about a little-known method of alcohol detoxification.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Christian, Claudia: BABYLON CONFIDENTIAL." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2012. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA305184926&it=r&asid=aa5b459e69d89fce4b19e67d4e611698. Accessed 23 Jan. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A305184926
Review – Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan
August 4, 2016
Review – Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant BuchananWolf's Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian, Morgan Grant Buchanan
Published by Tor Books Genres: Epic, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Thanks to Tor Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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four-stars
Wolf’s Empire is a space opera with, as strange as it may sound, the Roman Empire set at it’s heart. Imagine a world in which the Roman Empire continued to go from strength to strength dominating not only the known world but eventually branching out into space to eventually embrace an empire spanning the galaxy. This story imagines a Rome set 7,000 years in the future and yet still brings to us an empire with conflict at it’s core. The story is one of revenge and involves a young woman who goes to great length to avenge the deaths of her mother and brother and also to try and break free of the unwanted role placed upon her by society.
I must say that I really did enjoy this read. I had a few qualms here and there and I did wonder how a Roman theme would lend itself to such a futuristic story but on the whole I think the authors did a great job of bringing to us a sweeping story of revenge that actually evolves into so much more than I ever anticipated.
Firstly, a little background. Accala Viridian is a noblewoman, from House Viridian, one of the seven houses that rule the Empire’s provinces, with the Emperor himself ruling supreme in the eighth house. House Viridian, are the bearers of the Golden Wolf insignia, they have for years embodied the virtues of honour and duty above all else, steeped in tradition their house is probably a little less progressive than some of the others. House Sertorian, bearer of the Ruby Hawk insignia focus more on ambition and seem to embody the notion of ‘winning no matter what the cost’ – to them, honour is an antiquated value that has no place in their ruthless world. Their desire for greater power and recognition for their house has led to war with House Viridian – a war that not only seems to have cost the lives of Accala’s mother and brother but also seems to be one that House Viridian are not faring too well in.
The Emperor, in a bid to stamp out the war, decided to stage an Imperial Games based on the planet Olympus Decimus. The winner of the games will rule supreme, the losers will no longer be one of the ruling houses and will be stripped of all their titles and assets – so a lot is resting on the outcome. Added to this – the local population on Olympus Decimus are staging their own protest against Roman rule and everything is about to come crashing together in a most spectacular, sometimes mind boggling, incredibly entertaining, blood thirsty and horror soaked way imaginable! Let me be clear though, my idea of horror soaked is probably not the same as others. I think the horror here is more in terms of the concepts that the authors have come up with and certainly there are a few gory scenes, these are gladiators after all, but I don’t think this is gratuitous.
I enjoyed such a lot of things about this book. I think the authors have managed to combine the ancient and the new in a remarkable way. The story has a very large scope and yet doesn’t feel cumbersome or overburdened with backstory or history – these aspects just flow naturally as the story progresses. We have a central character who is far from perfect and not above making wrong decisions that will just make you want to yell at her occasionally. There are some epic fight sequences and gladiator scenes that are brought to life so vividly and that, whilst they will seem familiar, have been updated to include technology and drug enhanced fighting skills.
In terms of the characters – Accala is a character who develops continually as the story advances as do quite a number of the other characters. She begins the piece with vengeance firmly in mind and really you have to remember this as you read along because this really is her sole motivation and leads her to at times make some disastrous decisions. Of course, Accala never really knows who are the good guys and who are the bad guys – they seem fairly obvious at the outset but nothing is ever quite as clear cut as it first seems and certainly a lot of the characters here have their own motivations that drive them on which makes it difficult to know who is helping and who is hindering.
Accala’s dreams of gaining revenge seem at first to be continually thwarted. Her own father seeks to marry her off before she can cause him any embarrassment and even though she succeeds in gaining a place on the gladiator team the Emperor decrees that she return home and honour her father’s wishes. Then an unexpected alliance offers her the chance to become a gladiator and fight in the arena. And this is when her world is really turned on it’s head.
We have a number of chapters where Accala trains with her new team members as they travel through space on route to the games – I particularly enjoyed these chapters. They’re really well done and quite gripping with revelations. We see Accala brought low by an addiction that really takes a grip on her – but I won’t go further into that detail because their lies the path of spoilers. Upon reaching their destination the tension doesn’t relent at all with some furious fight scenes upon the gladiator field which are then followed by a change in tack as we delve into the core of the planet looking for, well, I’m not going to tell you what they’re looking for, you’ll have to discover that yourself.
