A well-written and interesting account of the Romans in Britain to join the many. It begins a series, Twilight of Empire, set here in AD305 and features an old Roman campaigner, Aurelius Castus, who feels he’s been put out to grass in the inhospitable terrain of Hadrian’s Wall. Only the Picts want to talk and Castus gets to lead a dangerous mission across the border. Pacy and very readable if you’re a Roman addict, this is well worth a go.
Aurelius Castus believes his glory days are over. He used to be a soldier in the elite legions of the Danube. Now he is stuck in Britain's provincial backwater. But history takes a hand when the king of the Picts, the savage people beyond Hadrian's Wall, dies in mysterious circumstances, and Castus is selected to command the bodyguard of a Roman envoy sent to negotiate with the barbarians. The diplomatic mission ends in bloody tragedy. Castus and his men are soon fighting for their lives and the legionary discovers that nothing about his doomed mission was ever what it seemed.
'Hugely enjoyable. The author winds up tension into an explosion of fast-paced events' Conn Iggulden
'Ian Ross blazes in the world of Empire and legions... This is up there with Harry Sidebottom and Ben Kane' M .C. Scott
'A thumping good read, well-crafted, atmospheric and throughly enjoyable... Where's the next volume, please?' Ben Kane
Author
About Ian Ross
Ian Ross was born in England and studied painting before turning to writing fiction. He has travelled widely and worked as a bookseller, tutor and university lecturer while developing his writing abilities. A year in Italy teaching English and exploring the ruins of empire reawakened his early love for ancient history, and he returned to the UK with growing fascination for the period known as late antiquity. He has been researching and writing about the later Roman world and its army for over a decade, and his interests combine an obsessive regard for accuracy and detail with a devotion to the craft of storytelling. He lives in Bath, keeps unsociable hours and has never owned a television or a car.
