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Marius' Mules #12
Sands of Egypt
Winter, 48 BC. Caesar and his small force are trapped in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Caught up in the dynastic struggles of the House of Ptolemy, the consul has sided with the clever and ruthless Queen Cleopatra. Her brother and fellow monarch Ptolemy XIII languishes in the palace, a hostage of Caesar’s, while a huge army under the command of the Egyptian general Achillas closes on the city to free him.
With both the future of this ancient land and the safety of Caesar and his men at stake, Fronto and his friends face the terrible task of holding an unfamiliar city under siege, in the desperate hope that reinforcements will reach them before the enemy break in.
But Egyptian reinforcements gather too, and with the interference of the youngest princess, Arsinoë, the future is far from written. Trapped, besieged and outnumbered, time is running out for the Romans, as shadows loom across the sands of Egypt
With both the future of this ancient land and the safety of Caesar and his men at stake, Fronto and his friends face the terrible task of holding an unfamiliar city under siege, in the desperate hope that reinforcements will reach them before the enemy break in.
But Egyptian reinforcements gather too, and with the interference of the youngest princess, Arsinoë, the future is far from written. Trapped, besieged and outnumbered, time is running out for the Romans, as shadows loom across the sands of Egypt
432 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 4, 2019
228 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
S.J.A. Turney
93 books495 followersSimon lives with his wife and children and a menagerie of animals in rural North Yorkshire, where he sits in an office, wired on coffee and digestive biscuits, and attempts to spin engrossing tales out of strands of imagination while his children drive toys across his desk and two dogs howl as they try to share a brain cell.
A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his rare free time travelling around ancient sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading voraciously.
Following an arcane and eclectic career path that wound through everything from sheep to Microsoft networks and from paint to car sales, Simon wrote Marius’ Mules and, with help and support, made a success of it. Now, with in excess of 20 novels under his belt, Simon writes full time and is represented by MMB Creative literary agents.
Simon writes Roman military novels in the form of the bestselling Marius’ Mules series based on Julius Caesar’s campaigns, Roman thrillers in the Praetorian series, set during the troubled reign of Commodus, medieval adventures in the Ottoman Cycle, following a young Greek thief around the 15th century world, and a series of Historical Fantasy novels with a Roman flavour, called the Tales of the Empire.
Simon can be found on Twitter as @SJATurney and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SJATurney/ as well as on his website http://www.sjaturney.co.uk
A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his rare free time travelling around ancient sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading voraciously.
Following an arcane and eclectic career path that wound through everything from sheep to Microsoft networks and from paint to car sales, Simon wrote Marius’ Mules and, with help and support, made a success of it. Now, with in excess of 20 novels under his belt, Simon writes full time and is represented by MMB Creative literary agents.
Simon writes Roman military novels in the form of the bestselling Marius’ Mules series based on Julius Caesar’s campaigns, Roman thrillers in the Praetorian series, set during the troubled reign of Commodus, medieval adventures in the Ottoman Cycle, following a young Greek thief around the 15th century world, and a series of Historical Fantasy novels with a Roman flavour, called the Tales of the Empire.
Simon can be found on Twitter as @SJATurney and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SJATurney/ as well as on his website http://www.sjaturney.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 22, 2021
The Marius Mules series has been running for over ten years now. I'm not sure when I first came across it, but I've enjoyed the story of Marcus Falerius Fronto and his adventures. His role as a legate and associate of Julius Caesar has allowed Simon Turney to take him all over the Roman world and involve him in most of Caesar's campaigns.
The author has always said that the series will end with volume fifteen, so we're not far from that end, and this entry sees Fronto with Caesar in Alexandria following Pompey's murder there. But the Consul is far from victorious yet. The civil war is meandering on, and although Mark Anthony is looking after things in Rome, many of Pompey's allies are still in control of important provinces and substantial armies.
In Alexandria itself, Caesar has taken Cleopatra's side in the dynastic struggles of the Ptolemy family, but is trapped in the city by a far larger Egyptian army, and the situation is critical. Unless loyal reinforcements arrive soon, the city will fall. Making everything more difficult is Caesar's growing personal relationship with the queen, which threatens to split his staff, some of whom think his loyalty to her is blinding him to the needs of Rome and the Republic.
