James Sinclair- "Canis the Warrior"

Now here's a real slab of a book! Canis the Warrior by James Sinclair, 1979. The hardcover must not have sold very well, as the Charter Novel mass market edition didn't come out until 1986. At first glance this may look like a Conan the Barbarian rip off, the cover is certainly in this vein. However, this is actually a historical tale, taking place in Britain, concerning now-extinct British tribes struggling against the Roman Empire. 

Though the page count isn't extreme, this is dense writing, and the text is small. Sometimes a single paragraph may take minutes to read and dissect. Also the chapters themselves are long chunks, one in particular took me three hours to get through. The prose is elegant, heady stuff. 

Canis, general of the Iceni, leads his people against Rome as the Empire invades Britain. He was once betrothed to Queen Bodacia, who led a rebellion against Rome. She was killed before the events of the novel. Canis, looked to as a leader among the scattered Iceni and Trinovante tribes, wishes to lead these people from the lands bloodied by the Romans and found their own kingdom in the name of the Queen. The journey they plot will take them across the westward mountains. 

Now, Canis has many parallels with Conan. He is very charming, not what I'd call barbaric. He is a dedicated warrior nonetheless. He gets a fair bit of action- giving kisses to women left and right, getting women hot to the point of one seeing him as a God incarnate. Though betrothed to Cea, daughter of his late beloved Queen, he actually impregnates Lydia, a meddling Roman woman head over heels for Canis. Canis, who truly only loved Queen Bodacia, remains loyal to Cea in terms of marriage if not strictly in romance.

There are battles, plots and warfare, but it's not made to be the focus as perhaps with a Conan tale. Marriage is made to be just as important an element as fighting. In a particularly lengthy segment in the middle of the book, a detailed and complex plan is played out by Canis to evade capture by Paullinus' forces. It involves Canis posing as a southerner, and winning the hand of a princess while undercover. As his dowry he asks of the Queen (her mother) for five hundred horse, a hundred chariots, and a hundred sacks of flour. With this procession Canis travels across Britain, right under the Romans' nose and indeed under their very guard. The Iceni and Trinovante are mingled within this crowd. Soon they are able to abandon the princess, break free of the Romans using drugged wine to put their foes to sleep. 

In the final segment of the book, Canis' people, the Iceni, Trinovante, and a few Brigantes, make their way further to the mountains, clashing with the Romans on the plains. At last they reach the western mountains, and stumble on a luxurious valley, seemingly untouched. The advance guard finds a small group of mountain-dwellers, who don't immediately cooperate. Canis bluffs that the advance guard are their only forces, when in truth the other three thousand horsemen were well on their way. The next day the two gathered forces meet again and Canis is the clear victor, his force able to stand off the mountain men, who are reluctant to share their hidden valley with the outsiders.

In the final chapter, Lydia is devastated due to Canis' marriage to Cea. Both live in the end and both seem to remain with Canis after the events of the novel. Lydia will never have the satisfaction of being formal wife to Canis, yet she stays at his side, in his new kingdom, instead of denouncing him and returning to Rome. She finds a place studying at the side of Grud, Canis's physician, and soon takes over parentage of her daughter, releasing the nurse who was serving as her caretaker. This she does in a bitter and vengeful manner, still outraged that Canis would wed Princess Cea, promising to match him cruelty for cruelty. Personally I would rather Lydia be wed Canis as well, rather than Cea the spoiled child, who doesn't have much going for her other than being the daughter of Queen Bodacia. Canis makes his decision based on his loyalty to the Queen. Not a whip-cream-on-top ending, but historical adventures rarely are.

There's no Fantasy elements to be found here(besides certain dream sequences, particularly Lydia's). The characters encounter no monsters or curses, except maybe bad luck. Characters believe in certain superstitions, but there are no Gods intervening the plot. Lydia for example, worships the Goddess Diana. All of her internal prayers are to Diana. She is willing to denounce all other Gods in favor of this deity. But Diana herself never appears in the story except through her dreams. This is a human story, about a war-torn people searching for a new homeland, here on our very Earth. 

Another one off the list. For only 374 pages, it sure felt like a lot longer. I think I'll read something lighter next. Till then!