A really great look into Roman history in this historical fiction. Enjoyable read would recommend to historical fiction fans.

This is a fantastic military historical fiction book set during early 4th century A.D. I don't know a lot about this time period and I found this to be a really interesting and engaging read. After a couple of chapters I was invested in the story, although I did have a little trouble at keeping track of all of the characters. I enjoyed the plot and thought the descriptions of battle methods were very well done. The writing was also good. Overall I enjoyed this introduction to this new historical fiction series and would be interested in continuing with it. If you enjoy military historical fiction then this is well worth checking out.

Always a fan of Roman Britain, this first installment promises to appeal to me through its following installments. As an experienced soldier, centurion Castus Aurelius believes his fighting days are over. But being sent to negotiate with the northern barbarian Picts will challenge all of his values. Well written and researched.

Where emperors are made

Aurelius Castus, Roman centurion, is that sort of stolid, tough, illiterate, Pannonian peasant soldier upon which the Roman Empire came to depend in the Fourth Century, its twilight years. A man to whom the army is life, who obeys his orders without question, he is sent on escort duty deep into the Pict lands far north of Hadrian’s Wall. The mission is mysterious, however his is not to reason why, but to protect the delegate sent to negotiate with the Pict leaders. The mission is a failure, Castus’ men killed and Castus taken prisoner. During the course of this imaginative novel, Castus becomes increasingly and unwillingly involved in politics at the highest level, and ultimately develops as a participant and protagonist.

This is a good addition to the genre of Roman military novels. The author is knowledgeable, his plot convincing, his characters sympathetic. The violence which is typical of this sort of novel is ever-present, but well integrated into the narrative. I felt that this worked well, both as a standalone novel, and as the first in a very interesting series.