Hero of Rome (Gaius Valerius Verrens 1)


Book Description

Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane, this heart-stopping historical thriller from bestselling author Douglas Jackson will have you on the edge of your seat! "Rightly hailed as one of the best historical novelists writing today" -- DAILY EXPRESS Readers are loving Gaius Valerius Verrens! "This was probably the best book that I have read of this genre." - 5 STARS. "As good as Scarrow, Riches or Scott." - 5 STARS. "Valerius is quite addictive..." - 5 STARS . ************************************************************** AD 59: Rome's grip on Britain is weakening. Roman cruelty and exploitation has angered their British subjects; the Druids are on the rise; the warrior queen Boudicca will lead the tribes to war. The Roman Tribune, Gaius Valerius Verrens must lead the veteran legions at Colonia in a last stand against the rising tide of rebellion and the unstoppable horde of Boudicca's rebel army. Can he defend his honour and the Empire he represents? Hero of Rome is the first in Douglas Jackson's Gaius Valerius Verrens series. His story continues in Defender of Rome.




Sword of Rome


Book Description

Bestselling author Douglas Jackson expertly brings the Roman Empire to life in this brutal and bloody historical adventure. Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow, Ben Kane and Conn Iggulden. Readers are loving Gaius Valerius Verrens! "Breakneck action, vivid characters, a fresh, believable perspective, and a fabulous plot with a stunning, unexpected end. Don't want to read it yet? Are you barking mad?" - 5 STARS "A page turner that makes you want more" - 5 STARS "I couldn't put the book down" - 5 STARS "A cracking read" - 5 STARS "Hugely enjoyable" - 5 STARS ****************************************************************** AMIDST THE CHAOS AND CARNAGE OF CIVIL WAR, WHERE DO A HERO'S LOYALTIES LIE? AD 68: The Emperor Nero's erratic and bloody reign is in its death throes when Gaius Valerius Verrens is dispatched to Rome on a mission that will bring it to a close. With Nero dead, the city and the Empire hold their breath, pray for peace and await the arrival of his successor, Servius Sulpicius Galba, governor of Hispania. But they pray in vain. Galba promises stability and prosperity, but his rule begins with a massacre and ends only months later in chaos and carnage. And so starts the Year of the Four Emperors: a time of civil war which will tear Rome apart and test Valerius's skills and loyalties to their very limit. Fortunate to survive Galba's fall, Valerius is sent on a mission by Rome's new Emperor, Otho, to persuade his old friend Vitellius to halt his armies, stop them marching in the north and therefore prevent inevitable confrontation and disruption. In an epic adventure that will take him the length and breadth of a divided land, the one-armed Roman fights to stay alive and stave off a bloodbath as he is stalked by the most implacable enemy he has ever faced. Gaius Valerius Verrens's adventures continue in Enemy of Rome.




Legionary: Viper of the North (Legionary #2)


Book Description

The Danubian frontier is weaker than ever, and a storm is gathering in the north . . . Deep winter, 376 AD: Emperor Valens has withdrawn the field armies from Moesia and Thracia to fight in the Persian War. The impoverished limitanei legions left behind to defend the banks of the River Danubius are now all that stand between the war-hungry Goths and heart of the Eastern Roman Empire. For Numerius Vitellius Pavo and the men of the XI Claudia, the brief from Emperor Valens is simple: to avoid war with the Goths at all costs while the Roman defences are so weak. But in the frozen lands north of the Danubius a dark legend, thought long dead, has risen again. The name is on the lips of every warrior in Gutthiuda; the one who will unite the tribes, the one whose armies will march upon the empire, the one who will bathe in Roman blood . . . The Viper!




Glory of Rome


Book Description

A riveting and all-action historical page-turner from bestselling author Douglas Jackson that will have you gripped from page one! Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane. Readers are loving Gaius Valerius Verrens! "The best Roman historical series I've yet read. Just pips Ben Kane and Conn Iggulden." - 5 STARS "I found this one hard to put down as there was action and intrigue from start to finish" - 5 STARS "Fantastic story and character creation" - 5 STARS "A simple plot but pace never lets up and keeps you wanting to "just read the next chapter before I put it down" - 5 STARS ************************************* 77AD. Gaius Valerius Verrens is an honoured member of Emperor Vespasian's inner circle, but the enmity between him and Vespasian's son Domitian means that, even in Rome, danger is never far away. Meanwhile, in the outer reaches of the Empire, in Britannia, trouble is brewing. The governor, Agricola is preparing to march his legions north and Valerius is Agricola's chief legal adviser and deputy governor. It's the opportunity he seeks to move his wife and son out of reach of Domitian's wrath. The massacre of a Roman garrison and suspicious death throw Agricola's preparations into confusion. Now his eyes turn west to Mona and the Druids, who still harbour hopes of ridding Britannia of Roman rule. But to deal with them, Agricola needs a soldier he can trust to lead the legion. Only one man in the province has the experience and the ability . . . So a reluctant Valerius picks up his sword once more. He soon comes to understand that any glory his new legion wins is likely to be fleeting and tainted - and that he has placed his family in deadly peril. Gaius Valerius Verrens's adventures conclude in Hammer of Rome.