Against this background, Fronto does his best to concentrate on his job as legate, using his legion to defend the city, while trying to stay out of all the political manoeuvring. He is feeling his age, and wondering about the future, but can see that sides are being drawn and it will be difficult to avoid having to choose.
At the beginning of this book, the author has, unusually, added a forward, warning the reader that the events mainly take place in a small geographical area, which can get complicated, and he helpfully provides maps of the city to guide us.
It's almost a prophetic warning, because this book was, for me, one of the weakest in the series. That small physical area means that the story becomes claustrophobic as well. The course of the siege is handed down to us by a number of ancient writers, the accuracy of most being suspect. The author has carefully selected his sources to make the best story, but it all seems a bit 'this happened', then 'that happened'.
Fronto comes across as something of an afterthought, slotted into a story where he has little agency or opportunity to affect events. Yes, there are battles, both on sea and land, where he once again shows his mettle. Yes, we see his fractious relationship with Caesar. But the book wouldn't be much changed if you took him out completely, and for the first time in the series, I found myself bored among the minutiae of the geography of Alexandria.
As always, the author tells a good story, and whenever the action escapes the city, his skills draw us along with interest. But for most of the book, the balance between history and fiction is too strongly weighted towards a rather mechanical telling of the history. I'm hoping the final volumes in this series swing the balance back.
The author has always said that the series will end with volume fifteen, so we're not far from that end, and this entry sees Fronto with Caesar in Alexandria following Pompey's murder there. But the Consul is far from victorious yet. The civil war is meandering on, and although Mark Anthony is looking after things in Rome, many of Pompey's allies are still in control of important provinces and substantial armies.
In Alexandria itself, Caesar has taken Cleopatra's side in the dynastic struggles of the Ptolemy family, but is trapped in the city by a far larger Egyptian army, and the situation is critical. Unless loyal reinforcements arrive soon, the city will fall. Making everything more difficult is Caesar's growing personal relationship with the queen, which threatens to split his staff, some of whom think his loyalty to her is blinding him to the needs of Rome and the Republic.
Against this background, Fronto does his best to concentrate on his job as legate, using his legion to defend the city, while trying to stay out of all the political manoeuvring. He is feeling his age, and wondering about the future, but can see that sides are being drawn and it will be difficult to avoid having to choose.
At the beginning of this book, the author has, unusually, added a forward, warning the reader that the events mainly take place in a small geographical area, which can get complicated, and he helpfully provides maps of the city to guide us.
It's almost a prophetic warning, because this book was, for me, one of the weakest in the series. That small physical area means that the story becomes claustrophobic as well. The course of the siege is handed down to us by a number of ancient writers, the accuracy of most being suspect. The author has carefully selected his sources to make the best story, but it all seems a bit 'this happened', then 'that happened'.
Fronto comes across as something of an afterthought, slotted into a story where he has little agency or opportunity to affect events. Yes, there are battles, both on sea and land, where he once again shows his mettle. Yes, we see his fractious relationship with Caesar. But the book wouldn't be much changed if you took him out completely, and for the first time in the series, I found myself bored among the minutiae of the geography of Alexandria.
As always, the author tells a good story, and whenever the action escapes the city, his skills draw us along with interest. But for most of the book, the balance between history and fiction is too strongly weighted towards a rather mechanical telling of the history. I'm hoping the final volumes in this series swing the balance back.
August 27, 2019
BLURB
Winter, 48 BC. Caesar and his small force are trapped in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Caught up in the dynastic struggles of the House of Ptolemy, the consul has sided with the clever and ruthless Queen Cleopatra. Her brother and fellow monarch Ptolemy XIII languishes in the palace, a hostage of Caesar’s, while a huge army under the command of the Egyptian general Achillas closes on the city to free him.
With both the future of this ancient land and the safety of Caesar and his men at stake, Fronto and his friends face the terrible task of holding an unfamiliar city under siege, in the desperate hope that reinforcements will reach them before the enemy break in.