In terms of criticisms – well, at first I wondered how well the Roman theme would work being expanded into such a modern world and I must say that I had a few moments where I initially thought – surely a civilisation which has moved on 7,000 years would have developed a little more in terms of seeking such bloodthirsty entertainment and surely they would have developed a little more in terms of equality amongst the sexes, but, that being said, I think the authors were, as mentioned above combining the ancient aspects with the new – it’s a difficult combination to balance but I think they did a very good job and I also think you have to consider that we have an empire here that whilst they may have developed in certain respects have maintained their central desires to rule everything that they can reach – they therefore still remain ruthless. The only other criticism I had was that towards the last 25% there was undoubtedly a lot of action but some of it became a little repetitive – not in that they were the same fight scenes but more the set up and outcomes.
Apart from a few little niggles I found this a very enjoyable read. I think the authors managed to surprise me a good deal more than I expected, the story was entertaining, there were a number of wtf moments – seriously – and if you pick up a copy you WILL know when you reach those points – and we have a main protagonist who is flawed but keeps trying at all costs and against the odds.
Sep
27
REVIEW: Wolf's Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan
Wolf's Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan
Publishing information: Hardback; 496pgs
Publisher: Tor; 28 June 2016
ISBN: 9780765337740
Possible series
Copy: Provided by Publisher
Reviewer: Tyson
Amazon
Synopsis: "A sweeping science-fiction saga of revenge set in a future in which the Roman Empire never fell, by actress Claudia Christian.
When her mother and brother are murdered, young noblewoman Accala Viridius cries out for vengeance. But the empire is being torn apart by a galactic civil war, and her demands fall on deaf ears. Undeterred, Accala sacrifices privilege and status to train as a common gladiator. Mastering the one weapon available to her—a razor-sharp discus that always returns when thrown--she enters the deadly imperial games, the only arena where she can face her enemies.
But Fortune's wheel grants Accala no favors—the emperor decrees that the games will be used to settle the civil war, the indigenous lifeforms of the arena-world are staging a violent revolt, and Accala finds herself drugged, cast into slavery and forced to fight on the side of the men she set out to kill.
Set in a future Rome that never fell, but instead expanded to become a galaxy-spanning empire, Accala's struggle to survive and exact her revenge will take her on a dark journey that will cost her more than she ever imagined."
I am huge fan of books that take place during the time of the Roman Empire and when I was approached to to review the novel about a future Roman Empire that has taken to the stars I was curious.
Wolf's Empire: Gladiator tells the story of the various nobel houses vying for control over their sectors of their controlled space and grasping for more. Two houses lead the fight: House Viridian (Golden Wolves), who bestow the virtues of honor and nobility and their nemesis, House Sertorian (Blood Hawks), who focus more on strength and ambition. For years they have engaged in a civil war in the far reaches of known space and the emperor has finally decided to put the squabbling at and end buy organizing a competition between the two noble houses and the smaller houses that compose their alliances. The competition will consist of chariot races, wild animal hunting, and gladiatorial combat.
It is the last competition that brings us to our protagonist. Accala Viridius of House Viridian. She is a gladiator against her father's wishes. I liked Accala quite a bit she is smart, resourceful, and focused on her revenge against the Sertonians who killed her brother and mother at the beginning of the civil war in the outer reaches of space. Accala plans to use the Emperor's games to seek justice and kill those who murdered her family. There is only one small hitch, her father doesn't want her to partake in the games and has used his influence to have her sidelined on the eve of the embarkation to the planet that will host the games. Accala has to take up with the Setorians. They have a spot available and want Accala to join them in a propoganda stunt that could put everything her House and their allies have built.
As Accala gains the respect of her newfound teammates she loses the respect of her own House. All the while she waits patiently for the perfect opportunity to strike and get her revenge.
There are a few issues that I had with the book, at times Accala does seem to be a bit of a Mary Sue. It is only through her one desire for revenge that she slips up from time to time as she has only one goal in mind. The twist that the book builds up to was obvious and the fate of her brother was also a little bit of a let down. Another issue I had was that in the 7,000+ years this Empire has existed, there isn't any equality between the sexes and their tactics and technology hasn't evolved much beyond where they left off in the real world. However, with that said, the book does a great job of expanding the Roman Empire into space. The authors obviously did their homework as the inner working of the houses and the politics feel authentic. The story has a space opera feel to it, while keeping the storylines centered on a small amount of characters. The ending feels very similar to Leckie's Ancillary Justice. But with that aside, I would be willing to check out the sequel if offered the opportunity.
Overall 7/10
Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Tor Books (June 28, 2016)
Language: English
Kindle: $12.99
Hardcover: $18.38
Historical fiction set in the future – now that’s something you don’t see or hear every day. Fresh on the shelves (June 28, 2016) from Tor Books (Macmillan Publishing), Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan is a refreshing new saga where the past and future collide, and the daunting combination turns out to be a fun and exciting new read.
