A prolific writer of ancient history adventures who always spins a good yarn (some a bit far-fetched, but hey, they are fun), sets his latest in Sicily in 412 BC. It is the story of Dionysius, this one steeped in historical fact as this complex Tyrant is sympathetically portrayed.
The thundering new historical epic from the bestselling master of the genre Sicily 412 BC: the infinite duel between a man and a superpower begins. The man is Dionysius, who has just made himself Tyrant of Syracuse. The superpower Carthage, mercantile megalopolis and mistress of the seas.
Over the next eight years, Dionysius' brutal military conquests will strike down countless enemies and many friends to make Syracuse the most powerful Greek city west of mainland Greece. He builds the largest army of antiquity and invents horrific war machines to use against the Carthaginians, who he will fight in five wars.
But who was Dionysius? Historians have condemned him as one of the most ruthless, egocentric despots. But he was also patron of the arts, a dramatist, poet and tender lover.
Valerio Massimo Manfredi is professor of classical archaeology at Luigi Bocconi University in Milan. He has published over nine works of fiction, including the 'Alexander' trilogy, which has been translated into 24 languages in 38 countries. He has also written and hosted documentaries on the ancient world, and has written screenplays for cinema and television.