Avenger of Rome


Book Description

In the follow-up to Defender of Rome, Valerius Verrens is sent on a mission by the deranged Nero against a man he greatly admires Emperor Nero's grip on power is weakening. In every shadow he sees an enemy, and like a cornered animal, he lashes out at every perceived threat. His paranoia settles on the figure of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, Rome's greatest general who leads the imperial legions in the East. Is Corbulo preparing to march against Rome and take the purple? Gaius Valerius Verrens, Hero of Rome, is ordered to Antioch with the power of life and death over Corbulo, a soldier he worships. There he finds that word of his mission has preceded him, and every man's hand is turned against him. But Corbulo's eyes are not on Rome, but on a new threat to the Empire's border. The Parthian King of Kings, Vologases, is marching to war, and if not stopped he might overwhelm the entire Roman east. Valerius marches at Corbulo's side. Outnumbered they make a stand in the barren wastes beyond the Tigris to meet Vologases in an epic contest of military might and ingenuity that will decide the fate of the Empire. And while he fights for the Empire, and for his own survival on the battlefield, Valerius must decide whether to complete his mission, or risk incurring his Emperor's dangerous wrath.




The Hero's Way


Book Description

The acclaimed author of Italian Ways returns with an exploration into Italy’s past and present—following in the footsteps of Garibaldi’s famed 250-mile journey across the Apennines. In the summer of 1849, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italy’s legendary revolutionary, was finally forced to abandon his defense of Rome. He and his men had held the besieged city for four long months, but now it was clear that only surrender would prevent slaughter and destruction at the hands of a huge French army. Against all odds, Garibaldi was determined to turn defeat into moral victory. On the evening of July 2, riding alongside his pregnant wife, Anita, he led 4,000 hastily assembled men to continue the struggle for national independence elsewhere. Hounded by both French and Austrian armies, the garibaldini marched hundreds of miles across the Appenines, Italy’s mountainous spine, and after two months of skirmishes and adventures arrived in Ravenna with just 250 survivors. Best-selling author Tim Parks, together with his partner Eleonora, set out in the blazing summer of 2019 to follow Garibaldi and Anita’s arduous journey through the heart of Italy. In The Hero’s Way he delivers a superb travelogue that captures Garibaldi’s determination, creativity, reckless courage, and profound belief. And he provides a fascinating portrait of Italy then and now, filled with unforgettable observations of Italian life and landscape, politics, and people.




Defender of Rome


Book Description

Gaius Valerius Verrens returns to Rome from the successful campaign against Boudicca in Britain. Now hailed a Hero of Rome, Valerius is not the man he once was. And neither is Rome the same city as the one he left.




Soldier of Rome: The Legionary


Book Description

Rome's Vengeance In the year A.D. 9, three Roman Legions under Quintilius Varus were betrayed by the Germanic war chief, Arminius, and destroyed in the forest known as Teutoburger Wald. Six years later Rome is finally ready to unleash Her vengeance on the barbarians. The Emperor Tiberius has sent his adopted son, Germanicus Caesar, into Germania with an army of forty-thousand legionaries. The come not on a mission of conquest, but one of annihilation. With them is a young legionary named Artorius. For him the war is a personal vendetta; a chance to avenge his brother, who was killed in Teutoburger Wald. In Germania Arminius knows the Romans are coming. He realizes that the only way to fight the legions is through deceit, cunning, and plenty of well-placed brute force. In truth he is leery of Germanicus, knowing that he was trained to be a master of war by the Emperor himself. The entire Roman Empire held its collective breath as Germanicus and Arminius faced each other in what would become the most brutal and savage campaign the world had seen in a generation; a campaign that could only end in a holocaust of fire and blood.




Paolo, Emperor of Rome


Book Description

When Paolo the dachshund finally escapes the hair salon where he lives, he has adventures beyond his wildest dreams amid the beauty and culture of Rome.




Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990


Book Description

Produced in Italy from the turn of the 20th century, "sword and sandal" or peplum films were well received in the silent era and attained great popularity in the 1960s following the release of Hercules (1959), starring Mr. Universe Steve Reeves. A global craze for Bronze Age fantasy-adventures ensued and the heroic exploits of Hercules, Maciste, Samson and Goliath were soon a mainstay of American drive-ins and second-run theaters (though mainly disparaged by critics). By 1965, the genre was eclipsed by the spaghetti western, yet the 1960s peplum canon continues to inspire Hollywood epics. This filmography provides credits, cast and comments for dozens of films from 1908 through 1990.