War at the Edge of the World: Part One: The first eight chapters of the Twilight of Empire series, set in Roman Britain, AD 305.

by Ian James Ross

This book is PART ONE of the epic novel, WAR AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. The complete novel will be available to purchase on 01 January 2015.

'Hugely enjoyable. The author winds up tension into an explosion of fast-paced events' CONN IGGULDEN.

'A thumping good read, well-crafted, atmospheric and throughly enjoyable... Where's the next volume, please?' BEN KANE.

BRITAIN, AD 305.

Once a member of the crack legions of the Danube frontier, Centurion Aurelius Castus has known the might of the Roman empire in war, as he has known its great expanse, marching from one border to another.

But now, Castus finds himself relegated to the crumbling British stronghold of Eboracum, regarded with suspicious awe by the provincial troops; just another veteran brooding upon his past triumphs in this frozen, uncivilised backwater. Until the king of the savage peoples beyond Hadrian's Wall dies in mysterious circumstances, and Castus is sent into enemy territory to negotiate with the barbarous chieftains of the Picts...

416 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2014

About the author

Ian Ross was born in England and studied painting before turning to writing fiction. He has travelled widely and worked as a bookseller, tutor and university lecturer while developing his writing abilities. A year in Italy teaching English and exploring the ruins of empire reawakened his early love for ancient history, and he returned to the UK with growing fascination for the period known as late antiquity. He has been researching and writing about the later Roman world and its army for over a decade, and his interests combine an obsessive regard for accuracy and detail with a devotion to the craft of storytelling.

Reviews

[Eileen Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not usually a fan of the "Sand and Sandals" genre of novels, but I must admit this version was a great read so far.
I haven't read all three parts so will reserve judgement until then, but seems promising.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Head of Zeus via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

[Rhys Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding debut! Ross writes an excellent page turner set in the Roman Empire's last year's of true glory, weaving an interesting tale of Rome's frontier battles with the barbarian Picts and the cut throat world of Roman politics in the time of the Emperor Constantine. There is a lot of interesting things at play and Roas delivers with a great blend of characters, as told by the straight laced career soldier Aurelius Castus.

This is well worth a read if you're into sword and sandal-type historical fiction novels. I'm seriously looking forward to part two. Five stars!

[Mark Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, looking forward to the rest of the book, don't give many 5 stars but this deserves it