THE FAR ARENA - Book review

THE FAR ARENA

Richard ben Sapir

 

Published in 1979. An oil drill strikes into human flesh eight metres down in the Arctic ice. Against all the odds, a naked man  is dug out, completely preserved. The Texan Dr Lewellyn McCardle shipped the block of ice to Soviet Dr Semyon Fyodor Petrovitch, an expert in cryogenics. Petrovitch begins to thaw out the human specimen and discovers signs of EEG activity…

Interspersed with the medical aspects we delve into the mind of a renowned gladiator, Lucius Aurelius Eugenianus, who realises he has cheated death.

Eventually, the gladiator is brought to full recovery, but nobody can understand his ancient speech. They go to a convent and seek the help of Sister Olav, an expert.  They go to great lengths to ease the gladiator into the twentieth century and while they do so the relationship dynamic between this foursome is fraught, especially since the gladiator’s scruples are two thousand years old…

Without any friends or family, with the world so drastically changed, where can the Roman go? To Rome, perhaps, his old home. Where fresh torment awaits him.

Plenty of research is evident, plus a Roman glossary, and a lot of ethical questions are raised. Impressive.