Or is he raising an army to save the province from the darkness that waits on the other side of the Wall?Hailed as one of our very best historical novelists, Douglas Jackson returns to the world of ancient Rome with this epic novel of a failing empire and a world on the brink .
Originally published: London: Bantam Press, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, 2013.
Titus Flavius Vespasianus, known as Vespasian, is Emperor of Rome - but his grip on power is weakening. But he is summoned by the Emperor to do one last favour for Rome: he must journey to the remote, mountainous region of Asturica Augusta and investigate claims that a bandit called `The Ghost' is raiding the Empire's gold convoys.
But Britannia is where Valerius cut his military teeth and whetted his sword - and he will soon discover that the ghosts of his past are never far away and are more dangerous perhaps than Domitian.
AD 80 Gaius Valerius Verrens is back where he belongs, at the head of a legion. Valerius leads his men to a devastating victory against the recalcitrant Brigantes, infuriating Agricola in the process.
Soon, Valerius finds himself at the centre of a web of intrigue spun by Titus's lover, Queen Berenice of Cilicia, and her sometime ally, the general's turncoat adviser, Flavius Josephus, who have an ulterior motive for ending the siege quickly.
Douglas Jackson confirms his reputation as 'one of the best historical novelists writing today' (Daily Express) with the third action-packed adventure featuring his on-time gladiator hero, Gaius Valerius Verrens... the first two, Hero of Rome and Defender of Rome, are available in paperback and ebook editions.
AD 406. Abandoned by his friends and hounded by his enemies, Roman cavalry commander Marcus Flavius Victor is forced to flee an increasingly fractured Britannia with a small band of loyal warriors. His journey takes him north through the stormy, pirate-infested seas of the Mare Germanicum to Saxonia, where his son Brenus has languished as a slave for six long years. Marcus is able to rescue him but at a terrible cost. Further disaster threatens when his escape route is blocked, leaving the Britons trapped in a strange land with enemies seemingly at every turn. Their only salvation seems to lie with Marcus's old comrade, General Stilicho, beyond the far Danuvius, still within the sanctuary of the Empire. To get there will mean a journey of many hundreds of miles through the dark heart of barbarism - and, unknown to Marcus, Stilicho has troubles of his own.
