The Secret History of Another Rome

by Bear Kosik

In the mid-2600s, Ranulf becomes Supreme Pontiff of the Empire of Rome at Alexandria, a patriarchy run by priest-bureaucrats called Librarians. After twenty-two years on the throne, Ranulf’s memories flood back to him, from the time he moved to Alexandria with his mother to his present situation resulting from his choices, his training and his relationships. Ranulf’s life has been a quest for truth, not the half-truths of the Librarians and their Secret History, but an understanding of how action rather than static dogma is the path to the future. Guided by mysterious strangers from another time and his own innate curiosity, Ranulf searches for this understanding. Why do the Librarians hide facts from their ruler? What will Ranulf do as he gradually uncovers the truth? How will he respond when he finally understands?

389 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 2, 2015

About the author

Bear was raised in the Baltimore-Washington area. He has lived in the Albany, NY, area for 20 years. He has been writing since the age of 13 and had his first work, a poem, published at 17. Bear has worked 30 years in higher education as a professor of political science and a student success specialist. He has lived overseas in China, Hong Kong, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

Bear currently works full time as a writer of plays, non-fiction, poetry and fiction. The Secret History of Another Rome is his first completed novel. He has written three full-length plays and a one-act play that is the start of another long play. Bear also writes political essays, which have been published at http://www.dailykos.com/user/Ruffbear7 and www.opednews.com/hkbearmcneelege. One essay was published in River & South Review’s Winter 2014 issue and a poem was published in December 2014 by Silver Birch Press in their I Am Waiting series. He is completing work on a non-fiction book on the changing definition of democracy and writing several novels and plays. Additionally, he sells blank note cards and prints featuring his original photography at www.bearlydesigned.com.

Bear enjoys gardening, cooking, travelling, reading books on world history, working out and wrestling. He and his spouse were married in 1996 in a Christian-Taoist ceremony in a beautiful state park. They enjoy taking care of their 95-year-old house and their three cats: Rani Dolly Lama, Buster Amarillo Spotbelly and Miss KayKay Snugglegrumps.

Reviews

[Eric Tanafon · Rating 2 out of 5]

In The Secret History of Another Rome, the author has captured the sterility and monotony of life in a very slowly decaying future analogue of the Roman Empire, where custom and history rule, and no children are ever born. The problem is, he does way too good a job of it.

There is almost no action in this book. The characters talk. They talk about talking, define their terms, pile platitudes on platitudes. Sometimes, but not often, they walk around somewhere. There are a couple of murders, but they happen offstage. When the characters aren't talking, there are long information dump passages that resemble entries in an encyclopedia.

If you enjoy straight up political philosophy, with a pinch of metaphysics thrown in, this might be your cup of tea. But it doesn't really work as a novel.

It isn't that the author lacks talent. There are some good prose passages scattered through the text, for example:

"The small terrors. I would worry more about them. The greater terrors are all grown up and know how to take care of themselves."

"...a cat's sigh...Just two notes falling...Desire and grief bound together. The hope and sorrow of the world expresses itself in a cat's sigh."

But passages like that are small oases in the endless, dry desert of the narrative. Another obstacle is that the story line, such as it is, is scrambled in time. The last "moment" takes place with a few chapters still to go, and every chapter flashes back or zooms ahead relative to the one before. As far as I could see, the slicing and dicing of time was skillfully done. However, I didn't see what the point was. For me it just made an already difficult book more difficult, and undercut any feeling that the plot might be moving toward a resolution.

Another problem is that the formatting of the Kindle edition is horrendous. Sentences float by themselves on an otherwise blank page, and lines of dialogue are stuck together with no paragraph breaks so that it's hard to determine who's speaking. It doesn't help that all the characters sound alike: tutors, Pontiff, consorts, ambassadors--their dialogue all has the same wooden quality.

I stuck with The Secret History mostly out of curiousity, to see whether the plot would take off at some point. Unfortunately, it never did.

[Ami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story! This book makes the reader truly think. It's filled with deep meaning and a strong protagonist. I can't wait to read more from Bear!

[Margarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title caught my interest and was fired up to read it. It was strange not having any page numbers for reference.

[Kellan Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Ranulf's life is captured in this novel as he grows and learns his position in life. Each chapter is a different segment in his life, each giving the reader more insight and depth into the futuristic world where there is no poverty or war - but there are plenty of other concerns.

In the mid-2600s, Ranulf becomes Supreme Pontiff of the Empire of Rome at Alexandria, a patriarchy run by priest-bureaucrats called Librarians. After twenty-two years on the throne, Ranulf's memories flood back to him, from the time he moved to Alexandria with his mother to his present situation resulting from his choices, his training and his relationships. Ranulf's life has been a quest for truth, not the half-truths of the Librarians and their Secret History, but an understanding of how action rather than static dogma is the path to the future. Guided by mysterious strangers from another time and his own innate curiosity, Ranulf searches for this understanding. Why do the Librarians hide facts from their ruler? What will Ranulf do as he gradually uncovers the truth? How will he respond when he finally understands?

You can get this book cheaper from our bookstore at: https://kellan-publishing.selz.com/it...

[Apex Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the mid-2600s, Ranulf became Supreme Pontiff of the Empire of Rome at Alexandria, which at the time was a patriarchy run by priest-bureaucrats called Librarians. On a perpetual quest for truth, Ranulf always sought a better, more fulfilling path to the future, but this approach clashed with the dogmatic ways of the Librarians. Spurred by his insatiate curiosity, Ranulf challenged the Librarians’ secretive ways, but he wasn’t completely prepared for what happened when he finally learned the truth.

It’s obvious Bear conducted extensive research prior to penning The Secret History Of Another Rome. Thorough, informative, and quite eye-opening, Bear’s tale is equally exploratory and revealing. Though it comes in at nearly 400 pages, the story is so engaging, not only will readers not notice the extended length of the tale, they won’t want it to end. A wholly probing and thought-provoking sci-fi offering, with a healthy dose of philosophical truth. Highly recommended.

Jeffrey Adams
Apex Reviews