Showing results for "The Shadow" in Ancient

Endure the darkness, claim the dawn. In the heart of ancient Hispania, Bruneus, the heir to the chief's legacy, embarks on a raid with his clan, the proud Clan of the Eagle. But fate is cruel; when errors are made and disaster ensues, the elders are mercilessly slain, leaving only Bruneus and a few battered souls to carry their clan’s memory. As they return to their village, hoping to find solace, they are met with an even greater horror — a plague that has ravaged their home, extinguishing their loved ones and burning their past to ashes.

Two souls bound together for eternity but lost in time. Until now. Brimming with romance, adventure and vivid historical detail, Christina Courtenay's gripping dual-time novel travels from the present day to the danger of Roman Britannia. Praise for Christina Courtenay: 'Paints a vivid picture...

Alexander of Macedon was just twenty years old in 334BC when he set out with a small army to challenge Persia, the largest and most powerful empire in the world. The Macedonians marched East into the unknown, won battles against overwhelming odds, stormed impregnable fortresses. In the deserts and mountains between the Aegean and India they conquered nature itself. Yet disaster was never more than a sword stroke away. Alexander`s companions were riven with murderous rivalries, their loyalty contingent.

AD 652. After surviving dark intrigues at the Merovingian court of Frankia, Beobrand is finally able to undertake the mission his queen set him: to escort a party of pilgrims to the holy city of Rome. But Beobrand's life is never easy. His party includes a scheming novice churchman whose ambition is boundless, and a mysterious envoy from Frankia. Entering the lands of the Langobards, Beobrand discovers unexpected similarities to his native Northumbria in their speech and customs... and their willingness to spill blood.

Present Day. Finally escaping an abusive marriage, Caterina Rossi takes her three-year-old daughter and flees to Italy. There she's drawn to research scientist Connor, who needs her translation help for his work on volcanology. Together they visit the ruins of Pompeii and, standing where Mount Vesuvius unleashed its fire on the city centuries before, Cat begins to see startling visions. Visions that appear to come from the antique bracelet handed down through her family's generations.

Flavius Maximus has declared himself emperor and crossed into Gaul. The civil war with Gratian has been short, and the rightful ruler of the West lies in an early grave. Now two men face off across an empire. Theodosius in the east, his armies large but reliant on mercenaries. Maximus in the west, his forces small, but battle hardened and loyal to a fault. In the middle of the chaos, at the heart of a dying world, two old friends march at the heads of opposing forces.

1258 BC: Surrounded and outnumbered by the army of Agamemnon, King Priam and his Trojan forces fight desperately to defend their city. In the lulls between battle, all talk inevitably turns to the mighty ally that has not yet arrived to their aid. Agamemnon will weep for mercy, the Trojans say, when the eastern horizons darken with the endless ranks of the Hittite Empire.

Wall of Hadrian, Britannia, AD 367. Tribune Sixtus Victorinus is scouting north of the Wall when he first sees the smoke. Riding south he finds a province in chaos, the local populace in flight, the soldiers absent. Britannia is ablaze, overrun with barbarians and Valentia is the word on everyone’s lips. But no one seems to have the first clue what it means... Victorinus may have let his life run to ruin and drunk his youth away, but now he must forge himself into the soldier he always wanted to be, the hero his children think he is.

As Imperial Rome forges its empire upon the ashes of war, its provinces feverish with religion, ambition and a thirst for power compete in the shadows without conscience. Save for one. An adopted Jew of a long dead son of Rome who is playing a dangerous game. Driven by a vision he is certain is the future if he does not act, he is forced to make an unlikely alliance. An alliance that is fated to bring unwelcome attention. Not all those seeking prominence in Rome are men. At great personal cost, a provincial governor and his unwitting sons will be caught in the middle.

Athens, 399 BC: Socrates is sentenced to death. In a moment that will forever mark history, the father of Western philosophy is found guilty by his own fellow citizens. There are two charges: impiety, because the philosopher would not recognize the city/state’s gods, and corruption of the youth. The absurd denunciation, the fight of a man against power and tradition, the hemlock: the fresco that emerges from this story is indelible. At seventy years of age, after having lived all his life in Athens, Socrates must face the most unjust charges.

Nationally bestselling author of Daughters of Sparta Claire Heywood returns with an imaginative and female-centered reinterpretation of the myth of the great hero Perseus, told through the voices of three women who are sidelined in the traditional version—his mother, Danae; his trophy, Medusa...

Babylon, 553 BCE. An ageing priest climbs the ziggurat at dawn and counts the steps, as he has done for forty years. Today, there are more steps than yesterday. Beneath Etemenanki, the great ziggurat that towers over the most magnificent city on earth, something ancient stirs. Something older than Marduk. Older than the names we use for darkness. Something that was sealed beneath the foundations long before the first brick was laid, and has been waiting ever since.

A young, rightful queen returns from exile to her homeland. Her mission is to reclaim her country from the grip of an oppressive foreign occupation. To achieve her goal, she must find a king. Her quest leads to a charismatic and gifted man who possesses the ability to help her lead a nation to freedom. But the mission comes at a cost greater than anyone can predict, and the misunderstood legacy of their secret rebellion will endure for thousands of years. A failed political movement that gave birth to a new religion.

The prequel to the critically-acclaimed novel, The Conjurer, has arrived. The paths of three boys intertwine at an unlikely junction in this fantastic tale of treachery, hope, and power. When opportunity knocks for Mikalla to become The Conjurer’s assistant, he is quickly rivaled by Gobi, the jealous and talented apprentice. Gobi will do anything for a chance to rid Mikalla of his position. Meanwhile, the second prince of Idaza is a pudgy royal with not much to do and even less to be proud of.

In the ancient city of Babylon, a powerful king, Nebuchadnezzar, ruled with an iron fist. Haunted by a mysterious prophecy, he becomes a puppeteer, manipulating the lives of those around him to protect his legacy. Unbeknownst to him, a group of captives in a secluded convent holds the key to the prophecy's truth.

In a land veiled by mists and steeped in history, The Hollow Vale weaves a haunting tale of fate, sacrifice, and the indelible pull of memory. Velden Nan-once Eadgifu-heeds the call of the Wyrd, leaving behind her daughter, Ethelwyn, and the familiar rhythms of life in Elderglen. Under the shadow of the Thorn Tree, where ancient roots coil around secrets long buried, the Spiral turns, binding past, present, and future in unyielding threads.