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The Charioteer: A Roman Adventure Story
‘Both a romp and thriller. Evans feeds the reader’s appetite for history and thrills.’ Richard Foreman
Constantinople 550AD
The Roman Empire is in crisis with war in Italy and plague ravaging the cities. Emperor Justinian’s reconquest of the west has stalled, and his treasury is bankrupt.
Porphyrius the Charioteer, a bitter former slave, is the greatest competitor to ever ride in the Hippodrome, but when he loses his last race an old debt must be paid.
Cosmas the Rat is a traveller and heretical preacher condemned by the patriarchs for teaching that the world is flat.
Theodosius Dagisthaeus is a disgraced general, despised by his own men and desperate to redeem his fortunes.
The three unlikely companions are forced undertake a mission that could restore the Empire to its ancient glory. They are sent to steal the secret of silk from China.
The Persian King of Kings will do anything to stop the Romans. His agents hunt them relentlessly until their journey becomes a race to escape with their lives and the prize.
To return home the trio must reach the Indian coast, where they hope that Roman ships are waiting.
But their fate could change, as easily as the tides.
Jemahl Evans is the author of the acclaimed Sir Blandford Candy and Becket series of novels. He lives in West Wales.
Praise for Jemahl
‘The research is impeccable and the writing full of verve.’ Antonia Senior, The Times
‘It's great fun and a rollicking good read.’ Historical Novel Society
‘Frankly, glorious.’ Michael Jecks
‘Warrior is a swift, breathless plunge into the high medieval period.’ J.A. Ironside, author of The King's Knight
Constantinople 550AD
The Roman Empire is in crisis with war in Italy and plague ravaging the cities. Emperor Justinian’s reconquest of the west has stalled, and his treasury is bankrupt.
Porphyrius the Charioteer, a bitter former slave, is the greatest competitor to ever ride in the Hippodrome, but when he loses his last race an old debt must be paid.
Cosmas the Rat is a traveller and heretical preacher condemned by the patriarchs for teaching that the world is flat.
Theodosius Dagisthaeus is a disgraced general, despised by his own men and desperate to redeem his fortunes.
The three unlikely companions are forced undertake a mission that could restore the Empire to its ancient glory. They are sent to steal the secret of silk from China.
The Persian King of Kings will do anything to stop the Romans. His agents hunt them relentlessly until their journey becomes a race to escape with their lives and the prize.
To return home the trio must reach the Indian coast, where they hope that Roman ships are waiting.
But their fate could change, as easily as the tides.
Jemahl Evans is the author of the acclaimed Sir Blandford Candy and Becket series of novels. He lives in West Wales.
Praise for Jemahl
‘The research is impeccable and the writing full of verve.’ Antonia Senior, The Times
‘It's great fun and a rollicking good read.’ Historical Novel Society
‘Frankly, glorious.’ Michael Jecks
‘Warrior is a swift, breathless plunge into the high medieval period.’ J.A. Ironside, author of The King's Knight
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 23, 2021
5 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Jemahl Evans
15 books36 followersBorn in Bradford Upon Avon to nomadic Welsh school teachers; Jemahl was brought up in a West Wales mining village during the 70s and 80s. He has pursued a lifelong passion for History, inspired by his grandfather’s stories and legends. Jemahl was educated in Christ College Brecon, St Mary’s University College (Strawberry Hill), and U.W.E. Bristol.
Jemahl graduated with an MA in History, focussing on poetry and propaganda during the Wars of the Roses, and then worked for IBM in London. At the turn of the millennium, he left the grind of the office and spent a couple of years travelling and working abroad. After time spent in India, Australia, and South East Asia he returned to Britain and took up a teaching post in West London in 2005. He left his role as Head of Year in the Heathland School in 2010, and returned to Wales citing hiraeth.
He started writing The Last Roundhead in 2013 and early revisions won awards on the British Arts Council site YouWriteOn and Harper Collins Authonomy. His interest in the English Civil War was sparked as a child, after reading Simon by Rosemary Sutcliffe, which is probably why his sympathies lie with Parliament!
Jemahl now spends his time teaching, reading history, listening to the Delta Blues, walking his border collie, and whining on Twitter about the government. You can follow him on twitter @Temulkar
Jemahl graduated with an MA in History, focussing on poetry and propaganda during the Wars of the Roses, and then worked for IBM in London. At the turn of the millennium, he left the grind of the office and spent a couple of years travelling and working abroad. After time spent in India, Australia, and South East Asia he returned to Britain and took up a teaching post in West London in 2005. He left his role as Head of Year in the Heathland School in 2010, and returned to Wales citing hiraeth.
