A desolate wasteland. A mission gone wrong. An impossible goal. A gripping new series of Ancient Rome Roman scout Silus is deep behind enemy lines in Caledonia. As he spies on a raiding party, he is abruptly discovered by an enemy chief and his son. Mounting a one man ambush, everything quickly goes wrong. Silus must run for his life, the head of the enemy leader in his hands. Little does he know the price he will pay... As Silus is inducted into the Arcani, an elite faction of assassins and spies, he must return to Caledonia, back into the wilderness, and risk everything in the service of his Caesar. The odds don’t look good. Failure is not an option. A blood-soaked and unputdownable Roman thriller, anchored in detailed historical research, perfect for fans of Ben Kane, Conn Iggulden and Robert Fabbri Praise for Alex Gough 'Gritty and real, exciting and pacy, this is first rate historical fiction, and Gough is clearly ready to take his place among the leading writers of the genre' SJA Turney, author of the Praetorian series

In The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley, the emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods. Kaden, the heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years sequestered in a remote mountain monastery, learning the enigmatic discipline of monks devoted to the Blank God. Their rituals hold the key to an ancient power he must master before it's too late. An ocean away, Valyn endures the brutal training of the Kettral, elite soldiers who fly into battle on gigantic black hawks. But before he can set out to save Kaden, Valyn must survive one horrific final test. At the heart of the empire, Minister Adare, elevated to her station by one of the emperor's final acts, is determined to prove herself to her people. But Adare also believes she knows who murdered her father, and she will stop at nothing—and risk everything—to see that justice is meted out. Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne The Emperor's Blades The Providence of Fire The Last Mortal Bond Other books in the world of the Unhewn Throne Skullsworn (forthcoming) At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

"The Emperor's Sword is a wildly entertaining adventure of overlapping worlds and titanic clashes between fundamentals of good and evil. Klavan's world-building is both amazing and all too plausible." —Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Paranoia and House on Fire "Part swashbuckler, part fantasy, part Romance (in the old sense), part comedy, and part acidulous commentary on The Way We Live Now, The Emperor’s Sword brings Andrew Klavan’s trilogy to a resounding conclusion. I guarantee this: you won’t be bored." —John Wilson, aka “The Man Who Reads Books” Having survived the Nightmare Feast, Austin Lively is living the dream. He has returned to Hollywood and his movie career is in full swing. His new script, Another Kingdom, has been unexpectedly purchased by a top producer at an enormous price. Beautiful women flock to his bed, movie stars court his attention, and the powers-that-be are predicting stardom. His only problems: a recurring vision of a magical landscape he can’t quite remember, and a giant mouse who seems to be following him—a giant mouse with a woman’s face. After his beloved Jane Janeway is accused of murder, Austin begins to realize that this dream he’s living is a nightmare in disguise. He is caught in the coils of a terrible magic, and the only way he can save his soul is to give up his success, re-enter the Eleven Lands, and find the Emperor Anastasius so he can restore Queen Elinda to her throne. But when he arrives at the emperor’s encampment, he is shocked to find Anastasius dead. With a weird hitman on his trail in Los Angeles, he must break Jane out of prison before a murder plot takes her life. In the Eleven Lands, he must follow the Emperor into hell itself where he will face the most shocking revelation of all.

"One hundred years after Trafalgar, on May 27, 1905, Togo met Rozhdestvensky, Imperial Russia against Imperial Japan, with most of the long range firepower and weight on the Russian side. This battle would decide world policy in the Pacific for decades to come ... [It] is a violent chronicle of war and death at sea, of diplomatic intrigue, heroism, cowardice, stupidity, international politics, and individual tragedy"--Fly leaf.

The penultimate instalment in the Chivalry series from a master of historical fiction. The Chivalry series follows young William Gold, who runs away from London to follow the Black Prince, from the killing fields of France, through life as a routier and criminal, and to redemption with the Knights of Saint John, further disillusion and an eventual career as a professional soldier and knight. Rich in the details of life in the High Middle Ages, the series also deals with modern issues about the role of violence in society, rules of conflict and war, and the price that people pay for using violence. 'One of the finest historical fiction writers in the world' BEN KANE 'The master of historical fiction' SUNDAY TIMES 'A storyteller at the height of his powers' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY

Brothers. Emperors. Deadly enemies... An unputdownable novel of intrigue and combat in Rome. Emperor Severus is on his deathbed. His sons Geta and Caracalla, feuding in Britannia, are readying for a devastating power struggle. Silus, now a centurion in the Arcani, the secretive network of spies and killers, is thrown into the maelstrom. Back in Rome, plots breed in the stinking alleys. Everyone might be an enemy. Everyone a traitor. As an Imperial Assassin, Silus’ loyalty will be tested to breaking point. And with the Empire starting to buckle under the strain, Silus must ask what matters: Rome or his own damned soul? From thundering races at the Circus Maximus to death in the Imperial palaces, this is a powerful and unputdownable novel that will transport to you Ancient Rome, perfect for fans of Ben Kane, Simon Scarrow and Conn Iggulden.

The Roman imperial army represented one of the main factors in the exercise of political control by the emperors. The effective political management of the army was essential for maintaining the safety and well-being of the empire as a whole. This book analyses the means by which emperors controlled their soldiers and sustained their allegiance from the battle of Actium in 31 BC, to the demise of the Severan dynasty in AD 235. Recent discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of the Roman army. This study provides an up to date synthesis of a range of evidence from archaeological, epigraphic, literary and numismatic sources on the relationship between the emperor and his soldiers. It demonstrates that this relationship was of an intensely personal nature. He was not only the commander-in-chief, but also their patron and benefactor, even after their discharge from military service. Yet the management of the army was more complex than this emperor-soldier relationship suggests. An effective army requires an adequate military hierarchy to impose discipline and command the troops on a daily basis. This was of particular relevance for the imperial army which was mainly dispersed along the frontiers of the empire, effectively in a series of separate armies. The emperor needed to ensure the loyalty of his officers by building mutually beneficial relationships with them. In this way, the imperial army became a complex network of interlocking ties of loyalty which protected the emperor from military subversion.