But Egyptian reinforcements gather too, and with the interference of the youngest princess, Arsinoë, the future is far from written. Trapped, besieged and outnumbered, time is running out for the Romans, as shadows loom across the sands of Egypt
REVIEW
As this is the 12th episode in this magnificent saga, I am going to presume that anyone reading this review is familiar with Marius Mules, and will gloss over the salient points usually covered in my reviews...such as character development, plot, etc etc, mind you all of the usual salient points are done in the usual excellent SJA manner. 😊 Instead, I will state only that Marius Mules would be a must see TV event on par with I, Claudius or ROME.
I will say this about #12...the building tension between Caesar and Cassius and the looming decisions Fronto will be faced with...man oh man, 13-15...I can't wait. 😎
5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Winter, 48 BC. Caesar and his small force are trapped in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Caught up in the dynastic struggles of the House of Ptolemy, the consul has sided with the clever and ruthless Queen Cleopatra. Her brother and fellow monarch Ptolemy XIII languishes in the palace, a hostage of Caesar’s, while a huge army under the command of the Egyptian general Achillas closes on the city to free him.
With both the future of this ancient land and the safety of Caesar and his men at stake, Fronto and his friends face the terrible task of holding an unfamiliar city under siege, in the desperate hope that reinforcements will reach them before the enemy break in.
But Egyptian reinforcements gather too, and with the interference of the youngest princess, Arsinoë, the future is far from written. Trapped, besieged and outnumbered, time is running out for the Romans, as shadows loom across the sands of Egypt
REVIEW
As this is the 12th episode in this magnificent saga, I am going to presume that anyone reading this review is familiar with Marius Mules, and will gloss over the salient points usually covered in my reviews...such as character development, plot, etc etc, mind you all of the usual salient points are done in the usual excellent SJA manner. 😊 Instead, I will state only that Marius Mules would be a must see TV event on par with I, Claudius or ROME.
I will say this about #12...the building tension between Caesar and Cassius and the looming decisions Fronto will be faced with...man oh man, 13-15...I can't wait. 😎
5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
May 27, 2024
Romans in the flesh!
It is such a disappointment reading the stoic historical textbooks of which General beat who, with precious little mentioned about the Legionaries doing the work.
Clearly a historical novel, but one which brings the life of a Legionnaire to the fore. Life for him was tough, dangerous and with a high propensity to injury, maiming and death. These were the true heroes!
It is such a disappointment reading the stoic historical textbooks of which General beat who, with precious little mentioned about the Legionaries doing the work.
Clearly a historical novel, but one which brings the life of a Legionnaire to the fore. Life for him was tough, dangerous and with a high propensity to injury, maiming and death. These were the true heroes!
August 8, 2019
I love this series.
Another awesome read from Mr. Turney. Fronto is one of my all time favourite characters. Especially now he's getting older and I can empathize with him. I never give spoilers because in my opinion, you should read the books. 5 stars all the way. Brilliant as usual.
Another awesome read from Mr. Turney. Fronto is one of my all time favourite characters. Especially now he's getting older and I can empathize with him. I never give spoilers because in my opinion, you should read the books. 5 stars all the way. Brilliant as usual.
August 18, 2019
The further adventures of Frontier &co
This is a great series, continuing the story of Julius Caesar. Brilliant covering of siege in Alexandria, this time in the life of Caesar is virtually ignored by the history books. Always great to find an author who is not frightened to explore the miniscule parts of history. Keep them coming Mr Turney.
This is a great series, continuing the story of Julius Caesar. Brilliant covering of siege in Alexandria, this time in the life of Caesar is virtually ignored by the history books. Always great to find an author who is not frightened to explore the miniscule parts of history. Keep them coming Mr Turney.
March 1, 2020
Best read of the series
In this Chapter of the anthology Fronto sees his service to Cesar ending soon as he views his own limitations due to Middle Age. You get to see his conflict, that he is both tiring from his long years of service and his wanting to grow old amongst his family.
