A fantastic entry into the Imperial Assassin series by Alex Gough, as always chock full of fantastic detail and history while never being dry or boring. Alex Gough is a master at writing ancient Rome!

This book like all of the titles in the series is action packed and full of detailed and believable scenes of battle and the often harsh side of life in ancient Rome.

The books in this series are always gripping, action packed and entertaining. Loved this one that kept me hooked and turning pages.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

CONTENT WARNING: violence, murder, blood, suicide, profanity, gore, massacre, mention of rape, harm to animals

I’ve gotten somewhat sucked into this series, and although I haven’t yet read all of the books, I’m pleased to discover that I didn’t have to read each of the books to be able to follow what is going on in this book. Gough has recreated the Roman Empire in all of it’s glory and revealed the grimy underside of the glitz, all through the eyes of our simple hero—Silus.

Silus is hard not to like. He’s a simple guy who rose through the ranks from a dumb mistake that he made in book 1. And while he paid dearly for his error, he’s also been granted an immense privilege, in being elevated to the ranks of the Imperial Assassins, or the Arcani. In this book, he’s also one of the Leones, or the elite guard of the Roman Empire, Caracalla. But during his years of service, he’s also seen some things that made him question his loyalty to this man, who has grown increasingly unbalanced and paranoid. Although he was witness to a massacre in Germania in an earlier book, he’s a witness to a new atrocity in this book that forces him to make a decision that throws his entire worldview into question.

In the upper ranks of the Empire, among those closest to the Emperor, it’s hard to know who to trust. This entire book simmers with tension, and I found myself absolutely unable to put it down. It starts with an action scene, and always, Silus is unwillingly thrown into a hot mess of a situation, one after another. He has very little say in the path of his life, and he struggles a lot with that in this book. I loved watching him maneuver around that, mentally and emotionally, and learn how to wrestle back some control over his life in whatever way he could.

The Roman Empire period is fascinating to me, and Gough clearly did his research. Everything was so detailed, from the architecture and the social structure, down to the attire and military techniques. This series ranges across the empire, starting in Britannia and moving across the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) area in this book. It was so interesting to see not just the different regions, but also the political intrigues of the times. There were so many plot twists, and I loved reading this story.

This is one of those books that you can’t miss, especially if you are a fan of historical fiction. It’s brimming with action, intrigue, and emotional plot lines that get their hooks into you and don’t let go. I was nearly crying by the end of the story, and although it says that this is the climax of the series, I can’t say that I’m ready to let go. I find myself hoping that there’s more to come from this, maybe a spin-off, because I seriously love all the characters (ok, most of the characters) in this series!

Emperor's Fate was raw and emotional but so, so good. At times a little bit overwhelming to read but unputdownable.