The story takes place in a future galactic empire where Rome never fell. The Roman concept originally centered around the principles and strengths of “the” city, but Christian and Buchanan take the old idea to a new galactic level. A civil war has broken out between the seven “noble” houses, and what better way to settle the dispute than to have the factions participate in the violent imperial games in the arena?
After the haunting murder of her mother and brother in an atomic bomb attack, young Accala from House Viridian trained as a gladiator with the intention of confronting her enemies face-to-face. But as fate would have it, she discovers that sometimes your enemies are your strongest allies, and not every story has a storybook ending.
Though the action does seem to slow to a crawl at times, at just shy of 500 pages, Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator has the look of a classic Greek mythological tale. Not in the traditional epic poem form, of course, but more in a traditional fantasy style with the familiar empire and social class struggles. The intertwined elements of future technologies and the social hierarchy from an ancient empire may get the initial attention of readers, but varied cast characters is the strength of the story.
An epic tale told in first person by our hero Accala, readers will be drawn in quickly by her astute awareness of the world around her and her determination to get revenge. But like every hero’s journey told in epic mythological proportions, a storied weapon sometimes becomes just as celebrated as the hero, if not more. This is where Orbis comes in. Think along the lines of Thor’s hammer or King Arthur’s legendary Excalibur, but in the form of an Olympic discus. A gift for Accala’s father from a barbarian chieftain in tribute for turning back an uprising, the weapon was originally forged by the first Roman settlers. In Accala’s hand, Orbis is a formidable character in itself, worthy of a stand-alone backstory.
Though an accomplished author, this is Claudia Christian’s first novel. But rest assured, she is no stranger to the genre. As an actress, Christian played notable roles like Cmdr. Susan Ivanova in the popular television series Babylon 5 and Captain Belinda Blowhard in the comedy series Starhyke (2009). That same compassion for presenting memorable characters translates well in this literary stint. The collaboration with established Australian writer Morgan Grant Buchanan (the two had worked previously together on Christian’s autobiography Babylon Confidential: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and Addiction) is undoubtedly a combination loyal fans will look forward to reading again and again.
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BOOK: Babylon Confidential by Claudia Christian ***
Mar. 7th, 2013 at 5:56 PM
Alex_balcony_aglarien1
Babylon Confidential is a memoir of Claudia Christian, Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5 fame. It's a tell all, I guess, filled with sex, alcohol and a monstrous helping of self-pity and whining. It makes for an interesting read as Ms.Christian screws and drinks her way all over the world. She drops names: Dodi Fayad is probably the most prominent of those she had flings with.
I wanted to like her and maybe if I met her in person I would but she came off as someone who had everything and simply couldn't manage to stop herself from screwing it up time and time again. When you read the first few pages, she tells a story of buying cooking sherry and you feel sorry for her but when you read the rest of it, like how she drank up hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of French wine from her investment, you don't feel nearly as bad for her.
Then it turns into a commercial for the Sinclair Method, which is simply taking a drug that enables you to drink without craving it and calling yourself cured. Never mind the behavior and personality problems that led to addiction in the first place.
I gave it three stars because I love Ivanova.
Babylon Confidential
by Bob G Cannon II
Babylon Confidential: A Memoir of Love, Sex & Addiction by Claudia Christian with Morgan Grant Buchanan Copyright 2012, 297 pages BenBella Books, Inc. Dallas, Texas. ISBN 978-1-937856-06-9
While I read and enjoy occasional autobiographies and biographies I don't make it a habit to read many about Hollywood personalities. I can't really say why as I love Speculative Fiction and Fantasy and if there is any place in what is called 'the real world' where people behave as uniquely as in SF and Fantasy novels it must be Hollywood, California. As it is, despite having a relative that is a Hollywood actress (Amanda Walsh) I generally ignore the antics there. When 'reality' magazine TV shows come on I usually leave the room.
Recently, through social media I struck up an acquaintance with a Hollywood star and after some research (the book's co-author is a SF writer and she has had major rolls in SF productions) I asked if I could review her recent autobiography. The involvement in SF was only a part of my decision as my brief exchanges with her and reading some of her other statements in interviews had made me curious. If you are anything like me in mostly ignoring the people side of Hollywood I ask you indulge me and read this through – I'll keep it short and this book may provide some information you or a loved one can use.
