Showing results by publisher "-emdashery books-" in Ancient

Britain, AD 75. Quintus, long exiled from his people, has travelled great odysseys in the retinue of a powerful Roman. Though a citizen of nowhere, is a man of reason, fluent in many languages. Olwen, imperious tribal royalty, is rooted in her native land – a volatile warrior, fiercely attached to the natural world. Given away by her father as part of a peace treaty, Olwen flees during the night, taking Quintus with her. Hunted by an army, the two make their way across the country, living off the land, heading for the western shore.

After wintering at Villa Magna to recover from his bitter struggle against the British High King Vortigern, ex-Imperial Officer Dux Ambrosius Aurelianus leads his motley company westwards. He hopes to find a safe refuge in the south-west near Durnovaria, where he believes his dead mother’s kinfolk might be found. Arriving in the area, Ambrosius finds a small abandoned settlement where his company can take shelter for the night before moving on to the town of Vindocladia—just north of Durnovaria. But Vortigern has put the word out.

180 AD. North of the Wall, Sarmatian warrior Kai and his adopted tribe, the Votadini, struggle for survival, cast into unfamiliar lands by Roman reprisals. When news arrives that an old enemy is in charge of the Votadini's hated foes, a confederation of tribes known as the Painted People, and has roused them to action, Kai heads south towards the Wall, hoping to ally with the Romans against this resurgent threat. Meanwhile, the Romans have heard tales of butchery and mayhem beyond the Wall.

In the hard, unforgiving land at the northernmost point of the Roman Empire lies a great wall. Once, the edge had been but a thing of thoughts and dreams, but one day the great Emperor from across the water had grown tired of such borders. So, a wall was raised from the earth at his command. From afar, it looked invincible. Yet every wall has its weaknesses—if one looks close enough. In its shadow gather five thousand fearsome soldiers. Men bred to fight and kill. The Sarmatians have suffered capture and defeat, but under a new command they are prepared to fight again.

In the shadows of the hollow hills, a queen's destiny unfolds. Britain, AD 38. Having defeated her enemies, Queen Cartimandua works swiftly to stabilize the north. But not all foes yield quietly. Forces move in the shadows to destabilize the Brigantes. Working to root out resistance, Queen Cartimandua finds an unlikely ally in deposed Prince Venutiux—much to his wife’s dismay. Even with King Eddin’s support, facing an unnamed enemy proves difficult. Darkness, in the shape of an eagle, looms for them all.

After more than a decade of tumult, Roman warrior Rex and his beloved wife, Flavia, are thankful to the God they serve for the peaceful life they are living in the city of Alexandria. But with the empire in flux, such tranquility cannot last. When Rex is called away to serve Constantine in his fight against Licinius, Flavia’s loneliness and longing for a baby lead her down the road of temptation. Perhaps one of Egypt’s gods will grant her conception?

Lavinia never asked to be fought over. But now Turnus, her childhood sweetheart, has waged a war that threatens to destroy all she holds dear, because Lavinia's father has promised her to somebody else. Aeneas, rumoured to be the son of Venus, is famed for his bravery, cunning and his vision for a new great Empire. He is also secretive, slippery, and Lavinia wonders why he will never discuss the past he left behind. So when a stranger arrives in the camp with stories about Aeneas that suggest he is not what she seems, Lavinia realises she has to take her future into her own hands.

The Legion is a machine of war. When the gears are turning, those not in sync with the machine get pulverized in the cogs. Most of the time, it's the enemy. Unfortunately, for Lance Corporal Alerio Sisera, the gears have political and egotistical parts that are just as sharp as gladius blades. Caught in the wrong place by vindictive officers, he is sentenced to a session on the punishment post and is badly injured. Wounded and disgraced, he must now save the same Legion that sentenced him to the harsh discipline.

The tide of soldiers washed over the Legion shields. Buried, the ranks of Legionaries sagged. "Push!" the Legion NCO yelled. Welcome to 264 B.C. Over the grunts and cries of men struggling against the mass of bodies pressing down on them, the Optio bellowed again, "Push!" And the Legion shields rose, rolling back the tide. The higher the shields, the more soldiers slid off, and the straighter the Legionaries stood. One shield tilted back, and a mercenary soldier tumbled behind the ranks. An infantryman stepped back and drove his blade between the soldier's ribs.

