Iron

by Micheál Cladáin

The year of the Four Emperors is drawing to a close. Rome has been through brutal civil war and mutiny.Praetor Agricola is called to the palace and sees his first love—a woman he thought to be long dead—running through the fog and into the Suburra. Giving chase proves futile, and he sends his second-in-command to find her.When Gul arrives in Rome with distressing news, Clíodhna has no choice but to agree to return to her home in Caer Leb. Before they leave, however, they are arrested by the Praetorian Guard for sedition and will face lions in the arena.Mucianus, appointed Governor of Rome in Vespasian’s absence, appoints Agricola as Legate of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix, dispatching him to Britannia to take command.On hearing of Clíodhna’s arrest, Agricola lies to the Governor to free her from the clutches of the Praetorian Guard, creating enemies and planting a Sisyphus-sized ball before him, which he must roll up a Palatine-sized hill to return her home.Leaving Rome sees them chased by enemies who will do everything possible to ensure Agricola and Clíodhna pay with their lives.A satisfyingly gritty and complex tale of a noble Roman commander and a valiant Christian woman. — Kirkus Review

378 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2023

Reviews

[Patricia Furstenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Micheál Cladáin’s Iron is historical fiction at its finest: bold, uncompromising, and full of the raw grit of the first century’s blood-soaked politics. Set in the turbulent aftermath of the "Year of the Four Emperors" (69CE), the novel weaves real history and inspired imagination into a rich, brutal tapestry of empire, love, and survival.
Praetor Agricola, noble yet flawed, finds his past resurrected when the woman he once loved, long presumed dead, flees into Rome’s labyrinthine streets. Her arrest sets off a chain of betrayals, desperate choices, and perilous journeys while Agricola risks everything to save her. From the shadowed alleys of the Suburra to the windswept frontiers of Britannia, the narrative drives forward with relentless tension and heart.
Cladáin excels at blurring the lines between fact and fiction. His depiction of Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (once-lauded general now reimagined as a sinister, fading power) adds a layer of political intrigue and menace worthy of the best Roman dramas. The meticulously researched backdrop from the looming threat of Irish raiders to the druid strongholds of Anglesey and the imposing hillfort of Croesoswallt immerses the reader in a world on the cusp of conquest and collapse.
Yet Iron is not merely a story of legions and battles. At its heart, it’s a deeply human tale of two people bound by love and destiny, fighting against the grinding machinery of empire. Clíodhna, courageous and devout, stands as a powerful counterpoint to Agricola’s Roman pragmatism while their shared struggle gives the novel its emotional core.
Epic in scope and intimate in detail, Iron reimagines a pivotal moment in Roman and Celtic history with a storyteller’s flair and a historian’s eye. Fans of Conn Iggulden, Robert Harris, or Bernard Cornwell will find themselves enthralled.

Five Stars. A sweeping read.

[Katherine Hutton Mezzacappa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, this is this author's best work yet. It starts in Rome, with the (literally) visceral execution of the emperor Vitellius, at a time when the Roman empire was changing leaders as regularly as the Tory party. At the centre of the novel, though, are Agricola and his former Irish slave Clíodhna, daughter of Genonn, trained as a druidic seer then converted to Christianity – here called The Cult, considered (as we know from history) a dangerous movement that needed to be crushed at all costs. Clíodhna is outspoken - a bit too loose-lipped for her own good – but it is who she is that has made Agricola fall for her and risk his own skin, notably for having disobeyed the orders of the malign Domitian, in the ascendent as the son of the emperor Vespasian. She finds herself used as a pawn in a complex revenge plot stemming from events back in Ireland, at the hands of the sinister Sucaria. The story is deftly plotted, pulls no punches about the brutality of the times and asks the fundamental question: whom do you think you can trust?

[Lissa Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent sequel to Hammer, so well researched that we're emersed in an ancient and real world where history and fiction are seamlessly blended. Again, the intrigue and many twists and turns keep you guessing throughout, never sure who to doubt and who to trust. A gripping page-turner.