Gann has written a sequel, The Triumph (1986), which describes the return of Silva to Rome and his involvement in the battle for succession when the Emperor Vespasian dies, but the reviewers were disappointed. Two other novels might be considered more historical in nature than the bulk of his works, and they contain the added strength of aviation experience. In the Company of Eagles (1966) pits against one another two World War I fighter pilots, the Frenchman Chamay, who wishes in the old Romantic tradition to avenge the death of his comrade, and the German ace Kupper, who hates war but must continue to fight as a professional. Set in 1917 before the attack on Verdun, the novel presents a picture of early war in the air with, as might be expected, meticulous attention to the details of flying. Gentlemen of Adventure (1983) serves as a fictional history of aviation...