Seven years ago, Quinn finally dared to transform from a seal into a human and took her first steps on land. As a selkie, she is both a daughter of land and sea. But when a human stole her pelt, he stole her freedom as well, forcing Quinn to become his wife and bear his children. As legend tells, capturing a selkie will bring you luck, and she became a coveted prize. Constrained to a life that was no longer her own, Quinn longed for nothing more than to find her pelt and seize her freedom.

The Mummifier's Daughter Series takes us back in time to a land steeped in mystery and magic. It paints a detailed picture of ancient Egypt in all its glory. Faithfully recreating one of the most remarkable eras in Egypt’s history, author Nathaniel Burns weaves shudderingly ominous tales of ancient Egypt’s mysteries revealed through a cast of characters the modern listener will recognize, even though millennia have passed.

The Emperor Domitian has informers everywhere; no-one is safe. He rules Rome with a rod of iron, and he is dangerously unstable and paranoid. In the snake pit of Imperial Rome, all Pliny the Younger wants to do is get his letters ready for publication. Except if he, his mother, their Greek cook Doris (who narrowly missed out on becoming the next Oracle at Delphi), and Venta, their slave with secretarial skills, have any chance of surveying, they are going to have to negotiate a political minefield, keep their eyes peeled for spies and, most of all, not do anything to annoy the Emperor.

The Second Punic War made gamblers of the Mediterranean world. Declare for Carthage or declare for Rome? The odds are 50/50 for life or death.

436 AD. The Burgundars are confident of destroying Rome's legions. Their forces are strong and they have beaten the Romans in battle before. But they are annihilated, their king killed, his people scattered. Their fabled treasure is lost. For Rome has new allies: the Huns, whose taste for bloodshed knows no bounds.

Though the traitor God within Valencia has been exposed and Zephyrus and Threyna wild the artifacts of long dead deities, the way to the divine realm is blocked. The Harbinger has ascended to slaughter the Gods and leave the mortal realm in ruins. Yet Zephyrus, Laeden, Vykinallia, Iylea and Threyna have even more pressing concerns. The Skeleton King has come to New Rheynia’s shores. Empowered by cursed magic, he and his legions will stop at nothing to consume every soul in the mortal realm in service to their One True God.

Seventeen-year-old Hoshi'tiwa had a simple life. The daughter of a humble corn grower, she planned to marry a storyteller's apprentice. But her world is turned upside down when she is captured by the powerful and violent ruler of an infamous city with legends of untold wealth and unspeakable acts of violence to its name. Hoshi'tiwa is suddenly thrown into the court of the Dark Lord, and as she struggles for power, she begins an illicit affair with the one man who has the ability to destroy her.

She was mocked for her beauty. Belittled for her size. Forgotten in the shadow of her sisters. Until she became legend. In a brutal Greek world ruled by men and gods, Penthesilea is born into the fierce Amazon tribe but struggles to prove herself. Labeled soft and unworthy, she harbors a secret: her father is Ares, the god of war. Fueled by pain and pride, she trains relentlessly—rising to claim her place among warriors. When tragedy shatters her world and war comes for her sisters, Penthesilea sets off on a journey that will test her strength, her loyalty, and her soul.

Certains monstres sont tout simplement de jeunes filles qui n'ont pas eu de chance. C'est le cas de Méduse. Violée par Poséidon, injustement punie par Athéna, c'est par la faute des dieux qu'elle fut changée en créature hideuse, aux cheveux de serpents et au regard pétrifiant. Mais que sait-on de son cœur, sinon le récit qu'en a rapporté Persée, le héros qui l'a décapitée pour assouvir sa soif de gloire ? Et si le monstre n'était finalement pas celui que l'Histoire retient ?

Philosopher Sigmund has found rare company as court writer and close friend to Caesar Julian. He is party to the intrigues of the imperial court, but he finds himself increasingly torn between his loyalty to Julian and the demands of his gentle conscience. Meanwhile, tensions are on the rise between Julian and his estranged cousin Emperor Constantius II. Sigmund is the fourth novel in the Barbarians series of Ancient Rome. It has been two years since the Battle of Argentoratum, but threats to the Empire are only escalating.

Odysseus’s thrilling adventures continue in the gripping third instalment of the historical Greek fantasy, the Olympus Series. Prince Odysseus and the daemon Bria must penetrate the haunted caverns beneath Dodona, seeking a way to save their doomed nation, Achaea, from the might of Troy. The startling revelation that follows will set Odysseus on his most daunting mission yet, as he seeks to reunite the divided Achaean kingdoms before the rapacious Trojans strike.