The Far Arena

By: Richard Ben Sapir

Narrated by: Peter Noble

Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

While conducting exploration in the frozen Arctic, Texan Lew McCardle, a geologist working for the Houghton Oil company, discovers something remarkable: a body encased in the ice. More remarkable still, the skills of Russian researcher Semyon Petrovitch bring the man miraculously back to life.

This strange visitor from the distant past has an amazing story to tell. Translated from his native Latin by Nordic nun Olava, Lucius Aurelius Eugenianus reveals that in the era of Domitian he was a champion in the Roman Colosseum, a gladiator known far and wide as the greatest of all time.

An ingenious amalgam of science fiction, fantasy, and history, Richard Ben Sapir's The Far Arena is a breathtaking work of literary invention, at once thrilling, poignant, and thought provoking.

©2016 Richard Ben Sapir (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC

classic Favorite doesn't disappoint

worried book would feel "dated" but it didn't. once in the story could not put it down. the narrator at first I wondered about but he is a skillful reader and I didn't need to worry. loved the book when it came out and loved the audible now. highly recommend.

Awesome Narrator

The story was riveting and the narrator was near perfect. I couldn't put it down. At first I didn't realize the book was almost 40 years old, but that doesn't affect the quality. I will definitely seek out more works by the author as well as the narrator.

WOW!

First of all, this narrator, Peter Noble, is absolutely fantastic. He and author Richard Ben Sapir are the perfect match (or one of them). I took a chance on this book, and am sooo glad that I did. So very interesting what someone from a gladiators time was brought up to think, act, feel, compared to today's ways. Then incorporating the young nun and how her presence influenced herself and the situation. In so many ways I could relate to the gladiators' way of thinking more than to how rediculous we humans currently are, in so many ways. I smiled at the thought that today's so-called tough guys, or those who think themselves tough (or just strong), are really wimps (sp.?) compared to the fighting skills of the only 5 foot tall gladiator. I didn't realize that people then could be quite a bit shorter than many today, etc., etc. I learned a lot, smiled a lot, contemplated, and wondered. Very thought provoking and entertaining. Loved it!
Scotty
Audible addict

Imaginative and fairly well researched

I first read this novel in 1979 when I was at basic training and I truly enjoyed it. While the political climate has changed somewhat it still holds up.

Fabulous story. My first audiobook! Liked it a lot.

This author probably knows more about ancient Rome than a Roman. Great depth to the human relations. Worth hearing!

wonderful characters,story, and performance.

Hard to put down.Harder to end. Excellent narration of a compelling story with an unforgettable main character.

Wonder of a concept!

Every emotion is writ all through this very unusual story of technology, science, death, life, greed, despair, love, friendship & finally understanding, acceptance, and- at last - peace. Scenes & perception of the ancient Roman world flashed thru my mind in full color - in both happiness & horror. A remarkable book that I will remember forever.

Even better than the book!

This great book is finally available again in print as well as on Kindle and as an Audiobook from Audible.com. Thirty-six years after I first read it, you can buy it again. Now that I’ve listened to it for the first time (as opposed to reading it), it is not only as good as I remember. It is better.

The Far Arena is classified as science fiction, but not in the traditional sense. It doesn’t fall into any genre except perhaps speculative fiction, which is a catch-all term for all the books that can’t be otherwise categorized. Time travel? Sort of, although the only “mechanism” is time itself.

The story in brief: A Roman gladiator is flash frozen in the arctic ice. He is accidentally discovered by a team drilling for oil not far from the arctic. He is subsequently defrosted and brought back to life. What follows is his story as a Roman married to a Hebrew slave, and his perceptions of our modern world from the point of view of a man whose world disappeared 2000 years earlier.

For example, while in the hospital, he asks about the slaves who serve him. He is referring to the to nurses and other workers who attend to his needs. His new friends explain that they aren’t slaves, that they work for wages and are free to leave, or be dismissed by their employers. He thinks this is a fantastic idea.

“You mean they do everything you tell them to do, but when they get old and can no longer work, you don’t have to take care of them? What a great idea! Slaves without responsibility.”

“They aren’t slaves,” insist his modern friends.

“They are treated like slaves, they act like slaves. They are slaves,” he responds.

That is paraphrasing, of course, but it’s the spirit of the dialogue. This isn’t a quick piece of dialogue in a long book about “other things.” The discussion of “what is slavery” is an underlying theme throughout the book along with “the corruption of giant corporations” which apparently has not noticeably changed between the days of the Roman Empire and today.

Although I had read the book several times, I had never listened to it. I wasn’t intending to listen to the whole thing. I just wanted a little taste. I have a giant heap of books I have promised to read and I thought “I’ll give a little listen” and come back to finish it when I have more time.

I had forgotten how good the book really is. It has been a long time since I picked up a book and was sucked in from the first paragraph until the very end … and was still wishing there would be more. It gave me a sharp pang, realizing how few really great books I read these days. How many are touted as great, but reading them, they are no better than ordinary and often far less.

Not only was Richard Ben Sapir a brilliant writer, but Peter Noble is a terrific narrator. He handles dialects with ease and give the book the intensity it deserves. Never over the top, never too dramatic, he is as perfect as a narrator could be. And considering how much I love the book, I’m surprised to find myself saying it.

I had a lot of trouble not restarting the book from the beginning and giving it a round 2, just in case I missed a paragraph somewhere. What is really eerie is how the main character, drawn into modern times following 2000 years of cryogenic sleep, understands this world better than the people he meets in 20th century Europe.

The man from Rome understands corruption. He understands slavery, whatever we choose to call it. He knows that the rich and powerful will never support the poor and will always do what is to their benefit.

It is a level of cynicism which sharply focuses the lens of 2017.

I love it

in the beginning, I thought this narrator would be a struggle to listen to. I sincerely believed I'd return the title. Get through those potential initial thoughts, and keep going. before you know it, you'll be enthralled.

So impressed, great read!

I would’ve given this book all 5 stars across the board except for the fact that I was disappointed at the end. It took a few chapters to get into as well. But don’t get me wrong, don’t let that stop you! I thought the storyline was a bit outrageous at first, but this book was written SO WELL it sucked me in more than anything else I’ve read in a very long time!!! I l learned more details and facts about ancient Roman practices, especially in regards to gladiators, as well as the subject of speaking Latin from this one book than I’ve ever known in my life. The research was outstanding and his imagination just breathed life into a long dead language and culture. The characters were each so unique and vivid, I can’t even describe how well they were drawn, and each one was the main character in their own way. I could go on but I think I’ve made my point. If you have any interest in historical fiction, Read it!!