The Aviators

by James Odell

Magnus is a young British officer, is serving in the Empire of Gaul. The old Roman empire has split into three hostile fragments and Gaul is struggling to maintain its independence of Rome’s incompetent emperor and his mercenaries. Gaul’s only advantage is its aviators, who patrol the frontier and bring warning to their soldiers of any invasion. Magnus, who from a patrician family, cares nothing about the low-born aviators. Now Gaul is threatened by the Huns and Magnus is ordered by Gaul’s best general to persuade the aviators to fly long, dangerous. missions in a hope of gaining an advantage over the enemy. Rome’s best generals bicker with each other in their rivalry for power. Incompetent Emperors are suspicious of their barbarian generals. Magnus becomes a pawn in these struggles and is forced to navigate a way between these factions. Lady Claudia, in Britain, yearns for freedom but has been forced into an arranged marriage with a powerful aristocrat. He is suspicious of the letters that Magnus is sending her from Italy. But then her husband’s bodyguard mutinies, and she is forced to make decisions that will affect all of Britain. Greeks bearing gifts When the old Roman Empire had split into three, each segment had followed its own destiny. The rich east, with its ruthless central government and heavy taxation, had recruited a mercenary army to increase its territory. The west, poorer and weaker, asked its young men to risk their lives as aviators, operating a messenger system that prevented it from falling apart. Now the east has invaded the anarchic central kingdom. If it succeeds, the west is next. Marcus wants to avoid the murderous intrigues at the centre of power by following the life of a pilot. Can he succeed?

348 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 13, 2020