Commodus: The Vengeful and the Dead

by Wayne Beeston

The Vengeful and the Dead is the second in my historical fiction series in the Emperor Commodus. The story picks up where the first novel left us. Marcrinus has made his way to Rome, along with Hulvius and his sister Adrastea and now must find a way to retrieve the slave boy Palacus and counter the intrigues of Marcus Aurelius's unloyal ab epistulis, Tarruttienus.

Marcus Aurelius will soon set out on a journey to shore up support amung the eastern provinces and what he will find on route threathens to upend his position as emperor, and husband as well as all who depend on him. Will Marcrinus find a way to escape the violent underbelly of Rome with Palacus unharmed? How much will Didius Julianus, sent to Rome by Marcus, discover of the plot to overthrow him and what will become of them?

Will Hulvius and Adrastea be able to run from their past, or will it catch up with them? Will the scheming Saoterus be discovered or will he wriggle out of harm's way? And what of Lucien in Alexandria, will the love of Crassius be enough to heal him or will despair be his only friend?

375 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2024