Douglas Jackson

Summer, AD 69. Rome and its empire are in turmoil, caught in the coils of a desperate and destructive civil war. The emperor Otho is dead by his own hand and his rival, Aulus Vitellius, occupies the imperial throne. However, a new challenge has arisen in the East - the legions of Titus Flavius Vespasian have declared him their Emperor. In the dry heat of an August morning, Gaius Valerius Verrens prepares for his last day on earth. Wrongly accused of deserting his legion on the field of Bedriacum, it seems he is destined to die a coward's death. Then the executioner's hand is stayed. Vitellius' enemies will spare the life of the man who was once Hero of Rome if he pledges allegiance to Vespasian and his cause. Valerius - tired of the endless slaughter and hoping that he might be reunited with his lost love - agrees. And so he must battle his way south to Rome in order to persuade his friend Vitellius to stand down for the greater good of the city, its people and the Empire. But this is civil war and this is Rome, and Valerius - his loyalties divided and branded an enemy of the people - is trapped in a maze of distrust, corruption, betrayal and blood-letting...

AD 72. Titus Flavius Vespasianus, known as Vespasian, is Emperor of Rome, but his grip on power grows increasingly fragile as economic disaster threatens. The enormous riches from his Judaean campaigns are all but spent, legions go unpaid, and the yields from Romes vital Spanish goldfields have fallen dramatically since the civil war. Gaius Valerius Verrens is recently married and building a new home when the summons arrives from the Emperor. Vespasian needs a man with the combined skills of a lawyer and a soldier to investigate what is happening in remote, mountainous Asturica Augusta where the authorities claim a bandit called The Ghost is ravaging the gold convoys. But when Valerius arrives in Asturica he faces a much more complex situation. Stalked from the shadows he cannot tell ally from enemy, the exploited native tribes are a growing threat, and the tortured landscape itself seems capable of swallowing him up. Gradually he finds himself drawn into a much wider conspiracy, one that could plunge the Empire into a new conflict and that will place him on a deadly collision course with his old friend and most dangerous adversary, the former gladiator Serpentius.

AD 80 Gaius Valerius Verrens is back where he belongs, at the head of a legion. But this is no ordinary legion. His command is the unlucky Ninth, tainted by four decades of ill fortune and poor leadership. A unit regarded as expendable by Valeriuss superior, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, governor of Britannia.Yet all that can be swept aside by a single moment of glory, and the long heralded invasion of the north of the province provides the perfect opportunity. Valerius leads his men to a devastating victory against the recalcitrant Brigantes, infuriating Agricola in the process. Soon, even greater honours beckon with the death of Emperor Vespasian and the succession of Valeriuss friend, Titus.But, back in Rome, the new emperor faces his own challenges, not least from his own brother, Domitian, a man with an insatiable ambition for power and a deadly hatred of Valerius.All Valerius can do is forget the great prizes on offer, concentrate on defeating the savage tribes who lie in the path of the Ninth, and ignore Agricolas intrigues.But watching his every move is the most formidable enemy he has ever faced: mighty Calgacus, war chief of the Northern alliance.

77AD. Gaius Valerius Verrens is an honoured member of Emperor Vespasians inner circle, but the enmity between him and Vespasians son Domitian means that, even in Rome, danger is never far away. Meanwhile, in the outer reaches of the Empire, in Britannia, trouble is brewing. The governor, Gnaeus Julius Agricola is preparing to march his legions north and Valerius is Agricolas chief legal adviser and deputy governor. It''s the opportunity he seeks to move his wife and son out of reach of Domitians wrath. 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.

70AD. Disgraced, dishonoured and banished into exile on pain of execution if he ever returns to Rome, the former military tribune Gaius Valerius Verrens makes his way East through the death and destruction of the savage Judaean rebellion. Valerius knows his only hope of long term survival and a restoration of his family's fortunes lie with his friend Titus, commander of the Army of Judaea and son of the newly crowned Emperor Vespasian. But when he reaches the ring of legionary camps around the seemingly impregnable city of Jerusalem he finds Titus a changed man. Gone is the cheerful young officer he knew, replaced by a tough, ruthless soldier under pressure from his father to end the insurrection at any cost. 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. Yet the laurels that will regain his honour cannot be won in the negotiations in the murky tunnels beneath Jerusalem. Only amid the fire and blood of battle will he equal the glory that brought him the title Hero of Rome.

¿Puede un esclavo decidir el destino de un emperador? Rufus, un joven esclavo cuyo dueño se encarga de domesticar animales para que participen en los espectáculos de gladiadores, descubre su natural talento para lograr que las bestias obedezcan. Es en las arenas donde conoce a Cupido, un prestigioso gladiador con quien entable una cercana amistad. Pronto su pretigio como domador trasciende las arenas y Rufus es comprado por Caligula para que se encargue del elefante imperial. Las cosas se complican cuando Rufus y Cupido se ven envueltos en una conspiracion contra la vida del gobernante. ¿Podra un esclavo decidir el destino del emperador? Se trata de una vision muy original del temible Caligula presentada a traves de sus esclavos, en la que se refleja el alcance del poder de un personaje de su tallay donde se revelan detalles de la vida cotidiana del gladiador y el adiestrador de animales, personajes clave para el ocio del pueblo romano.

¿Puede un esclavo decidir el destino de un emperador? Rufo es un joven esclavo cuyo dueño se dedica a preparar a las fieras con las que luego los gladiadores deberán luchar en el circo. Su creciente reputacion como adiestrador de animales y su amistad con Cupido, uno de los mas prestigiosos gladiadores de Roma, atraen la cruel mirada del emperador Caligula, quien busca a alguien que se encargue del elefante imperial. Rufo es comprado a su dueño y llevado al palacio de Caligula, donde su vida se ve sometida a los cambiantes estados de animo de este, un megalomano paranoico que se ha autoproclamado dios y ve conjuras por todas partes, lo que no esta lejos de la verdad. Las intrigas se suceden, y Rufo y Cupido se encuentran, sin saber como, en el centro de una conspiracion para asesinar al emperador.Reseña:La Roma del demente Caligula recreada con realismo visceral.Daily Mail