For over 11,000 years, one secret has haunted humanity and shaped its history, a secret so dark that none dare reveal it. But now, a destined young Messiah bent on revenge will unlock the truth of man’s origin and discover that vampires do exist, and they control everything.
Julian Angelis mysteriously loses his mother on the night of his 21st birthday when she is murdered in cold blood. Shortly after her death, he is taken in by an elite academy that clandestinely seeks to make him into a weapon and initiate him into vampirism. Little does Julian realize however that he is surrounded by his mother's killers who are all members of the Rominus Empire, a secret society of vampires that has mercilessly ruled over humanity since the fall of Atlantis.
When the academy forsakes him, Julian is saved by a vampire so notorious that his name has become legend even among humans, Vlad Tepes Dracula. Convinced that Julian is the Messiah destined to rule the Rominus Empire and unite its warring clans, Vlad risks everything to aid a vengeful Julian.
With the help of Vlad and friends, Julian embarks on an impossible journey into lands unknown in order to stop his mother's killers before they usurp the throne of Rominus and spark the annihilation of humans and vampires alike.
"Rominus is a no-holds-barred chronicle of human history and a cut above all other vampire stories." --Kirkus Review
"Forget everything you know about vampires, Rominus is everything you don't expect from a vampire story." --Faye Dunaway, Academy Award Winner, Best Actress
Rominus is currently in talks to become a major motion picture.\
For over 11,000 years, the survivors of Atlantis have secretly ruled the earth through an ancient society known as the Rominus Empire, bringing death and order to an already decadent world. Yet within this vampire kingdom, an ancient prophecy foretells of an imminent civil war between clans fated to spark the end of the human race, and of the hybrid king destined to stop it by surviving the merging of all three vampire bloodlines within his mortal body. At the highest levels of power are a clandestine few who believe in the coming of this new ruler and have conspired to find him only in vain. But after centuries of searching and waiting, it is he who now seeks them, not for peace or power, but for revenge against the vampire who murdered his mother.
To refer to Rominus by Jonathan Amaret as simply another Historical novel would be a grave injustice- this is one of the most unique and intriquing novels I have read. Jonathan Amaret, combining both fictional and historic characters, a magnificent writing style and even beautiful illustrations, has created more of an experience than simply a book- a truly great achievment and a must read!
A JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ
RICK FRIEDMAN FOUNDER THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
I think that this book was superbly orchestrated. The way it draws you in and keeps you there. Couldn't put the book down for two days, from chapters 12-23. I'll be definitely re-reading this book.
This isn't a book, it's an experience, an eye-opener, a sobering reminder that reality is out there, it's real, and we should pay attention to it.
Rominus isn't just an amazing vampire novel, it isn't just an amazing story, isn't just an amazing way to spend your time reading, it's absurdly profound.
I had to stop when reading this, on several occasions, to think, to walk away, to let various bits of it get absorbed into my mind. The first third of it you might think its weird, crazy, even stupid to an extent. But you'd be wrong. In the end this was a wonderful read, it's hard to just think of it as a book.
So often in life we don't see whats happening in our world. We choose not to, usually. Sometimes that choice is taken away from us, various forces at work, gov't, media, education. We ought to shake ourselves out of this, it isn't healthy.
What's that have to do with this book? Well, you'd have to read it to find out. I don't want to spoil it here.
Jonathan Amaret did a wonderful job piecing together so much of history, myth, legend, lie, truth, theory, conspiracy, and a thoughtful, emotional storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I dare you to put it down during the final third of the book. I got mad at myself having to urinate, wanting to keep reading instead.
Addendum:
Needed some time to absorb this book, and consider more of what to say, perhaps should have done this prior to reviewing, but instead of editing the review I'll just add to it.
The author did such a beautiful job with this, specifically with the relationships between characters. So often in stories when it gets to this part of handling the characters friendships and romances it'll just get weird, awkward and unreadable/unwatchable. Some authors don't seem to know how to word things so that it comes out well, or they don't seem to understand enough about psychology or sociology to handle it rightly.
