The Shrine

Eagles of Rome #0.5

by Ben Kane

A closely fought race, treachery in a back alley, a visit to the shrine of an Egyptian Goddess. A Roman centurion discovers that Fate will always hold him in her power.

The German frontier, spring 6 BC. When Lucius Cominius Tullus, a recently promoted centurion, gambles on a foot race between rival legionaries, he has no idea that his wager will endanger his very life, and that the streets of an Empire border town can be as deadly as the bloodiest battlefield.

A prequel to Ben Kane's dramatic new trilogy, Eagles at War , The Shrine also includes a sample chapter from the first book in the series.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Historical, Ancient History, Roman

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2015

About the author

Ben Kane is a bestselling Roman author and former veterinarian. He was born in Kenya and grew up in Ireland (where his parents are from). He has traveled widely and is a lifelong student of military history in general, and Roman history in particular. He lives in North Somerset, England, with his family.

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set on the German frontier of the Roman Empire, circa AD 9-16.
Our protagonist is a Roman by the name of Tullus, celebrating his promotion from optio to centurion. He places a bet on a foot race, but soon discovers that danger lurks beyond the bloody battlefields!
A tempting prequel to Ben Kane's dramatic new trilogy, Eagles at War.

[Laura Tenfingers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short story to whet out appetite before Eagles at War. A good feel for life in the legions and had me wrapped up in it.

[Ozymandias · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short short story. Just starting with that to temper your expectations. Given its limited goals, it works pretty well. We’re told a pretty narrow story about Tullus gambling on a race and praying in a shrine where he’s given the prophecy that was (rather clumsily) alluded to in the first book. I don’t have much more to say about it except that it worked well and kept my interest throughout. An easy thing to manage for thirty pages or less. If that’s a less than enthusiastic endorsement, it’s also a very easy read for someone who enjoyed the Eagles of Rome series and enjoyed Tullus.

[Stephanie (Bookfever) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing Eagles at War and being quite sad to have finished such a good book because I wanted to keep reading, I was thrilled to find out that the prequel was free on Wattpad. Since The Shrine is a short story I decided to read it right away and I really enjoyed it. The setting, the character of Tullus, the writing — it was all great! I was also really glad to found out how exactly Tullus received the prophecy (which actually came true) that he mentioned in Eagles at War.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

I really liked this free prequel to the 'Eagles of Rome'-series. It's very well written, it has a nice plot and I loved all the historical accurate details of Mogantiacum, Gallia Belgica (now: Mainz, Germany).

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shrine is a great tale charting the early years of Tullus and gives us the more backstory to the character and explains plot points from the later books! :D The The Shrine neatly sets up things and the characters that Tullus and co encounter . The book a tale full of action and intrigue ! :D Plus we get to see some more of the world Tullus and the other characters inhabit building up the map of where they are be and showing what Tullus is on the way to doing! :D The Soothsayer in the story is almost cleverly inserted and set things up for later! :D

The Shrine is clever, world-building, full of adventure and action packed! :D Brilliant and highly recommended! :D

[Ugo Marsolais · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short story introducing the main character, Lucius Cominius Tullus, of the Eagles of Rome series by Ben Kane.

The interesting part of the story is that it's actually happening in a Shrine in Mogontiacum (today's Mainz in Germany near Frankfurt) that still exists today and can be visited.

I can't say much more about this short story without revealing the actual point of it so you'll have to read it to know more :)

[Phil Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The short stories that just keep giving !

Love the opportunity the writer is given in short stories to add to the lives of the characters we love. Ben Kane knows how to spin a yarn and every one of his books takes you on a great journey, albeit a short one on this occasion, luckily there's clearly much more to come. Great short story, well worth a read.

[Robyn Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story was brilliant. The characterization was faultless, and the narrative held you right until the end. The writer depicted the setting, the era and genre perfectly. All in all it left this reader wanting to know more.

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good short read

I read this after reading eagles at war and it was good to see "the prophecy" that Tullus refers to in it. Only a short book i can't complain. It was good to see where it came from a have a glimpse at a younger Tullus.

[Ivana Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although very short, this is a very enjoyable introduction to Tullus and presages events to come in Germany. A great prequel to the "Eagles at War" trilogy.

[Mohammad Al-Rashed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this after Eagles at War but I am glad I did. A brief glimpse of Tullus before he joined the Eighteenth as centurion.

[Hamish Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Kane can't put a foot wrong for me -- great short story and a prequel to Eagles at War (which I read first though that made no difference to the pure enjoyment of both!).
Roll on the rest of the trilogy.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short story.
Well written and researched, the story opened to me a new area of the Roman Empire, that of Germany. I knew nothing about this, now I know a tiny bit but hope change this by reading the associated book by Ben Kane.
Short and sweet but worth reading.

[Francis Mulhern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little short story from the 'master' Ben Kane.

I think I will like Tullus a lot when I read Eagles at War.

[Andrew Bull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too short.

[Richard Southwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

Nice to have a back story for a character that I enjoyed the recent book and am looking forward to the next instalment.

[Sean Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping short story

5star story. Good intro for this author and series . when barbarity and debauchery meet, where do you stand. Lost!

[Kevin Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short

[Nick Schieben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very quick and enjoyable read and introduced the main character of the series.