He started writing The Last Roundhead in 2013 and early revisions won awards on the British Arts Council site YouWriteOn and Harper Collins Authonomy. His interest in the English Civil War was sparked as a child, after reading Simon by Rosemary Sutcliffe, which is probably why his sympathies lie with Parliament!
Jemahl now spends his time teaching, reading history, listening to the Delta Blues, walking his border collie, and whining on Twitter about the government. You can follow him on twitter @Temulkar
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 8, 2022
Silk. Even today the word carries connotations of luxury, elegance and cool sophistication. How much more was that the case in the 7th century when the only silk available in Europe, and in particular the still glorious Roman Empire based in Constantinople, had to be imported all the way from India. Wealthy Romans - and wealthy Romans were very wealthy - loved to flaunt their money by sponsoring Games (the old gladiatorial games had been outlawed when the Empire became Christian but the new Christian Empire became fanatically addicted to chariot racing) and wearing rich silk clothing. As the silk had to be transported through the territory of Rome's long-standing enemy, the Sassanids, this left the Emperor beholden to his foes for supplying his magnates with their clothing.
In his history of the Emperor Justinian, Procopius mentions, in a small aside, how the secret of silk, silk worms breeding and feeding on mulberry bushes, was smuggled out of India and to Constantinople. From this short aside, Evans fashions a marvellously picaresque adventure novel where his protagonists, a retired charioteer, a disgraced aristocratic soldier looking to redeem his reputation and a general fixer who is convinced the world is flat, have to travel to India, retrieve the secret and get back to New Rome, all while being dogged by Sassanid secret agents.
It's a marvellous romp across a world and a time that is little known, and that, unbeknownst to itself, would not last much longer. The Sassanids themselves would be overthrown in the next century when the conquering armies of Islam swept them aside. The Byzantines were shaken but rallied, but the central Asian world that our trio of adventurers cross was irrevocably changed.
Evans does a stirling job of bringing the time and its people to life, infusing the people with humanity while not downplaying the cultural strangeness of the time to modern people. The Charioteer is the first in a new series and I look forward to reading more adventures from Cal, Theo and Cosmas, and hope the book gets the readership it deserves. One word of warning though: don't get too attached to the subsidiary characters. Not many of them make it through.
In his history of the Emperor Justinian, Procopius mentions, in a small aside, how the secret of silk, silk worms breeding and feeding on mulberry bushes, was smuggled out of India and to Constantinople. From this short aside, Evans fashions a marvellously picaresque adventure novel where his protagonists, a retired charioteer, a disgraced aristocratic soldier looking to redeem his reputation and a general fixer who is convinced the world is flat, have to travel to India, retrieve the secret and get back to New Rome, all while being dogged by Sassanid secret agents.
It's a marvellous romp across a world and a time that is little known, and that, unbeknownst to itself, would not last much longer. The Sassanids themselves would be overthrown in the next century when the conquering armies of Islam swept them aside. The Byzantines were shaken but rallied, but the central Asian world that our trio of adventurers cross was irrevocably changed.
Evans does a stirling job of bringing the time and its people to life, infusing the people with humanity while not downplaying the cultural strangeness of the time to modern people. The Charioteer is the first in a new series and I look forward to reading more adventures from Cal, Theo and Cosmas, and hope the book gets the readership it deserves. One word of warning though: don't get too attached to the subsidiary characters. Not many of them make it through.
November 16, 2021
The Charioteer by Jemahl Evans is the first in a new series set in time of the emperor Justinian where the late Roman republic is turning into the Byzantine Empire. Based on a marginal note in Procopious’s history, and using real but little known characters from history Jehmal Evans has skilfully woven together a story as fine as the silk his characters are stealing the secret of making.
There are three main characters, including the Charioteer, and a small cast of important supporting characters. We find them thrust into a quest to redeem themselves, or their family, by Narses, the Emperor’s majordomo. This quest sends them off along the silk road to meet a contact with silkworm eggs for them to bring back to Constantinople. Along the way they have to avoid Persians, bandits, a local war, and their inner demons.
I’m not quite as up on late Roman/early Byzantine history as I am on that of the mid-17th Century as featured in Jemahl Evan’s previous Blandford Candy epics. However it feels like a good period piece, and the parts I did know about, or searched between chapters, were absolutely bang on. Charioteer is set in an eventful period, with instability across the area the characters visit.
