A novel of some repute and written by a man who is a master at writing about the Roman Empire. The book is set in AD 105 in the kingdom of Dacia and has some former characters from previous novels, notably centurion Flavius Ferox. He has to stop a war and at the same time pray his men don’t turn on him whilst also watching out for the emperor’s cousin Hadrian.
An outstanding book that captures the period perfectly with excellent characters and great scenes throughout.
The Fort is a superb novel and I very much look forward to the next book in the series.

I unfortunately did not finish this as no archive date was set so I had only just started it before they added an archive date/archived it. A shame.

Sometimes you just pick up a book and fall into another time. The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy is one such book. The time, the characters, the narrative. Everything just seems to slot into place. The characterization skills are terrifically utilized and the plot was swift-moving and often balancing on a knife-edge. I am a huge fan of historical fiction and I genuinely believe that I would be hard placed to see a better example of it than, The Fort.

Flavius Ferox is a character that instantly called to me. He’s vivid, he’s alive and passionate. His character arc and internal monologue cast me into a time where brutality is the norm, look around you – it’s there. You hear the clang of shields, the roar of pain, and the destruction lying all around.

The Fort is the start of a new series but it features some of the characters from the Vindolanda series. If you are like me and haven’t read the previous series then rest assured the author has your back. There are hints and subtle hints left for you to pick up the missing information.

“You are a hard man to kill, and you have the knack of winning against the odds.”

Centurion Ferox and his right-hand man, Vindex are posted out to a Fort at the border of Dacia (modern time, Romania.) It’s their job to hold The Fort there, there is short-lived peace in that are between its inhabitants and the Roman Empire. His force is backed up by fierce Brigantes (Britons.) They are brutal and nothing is going to stop them from getting their pound of flesh and more than a drop of blood. They hunger for it. They are exactly the right type of soldier to have backing you up in a bloody war.

The action in The Fort is extreme and bloody. It is everything it needs to be. It’s fast-paced and gave me a birds-eye view of Roman rule. Conquer, destroy and civilize. Ferox always seems to be right in the middle of trouble, in fact, trouble always seems to follow him. Matters only made worse by a super ambitious Hadrian and trying to control the Brigantes under his control. It seems like a merry band of murderers, rebels, and convicts. He has just about as much trouble controlling the Dacians as he does his own Brigantes. He also isn’t aware that The Emperor’s cousin is on his way with extremely ambitious plans of his own.

Goldsworthy creates a vivid and brutal landscape in The Fort. Viscerally captivating. He makes us rethink history.

Although The Fort is the first in a new series, it once again features Flavius Ferox as well as some of the characters from the Vindolanda series. For example, Ferox’s friend Vindex and some of Ferox’s household staff. It appears to follow on directly from events in the final book in the Vindolanda trilogy, Brigantia. However, for the benefit of readers (like me) who haven’t read Brigantia, or indeed those who haven’t read any of the Vindolanda trilogy, the author provides subtle details about key events and characters from the earlier books.

Ferox’s current posting is to a remote fort on the border with Dacia (part of what is now Romania) during a period of uneasy and, in all likelihood, short-lived peace between that nation and the Roman Empire. He’s accompanied by a force of fierce Brigantes (Celtic Britons from the north of England) some of whom have vowed to kill him in revenge for an act of that they view as murder.

Like Ferox, the reader may wonder just why ‘this ragbag of rebels, bandits, deserters and rival tribesman’ has been sent to Piroboridava. In fact, as Ferox admits himself, he’s a bit of a ragbag, ‘a good Silurian boy turned Roman centurion’. But, ever practical, he sets about getting the rather rundown garrison into shape in order to have a better chance of defending a Dacian attack should it come, as his gut tells him is likely. This also serves to provide a focus for the disparate group of six hundred soldiers he finds himself responsible for and a way of dispelling the boredom that might otherwise bubble over into violence.

The story switches briefly to Rome where the reader is introduced to the Emperor Trajan’s cousin, the senator Hadrian who has recently been appointed legatus of the Minervia legion, some of whose soldiers have been deployed to Piroboridava. I knew very little about Hadrian before reading this book apart from the fact he later became emperor himself and built a famous wall in the north of England. The author gives a little nod to this by including a scene in which Hadrian shows a keen interest in the process of building design and construction. The Hadrian the reader is presented with here is intelligent, wily and ambitious although with a private life that leaves him open to manipulation by others.

Talking of private lives, the book was enlivened for me by the arrival at the fort of the feisty Claudia Enica, Queen of the Brigantes, and two young warriors, Bran and Miruna. All three have been trained in warfare by a woman known as ‘the Mother’. She trained them well as it turns out. From time to time a third point of view takes over, that of a young warrior, Brasus, placed in command of an advance guard of the Dacian army. His narrative is infused with the rituals associated with his tribe’s religious customs, giving it a mythical quality.

I confess the multiplicity of storylines left me rather confused to begin with but gradually things became clearer especially once many of the characters find themselves gathered together. Not so much Casablanca‘s ‘Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world she walks into mine’ as ‘Of all the forts in all the Empire they ride up to the gates of mine’!

The book contains the sort of authentic detail – of weaponry, Roman army procedures, social and religious customs – you would expect from a historian of the author’s reputation. There is also an extensive glossary for those of us who can’t tell our gladius from our spatha. My fabulous hardcover edition also included a map of the region and a plan of the Piroboridava fort. As the author explains in his fascinating historical note at the end of the book, the fort’s location is fictional but is based on a Roman garrison of the same name situated closer to the mouth of the Danube.

For those who like plenty of full-on action in their historical fiction, there are only skirmishes to begin with. However, stick with it because there are scenes later in the book that will definitely not disappoint. The book’s final few chapters see some story lines resolved but others carefully set up as ‘to be continued’ plot lines to whet the appetite for subsequent books in the series. Consider my appetite well and truly whetted!

The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy is good 'Roman' era fiction.

Set in Dacia in AD105, it is the story of 'The Fort' under the command of Flavius Ferox, a character some will know from Goldsworthy's previous trilogy that began with Vindolanda.

Mistakenly thinking this was an entirely new trilogy with all new characters, it took me a while to get into the story. Everyone seemed to know everyone else apart from me. But Ferox is a good character, and he grounded me to what was happening in the immediate vicinity of the Fort, and apart from once or twice, it didn't really matter what had gone before.

This is a story of suspicions, ambition and lies, and it rumbles along at a good old pace. This isn't the story of one battle, but rather many, a slow attrition against the Romans by the Dacians.

Overall, this was an enjoyable novel, and some of the fighting scenes were especially exciting. Those with an interest in Roman war craft will especially enjoy it, although, I confess, I don't know my spatha from my pilum (there is a glossary, fellow readers, so do not fear.)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

Animula, vagula, blandula
Hospes comesque corporis (Hadrian)

When I ARC this book, I was reading Philip and Alexander by Adrian Goldsworthy, so I knew that the historical parts were going to be well researched and accurate.
It was the first historical fiction I read by this author and won’t surely be the last because I found it gripping and fascinating. I didn’t read Vindolanda and this means I didn’t knew anything about Ferox and other characters that were featured in this previous story.
The story is slow burning. We are introduced to the characters, the places and the political situations of Dacia. Even if there is not war at moment there’s a sense of foreboding and of coming troubles.
After we understand what is going on the story start going it’s gripping, fast paced and gritty. Plenty of actions and twists makes this story gripping and highly entertaining.
Ferox or Titus Flavius Ferox is an interesting character, a strong man who is typical of this era when legionnaire came from all over the Empire. He’s clever, strong willed and brave. I liked him an hope to read soon his further adventures.
The author delivers a cast of well thought characters and the different POVs help us to understand the different cultures and the different way of thinking.
The biggest surprise is Hadrian. I knew him as the philosopher described by Marguerite Yourcenar in Memoirs of Hadrian, the man who built masterpieces like Villa Adriana/Pantheon/Castel Sant’Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian) and the lover of Antinoo. I had some doubt he could be a bit ruthless as I couldn’t have made to emperor, as far as I know ancient Romans were not very kind and being an emperor could be a dangerous profession.
I discovered what could have been the man in his younger year when he took part to the Dacian Wars.
I was fascinated by The Fort Hadrian as he’s described as human, cunning and ruthless and I think this is more realistic than the one described by Yourcenar and the history I studied.
The historical part is very detailed and well researched (Ok, the author is a historian). My knowledge of Dacia and Dacian wars was inexistent and know I’m starting to understand something more than the usual “Dacian were rebels”. The details of the military part, how they were dressed and lived on the frontier is astonishing.
Let’s summarize: a gripping, entertaining and well written story that kept me hooked.
I can’t wait to read the next installment; this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Flavius Ferox Defends a Fort

This is the first in a new series featuring the cast of the same author’s Vindolanda series. Centurion Flavius Ferox and his pal Vindex and a force of fierce Brigantes are posted to a remote fort in the hills on the border of Dacia, modern Romania. Trajan has defeated the Dacians in the first war, but there is an uneasy peace and clever men suspect war will or should soon be renewed. Among such men is the emperor’s young nephew, the tribune Hadrian.

It takes a while to get going, this first instalment, and it stretches credulity rather, that most of the major characters of the Vindolanda series fetch up together in this remote fort. But as Roman army siege novels go, this one is very good. It’s a gritty, violent tale, especially in its second half, much less coy than the same author’s Vindolanda books. There is an interesting portrayal of the young Hadrian, quite different from what one might expect of a man often described as one of the ‘good emperors’ of Rome. Some of the tale is told from the point of view of a young Dacian warrior and when he is on stage, the narrative approaches Homeric in tone. There are loose ends, which might be reconciled in later sequels, and at times in the early part of the novel it is quite difficult to follow what is going on. Perhaps all this will be solved in due course. In short, this is a solid opening to an intriguing new pathway for the hero, Flavius Ferox.

Falvius Ferox returns, this time in charge of a fort on the Dacian frontier as the 2nd Dacian War looms, with Decebalus ready to break the treaty. An ambitious Hadrian complicates matters while the besieged Romans, many of them Brigantes with their reasons for killing Ferox, do their best to inventively resist repeated assaults. The action is well-described as is the detail of the fort, Roman customs, politics and army life. The Dacians are not quite as well-realised but obviously there are far fewer sources for them as the author notes. Some personalities, particularly the wise-cracking sidekick, Vindex, and the somewhat unrealistic female characters detract a little from an involving and entertaining read. I prefer the author's excellent non-fiction but it is good to read historical fiction with an authoritative background.
(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy)

“Ferox remembered reading that Cicero felt his new villa had gained a soul when a library was created”
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I first met Titus Flavius Ferox when he was Centurio Regionarius of the fort of Vindolanda at the far reach of the Roman Empire in North-Eastern England. Born of the Silures, a tribe from South Wales, Ferox was taken hostage and raised as a Roman before being commissioned into the army. The three books of the Vindolanda series show Ferox as a skilled soldier and a man of sound judgement and fair leadership. However, wherever he is, things have a habit of tuning to custard. As he often says “Omnes ad stercus”


The Fort is the first book of the City of Victory Series. Ferox is now in Dacia (modern day Romania) watching an uneasy peace with the Dacians falter before the outbreak of the second Dacian war at the time of the Emperor Trajan. Placed in a small fort guarding a strategic bridge over the Danube, it’s not long until “omens ad stercus” again and Ferox is besieged trying to outwit an army of Dacians whilst commanding a disparate group of Romans and Brigantes. Some old favourites from Vindolanda pop up; Vindex, Sulpicia Lepidina and Philo, so reading The Fort was like being reunited with old friends, albeit in the middle of a bloody battle


A Roman scholar, Adrian Goldsworthy is able to use his knowledge to fictionalise and flesh out the details of a military campaign where few contemporary records have survived. Through his books, I’ve enjoyed learning about Roman dress, food, customs and entertainment all whilst being thoroughly entertained myself. There is a significant amount of military history in the Fort, but testament to my love for Ferox that I was content to learn about bows and battering rams till the cows came home


Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC of The Fort. I loved catching up with Ferox again and look forward to his next adventure

This book sees the return of Ferox, Vindex, Claudia Enica and Lepidina from Britain, from the author’s Vindolanda trilogy, relocating them to another wild and remote Roman outpost, Dacia (Romania). The writing is excellent - full of scenic detail, great dialogue, and with great pacing, building steadily to a powerful ending. If you liked the VIndolanda books, the same winning formula is in evidence here. I can’t wait for the next to in this series.

Reading this, I don’t think I would be very good at taking charge of a fort just north of the Danube, a isolated outpost in Dacian territory and a fort that seems likely to be used in a complex powerplay between the Emperor’s great-nephew Hadrian and the Dacian King, Decebalus. To say I wouldn’t spot the double-agents from the triple agents is probably the least of it. And this despite that fact that my parents are from Wales/Siluria, like Ferox, and I live among Brigantians. So much for genetics and the spirit of place.

Most of what I know about Decebalus comes from Goldsworthy’s earlier history, In the Name of Rome (ch.13). Sounds like Decebalus was an interesting character, though he is very much in the background here. Dacia/Moesia was a key military site for the Roman Empire, though it still seems a bit neglected in Roman histories and by novelists. Peter Jaksa has written a trilogy of books on the Trajan/Hadrian’s Dacian Wars - very much from the Dacian point of view. They are not nearly as well written as The Fort, but still interesting. Michael Schmitz's Roman Conquests: The Danubian Frontier also provides a good account of the history with some good maps.