Saviour of Rome: (Gaius Valerius Verrens 7) - Hardcover

Jackson, Douglas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593075935 ISBN 13: 9780593075937

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2016

Synopsis

AD 72. Titus Flavius Vespasianus, known as Vespasian, is Emperor of Rome, but his grip on power grows increasingly fragile as economic disaster threatens. The enormous riches from his Judaean campaigns are all but spent, legions go unpaid, and the yields from Rome’s vital Spanish goldfields have fallen dramatically since the civil war. Gaius Valerius Verrens is recently married and building a new home when the summons arrives from the Emperor. Vespasian needs a man with the combined skills of a lawyer and a soldier to investigate what is happening in remote, mountainous Asturica Augusta where the authorities claim a bandit called The Ghost is ravaging the gold convoys. But when Valerius arrives in Asturica he faces a much more complex situation. Stalked from the shadows he cannot tell ally from enemy, the exploited native tribes are a growing threat, and the tortured landscape itself seems capable of swallowing him up. Gradually he finds himself drawn into a much wider conspiracy, one that could plunge the Empire into a new conflict and that will place him on a deadly collision course with his old friend and most dangerous adversary, the former gladiator Serpentius.

About this title

About the Author

A journalist by profession, Douglas Jackson transformed a lifelong fascination for Rome and the Romans in to his first two highly-praised novels, Caligula and Claudius. His third, Hero of Rome, introduced readers to a new series hero, Gaius Valerius Verrens. Eight further acclaimed 'Rome' novels followed, confirming Doug as one of the UK's foremost historical novelists. His latest novel, The Wall, was published to coincide with the 1900th anniversary of the construction of Hadrian's Wall. A member of the Historical Writers Association and the Historical Novel Society, Douglas Jackson lives near Stirling in Scotland.

From the Inside Flap

AD 72. Titus Flavius Vespasianus, known as Vespasian, is Emperor of Rome. However, his grip on power is weakening as economic disaster threatens the city and so the Empire itself. The imperial treasure chests are all but empty, legions go unpaid, while yields from the vital goldmines in Spain have fallen dramatically.

Gaius Valerius Verrens, recently married and building a new home, had hoped he’d left his old life behind when he received the summons from the Emperor. Vespasian wants his old friend to do him one last favour: to journey to the remote, mountainous region of Asturica Augusta and investigate claims that a bandit called ‘The Ghost’ is raiding the Empire’s gold convoys with impunity.

What Valerius finds in this tortured, gods-forsaken land is much more complicated. The native tribes, exploited for so long, are a growing threat, but it seems the real danger comes from those closer to him. Treachery waits in the shadows as he is drawn into a terrifying conspiracy that, were it to succeed, would plunge the Empire into a devastating new conflict.

It falls to Valerius to put an end to it – but first he must establish who is a friend and who a foe . . .

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593075935
• ISBN 13: 9780593075937
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384