Son of Helena: Constantine the Great, Book 1 (Tony Jones) Review

SON OF HELENA: Constantine the Great, Book One. By Tony Jones. Crucible Creative, 2026. 392 pages

As a church historian, I am interested in stories about figures from the past who have influenced the Christian movement—both positive and negative. There is plenty of good and plenty of bad among such figures. The truth is, because they are human, they tend to be complicated people. Since we like things to be simple, we struggle to make sense of complicated people. Among the most famous and influential persons in the history of Christianity is the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. The whole idea of Christendom has its roots in Constantine's decision to embrace Christianity soon after he took the imperial throne. Not only did he end the persecution of Christians with the Edict of Milan in 313, but later by putting his stamp of approval on the movement when he called the Council of Nicaea in 325. At some point in this story, he converted to Christianity; whether fully or not is a matter of debate. A central figure in his own journey toward Christianity was his mother Helena, a devout Christian.

Biographies of figures like Constantine give us a great deal of information, but biographies tend to fall short of giving us a full picture. Since biographies are limited to facts and interpretation, they have certain limitations when it comes to getting into the inner life of a person. Historical fiction, on the other hand, allows us to dive more deeply under the covers of a life, even if it requires speculation and imagination. However, as long as we understand that this is historical fiction and not "just the facts," as Joe Friday would say, historical fiction can take us into the life of a figure that can prove meaningful. That is, if the author of historical fiction has done significant historical research as a foundation for telling the story.

Stepping into this arena is first-time novelist Tony Jones with a three-volume series. Book one of the series is titled: Son of Helena: Constantine the Great, Book One. Tony is a seminary-trained minister/Christian leader/author who has written several nonfiction books, most of which focused on practical theology. As Tony knows quite well, writing fiction is very different from writing nonfiction. It requires a different skill set, and not everyone who writes nonfiction, especially in areas like practical theology, has the tools to write good fiction. I've seen clergy/religious leaders attempt to do this, and while some succeed, the product isn't always very good. Tony has admitted on social media that the idea of writing fiction terrified him. Yet, he decided to take on the task of writing a fictional account of the life of the controversial Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. Surprisingly, Tony couldn’t find any attempts to write historical fiction centered on Constantine’s life. So, he set out to do just that: write a fictional account of Constantine’s life, doing so as a Christian who understands the complexity of the character and the influence the character has had on our faith tradition. The product of this effort that took ten years to produce is a three-volume series, the first of which is now available. Having read the book, I can say, at least as far as the first volume goes, it is a success. Now, I need to acknowledge that I don’t read a lot of fiction and find reviewing fiction to be a challenge, in part because, unlike the non-fiction books I review, I have to be careful about revealing too much of the plot line. Now, of course, most readers of this book will have a sense of who Constantine was (if not, check Wikipedia for an overview). You won’t be surprised to discover that he was a Roman Emperor who favored Christianity. The question is, how did he get there and what motivated him?  Who influenced Constantine’s life path? What events left indelible marks on him? I believe Tony did a good job in the first volume of getting us to the eve of his ascension to the throne.

I review a lot of books, most of which are provided by publishers. In this case, I decided to download a Kindle version and read it for fun. However, having read it and considering Tony a friend, I decided to write a review in support of his effort. That said, if I didn’t think it was a good book, I wouldn’t review it, even if the author is a friend. I thought I should clarify this before moving ahead with the rest of the review.

Son of Helena begins when Flavius Constantine, son of the Roman General Constantius Chlorus and his concubine, Helena, is twelve years old. That’s a good age to begin the story since in the ancient world this was around the age that a child transitioned into early adulthood. A girl might be betrothed at that age, and a boy would begin the path into whatever awaited him, depending on his status in life. Because of his parentage, Flavius Constantine’s future was uncertain. He had a powerful father, but his status as the product of a long-term relationship with a concubine of lower-class origins might hinder his ascent into the higher echelons of society. So, you can sense that Constantine’s origin story might be complicated. That his mother was a Christian at a time when Christians faced suspicion, prejudice, and at times persecution was an additional complication. Added to all of this is the reality of father-son rivalry. So, you have the makings of a good story as long as the storyteller is proficient at their task.  

So, Tony takes on a journey with a young man who went by Flavius as a child but then took on his other name, Constantine, as he moved along the path to adulthood, which included going to military school. It is there that some of the future characters in Constantine’s life come into view, including the future emperors Diocletian and Galerius. The journey into adulthood will take many twists and turns as Constantine follows his mother to their homeland in Dacia for a time before entering the military, accompanying Galerius and Diocletian on military ventures. There is, as you might expect, a lot of violence, sexual assaults, manipulation, and more going on. Some of it is perpetrated by Constantine, even as he was the target at times. Running throughout the novel is a thread of significant resentment against his father that serves as a driving force in his development. In large part, this is due to how his father treated his mother, but there is also a sense of absence during most of his years of life. Though they did reconcile in the end, it was a rather circuitous journey to get there. But, that journey put Constantine on the path to the imperial throne.

Since Tony has an interest in religious matters, we do get a lot of discussion of the role of religion in the empire and in his own life. As a soldier, he was introduced to the mysteries of Mithras, the religion of the military. Early on, he was attracted to the religion of the Unconquered Son, which may have influenced his move into Christianity. Then there is the Christianity of his mother, though his father and stepmother (his relationship with her is part of the intrigue since she was younger than him) were at least tangentially Christian.

The first volume concludes with the death of his father, the Western Emperor, in the city of York, England. When his father died, his father’s legions proclaimed him Augustus of the West. Of course, there is much more to say, as the story continues into the second volume. That part of the story must await its revealing when volume 2 is published in October.

I want to commend Tony, whom I consider a friend, for undertaking this venture and producing a book that is gritty, informative, and most of all, well-written. While this is a self-published book, I think it would do well with a major publisher of historical fiction. So, if you enjoy historical fiction and are interested in the story of Constantine, especially an attempt to tell the story that reveals the complexity of the figure, I think you will find that Tony has done an excellent job of introducing us to this character who has had such an important influence on the course of Western Christianity. Because Constantine plays such an important role in the history of Christianity, both in the Latin West and even the Greek East, this is a worthwhile read. Oh, and it comes out in the aftermath of the 2000^th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a council that for some lives in infamy and for which others see as the foundation for orthodox Christianity. Of course, I expect Nicaea to pop up in the next volume. So, take and read. Take it from a church historian who enjoyed Son of Helena, the first volume of the Constantine the Great series, even if the primary character isn’t always very attractive.