The Fall of Rome
A Novel of a World Lost
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4.4 • 15 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
476 a.d.: The Roman Empire, riddled with corruption and staggered by centuries of barbarian onslaughts, now faces its greatest challenge---not only to its wealth and prestige, but to its very existence.
In his riveting novel The Sword of Attila, Michael Curtis Ford thrilled readers with his recounting of a cataclysmic clash of ancient civilizations. Now, in The Fall of Rome, he takes on the bloody twilight of empire, as the legacy of Attila---once thought destroyed on the battlefield---emerges again to defy the power of the Western World.
In this powerful saga of Roman warfare, the sons of Attila's great officers wage battle with one another as the dramatic confrontation between Rome's last emperor and Rome's barbarian conqueror leads to the thrilling dénouement that becomes the fall of a mighty empire.
Pulsing with intrigue, saturated with historical detail, The Fall of Rome brings readers to new places—pressed into the trenches as catapult bolts fly overhead, lurking within the palace where betrayal is plotted, imprisoned in a tower stronghold where an emperor turns mad.
Once again, Ford demonstrates his mastery as a chronicler of battle, honor, and ancient worlds in this masterfully plotted epic novel that will leave readers begging for more.
Praise for the Novels of Michael Curtis Ford
The Sword of Attila
"Supremely well executed . . . again, Ford offers solidly researched and lustily violent military historical fiction."
---Kirkus Reviews
The Last King
"Michael Curtis Ford's love for the ancient world emanates from every page: in his magical settings and spectacular re-creation of monuments and landscapes, in his bold portraits of the protagonists, and in his intriguing and swiftly moving plot."
---Valerio Massimo Manfredi, author of the Alexander Trilogy and Spartan
"This is Ford's best so far, and only those who have read his first two know just how good that makes this book."
---The Statesman Journal
Gods and Legions
"Powerful and passionate. A truly compelling story---one not just of gods and legions but of men."
---Library Journal (starred review)
"Thanks to the author's excellent research of both his subject and era, the reader experiences this great man's transformation step by determined step. Highly recommended."
---The Historical Novels Review
The Ten Thousand
"A worthy successor to Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire."
---Library Journal (starred review)
"Michael Curtis Ford's moving account of the fighting and dying of these heroic Greek mercenaries is not only historically sound, but very human, in making Xenophon's tale come alive in a way that no ancient historian or classicist has yet accomplished."
---Professor Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Soul of Battle
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fans of The Sword of Attila will open this follow-up with happy anticipation. Since it begins with the unexpected death of the great Hun conqueror in A.D. 453, readers unfamiliar with the previous work will not suffer. In the chaos following Attila's death, Odoacer and Onulf, sons of a leading Hun general, flee after a greedy rival kills their father. They split up, with Odoacer traveling across Europe to Noricum, his dead mother's homeland. Although he arrives in rags, he soon learns he is the grandson of its king. A talented soldier, he reorganizes the army and wins a victory against marauding Huns, only to see a Roman invasion destroy his people six years later. He flees to Italy where he again rises to military prominence and reunites with Onulf, also serving in the Roman army. Encountering their father's murderer, now a leading figure in the crumbling empire, the brothers lead a revolt. History buffs will admire the author's research as he recounts the final bloody decades of the Roman Empire. Though Ford's heroes are more convincing on the battlefields than when negotiating the plot that leads from one clash to another, there's more than enough action to sate fans of the genre.