I felt that the relationship between the main character and his mother especially was poignant and superbly done. It got to me, its sort of gut-wrenching in a way, reading about this young guy who's rude to his mother, and doesn't appreciate her or what she does for him. This hit home in ways, regarding my own past, it made those early chapters very emotional.
As the main character progresses through the story, many new relationships form, and I felt like they were all handled very well. I usually cringe while watching TV or movies and either bad acting or bad directing or bad writing infests the screen with awkward moments between characters in a relationship, whether romantic or not doesn't seem to matter, its often bungled and its just bad. But there wasn't any of that in this book, every relationship felt genuine and realistic. Every bond formed seemed organic and alive. This sort of thing might not matter to some, seemingly, as no one complains about the bad examples of this on TV/movies, but it has always been a source of annoyance for me and I was relieved that this book handled it so well.
- I have read a few vampire books in my day mainly because my girlfriend is into twilight but this one I actually really liked. It took a couple pages to figure out what was going on and memorize characters names but before I knew it I was seeing the world through the eyes of Vlad Dracula and and a buncha other really cool vamps. I also noticed that this book was written in present tense. My guess is that that was intentional. It read pretty quickly so that's another plus. Some parts creeped me out and they reminded me of strange things I've heard from people from neighboring towns so warning to those who can't stand a little horror. And Da Vinci Code fans eat your hearts out because this one has got you beat. My pet peeve is when author's play down to your intelligence, this one didn't. It kept me guessing and I actually learned a few things so that's pretty awesome. This book isn't for everyone but if your craving something new and pretty real even though its fantasy then I say read Rominus -
I cant find a better way to start describing this one of a kind novel, but if i was to describe it in one word i would say it is Unprecedented. Rominus has introduced to us a whole new world of vampires, i can guarantee any novel enthusiast and others alike that they have never read anything like Rominus before. It is a piece of art that includes a combination of multiple genres into one book. This book can make you experience the entire spectrum of human emotions at the same time. Jonathan Amaret has revolutionized the world of vampires, and if you haven't read it yet, then its time you do.
I won this book a while back in a giveaway. I was out of the country for a few months and didn't have a chance to read it. Now that I'm back, I'm going to give it a go!!
EDIT: Pretty great vampire book. A bit confusing at first, but once you give the book your full attention it's a great read!
What is there to be said that hasn't been mentioned already. To be honest, this is a book you will not want to put down. It takes you places far and wide, and introduces you to things we have been shielded from. The format the author used for the story was very well thought through. Everything comes full circle in the end and the font size is very easy on the eyes which I thought was very convenient. I have read it multiple times and I still find myself researching things I missed the first time around. Some characters may hit very close to home; Julian in particular if you ever found yourself in a dark place in life. There is talk of Rominus turning into a motion picture and I am more than excited. Definitely a book that helped me understand and learn so much. Truly a masterpiece. Still waiting on the sequel.<3
I thought this was an excellent book! It's a wonderful concept with a twist. The characters were easy to identify with and throughout the story became like real people that you care about.
I did find the beginning part a little difficult to escape into the story. I would maybe recommend either adding on some of the details regarding the history of the vampires and their influence throughout history either into the prelude or the history at the beginning of the book. Other than that, I loved it!
A first reads give away, this book is a real tour de force as it is filled with twists, turns and suspense. It tells of the true making of a vampire king and the history of thousands of years of age old vampires and how their worlds work. It is an entrancing read, one that keeps the reader so compelled that I couldn't put it down. I loved it.
Was really looking forward to this. Started out great but was dragged down by boring characters and a lot of them at that. Most characters are not likable so you really don't care who lives ir dies. How you make Vlad the Impaler and Bathory boring I don't know. The book also includes every conspiracy story you have ever heard. Had to really push to finish the book.
I received this book as part of the First Reads program.
This just wasn't my type of book. I enjoy vampire books as well as the vague allusions to aliens but I just could not get in to this book. I don't want to dissuade other people from checking it out because it is well written but just not for me. I couldn't stand the main character and while the conspiracy theories/philosophies were explained well I did not enjoy them and felt they bogged the story down. If you enjoy a lot of intrigue and twists on history and religion then you may like this book more then I did.