★★★★
Synopsis: Early during the Second Roman Republic, in the year AUC 2650 (A.D. 1987), two children from the Teutonic provinces go deep into the Vienna woods to salvage tokens from a haunted hunting lodge. Instead of the ghost, they meet a frightened old man hiding in the imperial ruins. They listen to his stories and soon begin to suspect that he is not a caretaker but a brother of the former Caesar taking refuge.
Review: This calm, engaging story completely without horrific elements is somewhat sentimental, nostalgic but also thoughtful: Think of Romans dancing to the (nearly eponymous) Waltz from Richard Strauss and the possibility of 2000 years of eternal peace under Romans – disturbed only by petty wars. Over the years, Silverberg wrote several stories in his alternative history world of Roma Eterna where old Rome survived the Hunnians during the Migration period and retained polytheism because the monotheistic religions didn’t manage to spread. This story is the second to last chapter in the collection. This idea stayed with me, but also the nostalgy turning kingdoms to republics.
Meta: isfdb. Available online.
Reißwolf 