Zeno

by Darryl Greer

As an eleven-year-old, Zeno’s life – and the lives of his mother and sister – were torn to shreds when his father, Calvus, was crucified in Verulamium, Britannia on a trumped up charge of treason, a fate brought about by his belief in a man they knew as Christus.

In this long awaited sequel to Calvus, a series of events leads Zeno, as an adult, back to Rome where, like his father, he joins the army as a legionary. Following an act of heroism during the Great Fire of Rome in 64AD, Zeno is elevated to centurion. When he is asked to guard a prisoner named Paul of Tarsus, discussions with this unusual prisoner trigger a desire in Zeno to travel to Judea, his father’s first posting – and first crucifixion.

As Zeno becomes increasingly frustrated with life under Emperor Nero, his chats with Paul lead him, not only to Judea but on a journey of discovery.

And if he is not careful, to an untimely death.

344 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 24, 2023

About the author

Darryl was born, educated and spent the first chapter of his working life in Queensland, Australia. He was raised and educated on the Gold Coast but his education was cut short – by him, due to the sheer boredom of it – and at the age of 15 he left to work on a milk run. He went on to work as a window cleaner, cocktail barman, wine waiter, clerk, car salesman and a guitarist/backing singer in a rather hopeless rock band. Eventually, he got his act together, studied Law and at 28 owned his own law firm in Queensland’s far north. After nine years in the tropics he became bored with constant blue skies, gently swaying coconut palms and scuba-diving on the Great Barrier Reef, so he sold up and moved with his family to London. He practised there for twenty years specialising in commercial litigation, mostly at partner level in the City. In 2004 he returned to Queensland and now lives with his daughter in the Gold Coast hinterland.

As an author, Darryl has written in his spare time for as long as he can remember. Prior to his focussing on novels, he had a respectable number of paid articles published in British and international magazines. In 2009 he self-published his novel "The Election," a political thriller. In 2012 he won a competition with one of his other manuscripts "Calvus," and this led to a publishing contract with Morris Publishing Australia. With the demise of that publisher he has re-published that title himself.

Following another successful competition win, Darryl signed contracts with Custom Book Publications for the publication of three of his novels. "Agnus Dei," a legal thriller was published in February 2014, "Sleeping With Angels", another legal thriller followed in November 2014 and "A Dragon In The Snow" in October 2015. "Bounty" was published on 10 July 2019. In a departure from writing novels, Darryl published his memoir "...Passing Through..." in 2020. In June 2023, Darryl published "Zeno" a sequel to his novel, "Calvus" published in 2011.
You can check out Darryl's articles on Substack:
https://darrylgreer.substack.com

All of Darryl's books are available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle eBook.

Darryl continues to write. Apart from writing, Darryl enjoys walking, travel, cinema and, of course, reading thrillers. He also continues his love of music and can be found on the music platform audius.co

Darryl's mission statement: "I aim to achieve optimal enjoyment from whatever I write and at the same time, transport my readers to another dimension, free from their daily grind."

Links:

https://darrylgreer.wordpress.com
https://www.instagram.com/darrylgreer...
https://twitter.com/DarrylGreer16
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Reviews

[Geza Tatrallyay · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Zeno, the sequel to his Calvus, Darryl Greer gives us yet another captivating work of historical fiction. Set in Nero’s Roman Empire, this is the story of young Zeno, who returns to Rome with his family after his father, Calvus, is crucified in Britannia for succumbing to the teachings of Christ, whose crucifixion he had witnessed. Zeno and his mother, Vipsania, and sister, Fannia, are accompanied by their slave attendant, Helena—who is more like a surrogate mother to the children—and Calvus’ best friend, Dalmatius, and loyal soldier, Buccio and go to live at his grandfather, Publius’ palazzo outside Rome. Zeno joins the army and distinguishes himself, after which he is temporarily assigned to guard the incarcerated follower of Christ, Paulus, with whom he becomes fascinated. After he saves a senator during a fire that destroys much of Rome, Zeno is promoted to centurion, and, as Nero blames the Christians for the devastation wrought on Rome by the fire, Paulus is executed, but not before he gives Zeno a letter to Yohannan a friend in Judea.

In Judea, the Jews revolt against Roman oppression, and Yohannan, a follower of Christ, decides it is unsafe for his flock of Christians to remain in Jerusalem, so they flee into the countryside. Nero sends an army under Vespasian to put down the rebellion, and Zeno joins this force to realize his ambition of getting out of Rome and getting to know more about Christus and helping his followers, including Paulus’ friend Yohannan. Zeno eventually comes upon Yohannan and his small tribe, and deserts from the army to join them. Back in Rome, there is lots of consternation and excitement regarding the talented centurion who has gone AWOL, and many efforts to find him and bring him to justice.

Much as in the precursor novel, Calvus, clearly a lot of meticulous research went into Darryl Greer’s work to paint this mesmerizing tale of the centurion Zeno that encapsulates the fraught early rise of a pacifist Christianity and the efforts by the Romans to do everything in their power to eliminate it. This a book well worth reading, not just once but several times.

[Janet Lafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

ZENO

The mark of a good book begins with the first, attention grabbing sentence which keeps you turning pages, way past your bedtime, until the last page. At which point, you find yourself hoping for a sequel.

Darryl Greer delivers all of the above with his sequel to “Calvus. “Zeno” is a page turning, ripping good story set in the early beginnings of Christianity, 55AD to 68AD, when the despot Emperor Nero ruled the Roman Empire.

Darryl’s research is impeccable and impressive. By utilizing this setting of ancient religions, mythical Greek and Roman gods, Jewish sects, Muslims and the dawning of Christianity, Darryl creates a rich and fascinating background for his book.

The courageous Jews of Masada, epic battles, hand-to-hand combat, masters and slaves, warriors and cowards collide in this fascinating story. If I were teaching history, this book would be required reading. If I were teaching literature, this book would be required reading. Thank you for another great read Darry Greer.