Fortress of Spears: Empire III
The iconic historical adventure series from SUNDAY TIMES bestseller Anthony Riches
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4.7 • 103 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
Pre-order the first book in bestseller Anthony Riches's brand new series, Swords of Troy, coming July 2026
A action-packed, historically detailed story of vengeance, from a master of the genre
'Impressive to an astounding extent' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review
'Impossible to put down' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review
'A fascinating story: authentic, action-packed and full of humour' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review
'The bone crunching, blood letting and all our fury of ancient warfare is brought vividly to life' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review
'Totally enthralling' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review
THE ROMAN ARMY HAS VANQUISHED THE REBEL TRIBES' ALLIANCE IN NORTH BRITANNIA.
THE SURVIVORS LIE IN WAIT, PLOTTING REVENGE . . .
'A damn fine read' Ben Kane
But the new Roman leader will not let them rest. He forms an audacious plan to capture the Selgovaes' fortress of spears, and return it to the hands of a trusted ally.
Marcus Aquila - burning for revenge on an enemy army that slaughtered one of his best friends - is part of the select group of infantry chosen to go north and take the fort before the rebel army can reach it.
But he is just a few days ahead of two of the emperor's agents, sent from Rome to kill him. Pitiless assassins who will stop at nothing to silence him, one and for all.
A pulse-pounding adventure from one of the biggest names in historical adventure fiction, to delight fans of Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow and Conn Iggulden.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Riches (Arrows of Fury) wastes no time in plunging the reader into second-century Roman politics and explicit warfare. The third in his Empire series opens with political assassins on the trail of Marcus Aquila, who's fighting as a centurion under the name of Corvus with an auxiliary legion stationed in northern Britannia during a rebellion by barbarian tribes that are hampered by internecine quarrels. Constantly alternating viewpoints almost overwhelm as Riches wrestles with the large cast established for the series and the multipronged offensive of the legionaries, hopping between a cavalry unit chasing barbarians, soldiers marching to retake a captured fortress, Aquila's ruthless pursuers, and sparring tribal leaders. But ultimately, all threads are neatly tied together in the climactic confrontation of tribesmen and legions. As a craftsman, Riches mostly sticks to the familiar: prose is either brutal, purple, or hyperbolic. But laden with raucous profanity and voluminous gore (severed heads, spilled intestines, and methodical torture), this action-packed military adventure combined with a well-researched depiction of the organizational details of the Roman legions will fascinate fans of the era.
Customer Reviews
Fortress of Spears
This is pure class an enveloping novel the third in the series.
Anthony Riches has an uncanny ability to make you aware of not just the main players in the story but the whole makeup and feel of every character in the novel.
By his background knowledge of Military History and genius as a writer you feel as though you know every soldier in the Tungrian Cohort, he makes you feel as though your building the camps, standing in the ranks or carrying the units standard into Battle.
Anthony Riches is Anthony Riches and I mean this in the way of his work is unique to him there is no other who writes like him.
Fantastic
As good as the other two can't wait for the next.