Magnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood

Crossroads Brotherhood #0.5-5

by Robert Fabbri

Marcus Salvius Magnus, leader of the Southern Quirinal Crossroads Brotherhood, has long dominated his part of Rome's criminal underworld. From rival gangs and unpaid debts to rigged chariot races and blood feuds—if you have a problem, Magnus is the man to solve it. He'll do everything in his power to preserve his grip on the less-traveled back alleys of Rome, and of course, make a profit. But while Magnus inhabits the underbelly of the city, his patron, Gaius Vespasius Pollo, moves in a different circle. As a senator, he needs men like Magnus to do his dirty work as he maneuvers his way deeper into the imperial court. In these thrilling tales from the Vespasian series, spanning from the rule of Tiberius through the bloody savagery of Caligula to the coming of Nero, Robert Fabbri exposes a world of violence, mayhem and murder that echos down the ages.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Roman

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2020

About the author

Robert Fabbri read Drama and Theatre at London University and has worked in film and TV for 25 years. He is an assistant director and has worked on productions such as Hornblower, Hellraiser, Patriot Games and Billy Elliot. Now, his life-long passion for ancient history, especially for that of the Roman Empire, has drawn him to write his first novel. He lives in London and Berlin.

Reviews

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these stories in chronological order with the Vespasian series, and they add real depth to the world and its people, especially the ordinary citizens.

I really enjoyed how vividly daily Roman life is portrayed: the streets, the festivals, and the violence and chaos. A great companion to the main series.

Magnus is a fantastic character, as are his brothers. He’s ruthless, completely comfortable with himself, and a quick thinker. I like him so much I named my cat after him (who rules his territory with slightly fewer casualties, if you take my meaning).

[Pieter Op · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story of Fabbri. You get hooked into the Roman life from page 1. The story gets you involved in the regular Roman life and the intertwining of upper class and lower class.

[Keith Beddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short stories which shows that corruption and political graft were commonplace in early Imperial Rome. Magnus, a former soldier and boxer and sometime lover of the Emperor's grandmother appears as the central character and fills in a lot of the gaps left by the Vespasian series by the same author.
Rome is shown as fickle and self-seeking with the local gangs or brotherhoods operating like modern day gangsters running protection rackets, extortion and other activities such as drug dealing, arms dealing and race-fixing. Nothing changes. The book is by nature of its construction a bit disjointed and if you have not read the Vespasian books you may miss some of the allusions but on the whole it is a really well researched and written book well worth reading and enjoying.

[Unseen Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of Magnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood from Allen & Unwin Australia to review.

Rating of 4.5.

From the mind of one of the most entertaining authors of historical fiction, Robert Fabbri, comes Magnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood, a superb collection of fun and exciting short stories set in the same universe as Fabbri’s bestselling Vespasian series.

Marcus Salvius Magnus, mostly referred to as Magnus in the series, was Vespasian’s best friend, confidant and fixer throughout the series and was at his side for most of the wild adventures Vespasian found himself on. Magnus was the leader of the South Quirinal Crossroads Brotherhood, one of the major criminal gangs in ancient Rome, but he also worked for his patron, Vespasian’s uncle, Gaius Vespasius Pollo, and helped him and his nephews rise politically. Magnus appeared in all nine Vespasian books and was a major part of the series. Fabbri evidently enjoyed featuring him in his stories as he was also used as the protagonist of the Crossroads Brotherhood series of novellas, which featured six separate novellas released between 2011 and 2018.

Magnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood is the first full collection of the six Crossroads Brotherhood novellas, which follow the adventures of Magnus and his brethren as they navigate the dangerous criminal underbelly of ancient Rome. Set out in chronological order across several points in the Vespasian series (which was set over the course of 40-plus years), these various short stories each feature a different criminal enterprise, including fixing a chariot race, manipulating an arms dealer, and property speculation, all whilst trying to stay on top of the city’s rival criminal organisations and surviving the crazy whims of Rome’s rulers.

To see the full review, check out the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2020/01/19/...

An abridged version of this review ran in the Canberra Weekly on 16 January 2020:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2020/01/19/...

For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

These short stories are a fine addition to the Vespasian series. Fabbri has clearly immersed himself in first century Rome and it’s very hard to find fault with his depictions. Whereas Vespasian moves in the highest echelons of society Magnus, the focus of these tales, operates in the murky, violent underworld.
You probably don’t need to have read the Vespasian books to enjoy these but if you have then you’ll admire the dovetailing where the two worlds meet.

[Ryan McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the Vespasian series so this was a good little add on

[A D MCKEEVER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic historical novel read