Dogged by a Persian agent they struggle to overcome obstacles in their way to move eastwards along the overland route to Tashkent. Accompanied by a small troop of bucellarii the companions get to know each other, and themselves. Cosmas, also known as the Rat, is a proselytising Christian with a firm belief that the world is flat. Cal, the Charioteer, comes to terms with the ravages of advancing age on his body, and seeks to understand why Narses has sent him on the voyage. Theo, a disgraced military commander, tries to show his buccellarii that he’s grown from the spoilt brat into a responsible commander worthy of their respect. The supporting cast, including a couple of monks, and some merchants met along the way, help the characters grow and fulfill their journey, both spiritually and literally.
There are many obstacles for the companions. We have fights with bandits where the conclusion is not safe for any of the party. There are a couple of chariot races, including the first where Cal, famed for always winning, loses because the race was rigged against him by Narses. We also have natural disasters, the climate, and the sheer difficulty of travelling thousands of miles overland. There are high points, discoveries of new things, friendships made, love, and low points, lost comrades, battles, and frustrations.
Overall I really enjoyed The Charioteer, it was a good mix of action, adventure, and history with real human stories. I could feel an empathy for the characters, even the ones I didn’t like much (like the Persian). Nothing was straightforward, and the end wasn’t too obvious, although it was a fairly happy ending. There will be a follow-up story, which I am very much looking forward to!
There are three main characters, including the Charioteer, and a small cast of important supporting characters. We find them thrust into a quest to redeem themselves, or their family, by Narses, the Emperor’s majordomo. This quest sends them off along the silk road to meet a contact with silkworm eggs for them to bring back to Constantinople. Along the way they have to avoid Persians, bandits, a local war, and their inner demons.
I’m not quite as up on late Roman/early Byzantine history as I am on that of the mid-17th Century as featured in Jemahl Evan’s previous Blandford Candy epics. However it feels like a good period piece, and the parts I did know about, or searched between chapters, were absolutely bang on. Charioteer is set in an eventful period, with instability across the area the characters visit.
Dogged by a Persian agent they struggle to overcome obstacles in their way to move eastwards along the overland route to Tashkent. Accompanied by a small troop of bucellarii the companions get to know each other, and themselves. Cosmas, also known as the Rat, is a proselytising Christian with a firm belief that the world is flat. Cal, the Charioteer, comes to terms with the ravages of advancing age on his body, and seeks to understand why Narses has sent him on the voyage. Theo, a disgraced military commander, tries to show his buccellarii that he’s grown from the spoilt brat into a responsible commander worthy of their respect. The supporting cast, including a couple of monks, and some merchants met along the way, help the characters grow and fulfill their journey, both spiritually and literally.
There are many obstacles for the companions. We have fights with bandits where the conclusion is not safe for any of the party. There are a couple of chariot races, including the first where Cal, famed for always winning, loses because the race was rigged against him by Narses. We also have natural disasters, the climate, and the sheer difficulty of travelling thousands of miles overland. There are high points, discoveries of new things, friendships made, love, and low points, lost comrades, battles, and frustrations.
Overall I really enjoyed The Charioteer, it was a good mix of action, adventure, and history with real human stories. I could feel an empathy for the characters, even the ones I didn’t like much (like the Persian). Nothing was straightforward, and the end wasn’t too obvious, although it was a fairly happy ending. There will be a follow-up story, which I am very much looking forward to!
November 27, 2021
Great Adventure book
3 men, 3 different cultures, backgrounds & class distinction. All out of favour & thrown together by the Emperor's freedman & master spy. To travel half way round the world and back to obtain & steal the secrets of the silk trade from Romes historic enemy Persia. Wonderfully written, you feel for the characters as they grow in the book, the personal challenges and problems they all overcome and the bond of friendship that envelopes them all and there comrades in arms. A wonderful adventure across the seas, Steppes and Indus. The bonds of brotherhood in battle, and thrills ,action, suspense from the underlying threat from Persian spies. A really well written book, with strong characters and thrilling plot. A must read. 5 Stars had me gripped from the start.
3 men, 3 different cultures, backgrounds & class distinction. All out of favour & thrown together by the Emperor's freedman & master spy. To travel half way round the world and back to obtain & steal the secrets of the silk trade from Romes historic enemy Persia. Wonderfully written, you feel for the characters as they grow in the book, the personal challenges and problems they all overcome and the bond of friendship that envelopes them all and there comrades in arms. A wonderful adventure across the seas, Steppes and Indus. The bonds of brotherhood in battle, and thrills ,action, suspense from the underlying threat from Persian spies. A really well written book, with strong characters and thrilling plot. A must read. 5 Stars had me gripped from the start.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews