Fire and Sword

‘Absorbing and brilliant … Game of Thrones without the dragons’ THE TIMES

The third book in Sidebottom’s epic series set in third century Rome; a dramatic era of murder, coup, counter-rebellions and civil war.

Rome AD238. The Year of the Six Emperors.

The empire is in turmoil. With the Gordiani, father and son, dead in Africa, the tyrant Maximinus Thrax vies to reclaim the throne.

The Senate, who supported the revolt of the Gordiani, must act quickly to avoid the vengeance of Maximinus. They elect two Senators to share the imperial purple. But fighting erupts in the streets as ambitious men call for violent revolution.

Can the new Augusti hold the city together as the empire’s farthest territories fight off bloody attacks from the Goths and the Persians in the east?

In the north of Italy, Maximinus descends on Aquileia. Against the odds, Menophilus, an old friend of the younger Gordian, prepares to defend the town. In one of the greatest sieges of the empire, its fate will be decided in a fight for victory, for revenge, for Rome.

Filled with intrigue, betrayal and bloody battle, Fire & Sword creates a magnificent world built on brutality and political games, where no one is safe from retribution – not even those who dare to rule.

Reviews

Praise for BLOOD & STEEL:

‘Absorbing, rich in detail and brilliant’ THE TIMES

Praise for IRON & RUST:

‘An amazing story of bloodlust, ruthless ambition and revenge’
THE TIMES

Praise for Harry Sidebottom:

‘Sidebottom’s prose blazes with searing scholarship’ THE TIMES

‘Superior fiction, with depth, authenticity and a sense of place’ TLS

‘A storming triumph…wonderful fight scenes, deft literary touches and salty dialogue’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

About the author

Dr Harry Sidebottom teaches classical history at the University of Oxford, where he is a lecturer at Lincoln College.

He has an international reputation as a scholar, having published widely on ancient warfare, classical art and the cultural history of the Roman Empire.

Fire and Sword is the third book in the acclaimed series, Throne of the Caesars, and follows his bestselling series, Warrior of Rome. He divides his time between Oxford and Newmarket in Suffolk, where he lives which his wife and two sons.