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The fourth book of the DEATH OF ROME SAGA is a must-read for those who loved the heroism of Gladiator and Spartacus.
687 AD.
Expansive and triumphant, the Caliphate has stripped Egypt and Syria from the Byzantine Empire. Farther and farther back, the formerly hegemonic Empire has been pushed – once to the very walls of its capital, Constantinople.
But what is all this to old Aelric, now in his nineties, and a refugee from the Empire he’s spent his life holding together? No longer the Lord Senator Alaric, Brother Aelric is writing his memoirs in the remote wastes of northern England, and waiting patiently for death. Then a band of northern barbarians turn up outside the monastery – and then another.
Before he can draw another breath, Aelric is a prisoner of unknown forces, and headed straight back into the snake pit of Mediterranean hatreds. What awaits him at the end of his long and dangerous journey is a confrontation that decides the fate of all mankind.
687 AD.
Expansive and triumphant, the Caliphate has stripped Egypt and Syria from the Byzantine Empire. Farther and farther back, the formerly hegemonic Empire has been pushed – once to the very walls of its capital, Constantinople.
But what is all this to old Aelric, now in his nineties, and a refugee from the Empire he’s spent his life holding together? No longer the Lord Senator Alaric, Brother Aelric is writing his memoirs in the remote wastes of northern England, and waiting patiently for death. Then a band of northern barbarians turn up outside the monastery – and then another.
Before he can draw another breath, Aelric is a prisoner of unknown forces, and headed straight back into the snake pit of Mediterranean hatreds. What awaits him at the end of his long and dangerous journey is a confrontation that decides the fate of all mankind.
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Reviews
Vivid characters, devious plotting and buckets of gore are enhanced by his unfamiliar choice of period. Nasty, fun and educational.
He knows how to deliver a fast-paced story and his grasp of the period is impressively detailed
A rollicking and raunchy read . . . Anyone who enjoys their history with large dollops of action, sex, intrigue and, above all, fun will absolutely love this novel.
'Fascinating to read, very well written, an intriguing plot and I enjoyed it very much.'
'I can't resist recommending this first volume of a promised trilogy. Set during the last pangs of Imperial Rome, with a vivid account of the machinations of the early Church, it is well-informed, atmospheric and beautifully written.'
It would be hard to over-praise this extraordinary series, a near-perfect blend of historical detail and atmosphere with the plot of a conspiracy thriller, vivid characters, high philosophy and vulgar comedy.
It would be hard to over-praise this extraordinary series, a near-perfect blend of historical detail and atmosphere with the plot of a conspiracy thriller, vivid characters, high philosophy and vulgar comedy.
If you like your Dark Age stories to be, well - particularly dark - then you'll love this.
Blake's plotting is as brilliantly devious as the mind of his sardonic and very earthy hero.
The Sword of Damascus is fast-paced and with as much gory action as you could shake a spear at.