The first novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Roman series. It is 42 AD, and Quintus Licinius Cato has just arrived in Germany as a new recruit to the Second Legion, the toughest in the Roman army. If adjusting to the rigours of military life isn't difficult enough for the bookish young man, he also has to contend with the disgust of his colleagues when, because of his imperial connections, he is appointed a rank above them.

Malta, 1565: a vital outpost between the divided nations of Europe and the relentlessly expanding Ottoman Empire. Faced with ferocious attack by a vast Turkish fleet, the knights of the Order of St John fear annihilation. Amongst those called to assist is disgraced veteran Sir Thomas Barrett. Loyalty and instinct compel him to put the Order above all other concerns, yet his allegiance is divided.

When young Telemachus gets the chance to join the crew of the merchant ship Selene, he's delighted to escape the rough streets of Piraeus. He knows little of the dangers of life at sea. And even past hardship has not prepared him for the terror on board when a pirate ship appears on the horizon. The fight is bloody, but the result is never in doubt. Then the victorious pirate chief, Bulla, offers the beaten men a cruel choice: join us, or die.

Pavo's journey begins when he encounters the Roman soldier Macro, who has been charged with his training. Bonds of friendship develop between the two men, both aware that their fates depend not only on Pavo's skills in the arena but also on the whims of powerful and ruthless senators. Can Pavo survive to fulfil his most cherished goal - revenge for the murder of his father at the hands of a champion gladiator?

Roman Britain, AD 44. General Plautius' hard-won defeat of Caratacus should have brought peace. But though the land is conquered, it is far from tamed. A puppet king is doing little to calm the hatred of the tribes and bring them under Roman rule. Fighting is in Optio Horatius Figulus' blood. His Celtic ancestry is mocked by his fellow soldiers, but it gives him the toughness essential for survival.

Once a soldier in an elite legion from the Danube, Aurelius Castus believes his glory days are over, stuck in Britain's provincial backwater. But history is about to take a hand and when the king of the Picts, the savage people beyond Hadrian's Wall, dies in mysterious circumstances, Castus is selected to command the bodyguard of a Roman envoy sent to negotiate with the barbarians. But the diplomatic mission ends in bloody tragedy…

The Sunday Times best-selling author of The Gladiator and Brothers in Blood returns with another unpauseable, thrilling, and action-packed adventure. The fierce courage of the men and women of the Greek Resistance is brought to vivid life in Sunday Times best seller Simon Scarrow's powerful new novel of World War II. It's 1938. A perfect summer on the Greek island of Lefkas for three young people untroubled by the simmering politics of Europe.

Author and former aide to Tony Blair Alastair Campbell and football legend Paul Fletcher join us to discuss their new political thriller, Saturday Bloody Saturday. An unexpected pairing, Campbell and Fletcher have become great friends, and in this interview we talk to them about writing together, the changes in football over the years and what else they’d love to write.  

In 2015, Laura Marshall decided to have a crack at her lifelong dream of becoming a novelist and enrolled on the Curtis Brown novel-writing course. Two years later, here she is with her debut novel Friend Request. Laura visits the Audible Studios discuss more about that journey and, of course, the novel itself.

Peter Robinson visits the Audible Studios for the second time to talk about his new audiobook, Sleeping in the Ground, the 24th DCI Banks novel. He also discusses his research for the book, murder, and this year being his 30th publishing anniversary.