In this Chapter of the anthology Fronto sees his service to Cesar ending soon as he views his own limitations due to Middle Age. You get to see his conflict, that he is both tiring from his long years of service and his wanting to grow old amongst his family.
August 15, 2019
Once more a winner
Again, I enjoyed being with Fronto and his mates. He seems to foster some great young men, turning them into great hero’s. Really did not like Cleopatra before and definitely not now. Thank you again for a great read.
Again, I enjoyed being with Fronto and his mates. He seems to foster some great young men, turning them into great hero’s. Really did not like Cleopatra before and definitely not now. Thank you again for a great read.
August 18, 2019
From to marches & hobbled on
Well written storyline following Fronto and Caesar exploits in Egypt and beyond. Cassius and other characters slowly getting more annoyed with Caesar's focus on anything but the republic,building up to the eventual
Well written storyline following Fronto and Caesar exploits in Egypt and beyond. Cassius and other characters slowly getting more annoyed with Caesar's focus on anything but the republic,building up to the eventual
August 1, 2021
Epic
Another belter of a novel. It leaves the reader breathless with Pompey versus Caesar against the background of civil war. And onwards to yet more action in Egypt then Syria for Fronto and co.
Another belter of a novel. It leaves the reader breathless with Pompey versus Caesar against the background of civil war. And onwards to yet more action in Egypt then Syria for Fronto and co.
July 18, 2019
Best yet
I swear that these books just get better and better. Fronto is certainly one of the great characters in the annals of historical fiction!
I swear that these books just get better and better. Fronto is certainly one of the great characters in the annals of historical fiction!
July 31, 2019
Interesting book, Kindle deadline prevented me from finishing. Enjoy!
September 18, 2019
Good read
Book is good. Can’t beat old Fronto but action moves more slowly than previous books in series. waiting next book in series.
Book is good. Can’t beat old Fronto but action moves more slowly than previous books in series. waiting next book in series.
November 5, 2019
Great read
As usual from Mr Turney another fantastic book in the series. Looking forward to Fronto's next adventure back in Rome.
As usual from Mr Turney another fantastic book in the series. Looking forward to Fronto's next adventure back in Rome.
November 15, 2019
Excellent
Enjoyable addition to this consistent series, well plotted and action filled. Will be sad when this enjoyable series ends. Recommended.
Enjoyable addition to this consistent series, well plotted and action filled. Will be sad when this enjoyable series ends. Recommended.
November 21, 2019
Brilliant
Very entertaining and readable as the rest of the series are ! roll on the next book and another really good read
Very entertaining and readable as the rest of the series are ! roll on the next book and another really good read
December 9, 2019
Loved it thoroughly
Really passionate recount of history
With the perfect touch of personal experience from different characters. It really does seem the best fit
Really passionate recount of history
With the perfect touch of personal experience from different characters. It really does seem the best fit
January 19, 2020
Awesome installment as ever, just sorry to see that Fronto has only a few more years on the campaign trail left. This series is my go to for my Roman historical fiction fix.
May 18, 2020
Cant wait fir the next one :-)
January 24, 2021
Another good read
Fronto amid another epic journey in his career & continuing the excellent series of books by S J A Turney
Fronto amid another epic journey in his career & continuing the excellent series of books by S J A Turney
February 25, 2022
Once again an absolute pleasure to read , really brings to life the time and tribulations of Ceaser in Egypt . Fronto is once again on fine form .
December 20, 2022
Another great read
So enjoyable. Very well written. Learned a lot as well! Highly recommend this series in full. Will keep you entertained.
So enjoyable. Very well written. Learned a lot as well! Highly recommend this series in full. Will keep you entertained.
November 15, 2019
Great action throughout the novel.The fight scenes are well scripted and settings
well detailed. Cleopatra,however is not really fleshed out. Perhaps the next book in the series will have her as a more significant presence.
well detailed. Cleopatra,however is not really fleshed out. Perhaps the next book in the series will have her as a more significant presence.
February 19, 2020
Have read them all. This was a little slow in places but Fronto is his usual heroic self even at his age!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews