Dido is a brave young woman of Roman times, who loves horses and racing in chariots.  She has trained hard and disguised herself as a boy in order to compete. By the time of RIDER OF THE STORM, she has survived two books’ worth of breakneck adventures in the Circus Maximus series. She has retired with her black stallion, Porcellus, to a training farm owned by relatives.

All of Rome is in turmoil as the mad emperor Caligula has taken control by force. The chariot races he enjoys have been bought and fixed, by his purchasing the best horses for his preferred team, and bribing drivers to come over to that faction. Dido learns that her cousin, Abibaal, has been bribed by Caligula. She needs to visit Rome, a place of some potential danger to her, in order to tell Abibaal news about his father. The Coliseum and Circus Maximus are the main sources of entertainment thrown by the emperor, and it’s likely Dido will find herself watching races. But she’s disguised this time as a horse trick-rider, not handling the reins to a chariot drawn by four fast horses. That’s the intention, anyway.

Annelise Gray writes a splendid book for YA horse lovers. Historical record tells us that Caligula was indeed a horse lover too, and appointed a favourite stallion as a Senator. But he wasn’t just bonkers, he was, as we see, a real villain who went into a rage if he could not control everything, and had no scruples about how he got his way. Buying up the best horses and drivers seems extremely likely, although the crowd who wanted honest amusements suffered. Drivers who didn’t perform well enough – who knows what would happen? We get the interesting use of the word shipwreck to describe a chariot accident, and readers will learn other terms about living in Roman times. There’s a great deal of history parcelled up in one book, which is told at a breathtaking pace.

RIDER OF THE STORM is a splendid read, full of historical detail but never forgetting it serves a young readership. Teens will get the most from the read, and both boys and girls from twelve up will be enthralled. Dido comes into her own with this adventure, and Caligula (with his long-suffering relatives, including the stuttering Claudius) represents a dictator drunk on ambition and power, not too far removed from the modern day. I’ll be looking out for more from author Annelise Gray, and not just for the horses.