Claudia Christian - Photograph David Honl
Photograph ~ David Honl
Claudia Christian seems to have known from an early age that her place was in acting. She worked hard for it, sacrificing much and shows a dedication rarely seen. Despite her talent it was not an easy path and from reading we see her highs and lows as she worked, often fought for her chosen career. At times she fought not only for her career but her life as well. Claudia has built a career from a childhood that included both loving parents and intolerable injustice. She prevailed and Babylon Confidential takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride that spans everything from assault, death and addiction, luxurious yachts and fine French wines to a final victory that leaves a reader feeling both fulfilled and hoping that any additional chapters will be of success and happiness. Yet, despite the trials she faces and the looming presence of Claudia's own personal monster the entire book is strangely positive. Not much 'poor little me' but quite a bit of picking up, dusting off and re-entering life. This contrasts well with her giving credit to others where they had a positive effect on her life. Also told are stories of frightening stalkers and unique insights into some of Hollywood's luminaries. Not all are favorable but the book is not about vilification but seems an honest telling of her life's experiences.
As with a good novel (this book is not fiction though) I experienced a growing sense of foreboding as the book progressed. For me it was from two fronts, alcohol and a suboptimal relationship with God. It is in the conquering of this first, alcohol that the book takes a special importance. Very few know that there might be a cure for alcoholism – not simply abstention but a real cure with a high success rate. I can think of a number of people I deal with that could look at the methodology presented here who might find a benefit.
What Claudia discovered was a near secret. Secret because it flies in the face of most traditional treatments. Secret because it is still relatively new and unpublicized. The Sinclair Method is explained well in the latter portion of Babylon Confidential, as is Claudia's success with it. Should you wish to know more (I recommend that anyone interested look into it, even if not an alcoholic) check here for details of The Cure For Alcoholism by Roy Eskapa, PhD. While a near secret the Sinclair Method is based on sound science, sound tests.
I found it powerful and enjoyed Babylon Confidential much more than I expected to. It presented a well told story of acting, some interesting behind-the-scenes details of productions I have enjoyed and ended with a strong feeling of victory over near insurmountable odds. I recommend it even for those who don't read biographical works, I recommend it for those facing their own alcoholism monster (or maybe who want to prevent one from growing) and for those who just enjoy a good read.
Overall Recommendation 5/5 Rated 5 of 5
BOP Review: Babylon Confidential by Claudia Christian
Susan Ivanova is an archtype. She’s defining. If you’ve seen even one episode of Babylon 5 odds are that she will be one of the first people that come to mind whenever you think of strong, resilient SF characters. Mal Reynolds and Aeryn Sun owe her a debt; where they tread, Ivanova walked first. Whenever she succeeded in her endeavours she won big; whenever she fell, she fell hard. But every time she did she picked herself up, dusted herself off, and survived to fight another day and in doing so became far more than iconic; she became inspiring. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, therefore, that she shares these traits in common with the actor who shares her face.
If you have an image of Claudia Christian in your head it’s almost certainly not the one which opens her autobiography. For most of her fans it will be a stern gaze, a wry smile and the crisp blues of an Earthforce uniform; for others it might be the seductive smiles and lingerie of her glossy photo-shoots or the facepaint and fierce warrior pride of Skyrim’s Aela the Huntress. But the Claudia that greets us at the start of Babylon Confidential is a far cry from this romantic imagery; she’s bundled up in street clothes and sitting a bus stop, sweating and shaking whilst she gulps down a hastily-mixed cocktail of vodka and orange juice purchased moments before at a liquor store, feeding the beast that’s slowly killing her. And this simple, disturbing snapshot of a life that’s ending one sip at a time is amongst the least harrowing revelations present in what has to be one of the most compelling confessionals ever committed to paper.
Christian is a writer with an agenda. For five years she battled alcoholism, one of the most horrific, insidious and damaging diseases on the planet and now, having successfully beaten it into submission with a little-known treatment known as The Sinclair Method, she wants to spread the word in the hope that others may find the same peace. In doing so she shares the details of her life and the events which allowed her affliction – which she refers to throughout, quite appropriately, as the monster – to take root. From early tragedies which struck at her family to lapses in judgement in her adult life Christian refuses sugar-coat the truth, soften any blows or pull any punches; every bottle of booze, every line of cocaine, every destructive relationship and personal sorrow is laid bare and raw so that the reader understands: this is how the monster gets you.
Of course, as the thousands of fans who have had the pleasure of her company at one of the many conventions and expos that she attends each year will confirm, Christian is far from a melancholy soul. Alongside the lows there are a dizzying array of highs: friends, lovers, parties, successes and celebrations are documented in equal detail. Claudia loves fun, friendship, food and fornication and is resolutely (and beautifully) unapologetic about it. Some revelations are surprising, others outright astounding, but all come completely free from regret; Christian owns her pleasures every bit as much as her mistakes and doggedly demonstrates the resilience which helped her conquer her disease. And that, ultimately, is the message of the book: that no matter how dark things get there is always hope.
Babylon Confidential is essential reading for anyone who has ever fought a personal demon. Claudia Christian is an archtype. She’s defining. She’s survived, and in doing so became far more than iconic; she became inspiring. [MD]