Hyperborea

Veteran Of Rome #4

by William Kelso

Winter AD 103. Marcus, veteran of twenty three years service in the 2nd Batavian Auxiliary Cohort, finally returns home to Britannia from serving with his unit on the Dacian frontier, to find that much has changed on his family farm. Fourteen years have passed since his father's murder but the wounds are still deep and painful. So when a new copy of his father's will surfaces, Marcus embarks on a seemingly hopeless quest to honour and fulfill Corbulo's final wish, an instruction to be buried alongside his old Legionary comrades, on the battlefield, where he once fought against Boudicca, the barbarian queen. Dogged, at every turn, by his own and his father's past, Marcus must go in search of Emogene, the druid who holds all the answers. As the trail leads him to the sprawling, booming city of Londinium Marcus makes an astonishing discovery that changes everything. Faced with a herculean challenge, Marcus must decide how far he will go for honour, and whether to follow Emogene to the secretive and mythical land of Hyperborea, an epic sea voyage across the Atlantic ocean, that no Roman sailor dares make.

Genres: Historical Fiction

406 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 24, 2016

About the author

Hello, my name is William Kelso.

My stories are all about ancient Rome and Carthage, especially the early to mid-republic as this was the age of true Roman greatness. I have written 25 books so far with an aim of reaching a 100.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting plot and adventure

This book in the Veteran of Rome series features Marcus and his struggles to fulfill his father’s final wishes. Several new characters, both friends and villains are introduced that flesh out the story making for an entertaining read. My main problem with these books are the author’s frequent use of particular words when forming characters manner of speech. In the last book it was “he cried” (137 times) and in this book it’s “he growled” which is used 154 times! It detracts from the normal flow of conversation and makes for some awkward reading. For someone who is able to form an intriguing plot line Kelso seems unable to use a more normal method of descriptive language for speaking. However, I will read the next book in the series and hope that his dialogue skills improve.

[Steve Minnick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story!

A diversion from the main story line takes us to Hyperborea chasing Corbulo's ashes and skull.
While well written it left anxious to get back to Britain and the Romans.

[Hugh Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far too much vulgar language. Not necessary to the plot or the story. Could easily be toned down so not to detract from the story.