Scriptores - Author Lounge Latest Topics

LEGIONARY: THE EMPEROR'S SHIELD

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 11:05:57 +0000

Book news from myself: my latest Roman romp, 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 will be published on 16th Feb 2023, and is available for pre-order now!

"Easier to split the sky, than part a soldier from his blade.

386 AD. The Eastern Roman Empire faces a trident of threats. The Gothic truce grows unstable. The standoff with Persia escalates. And the ambitions of the usurper on the Western throne grow dangerously unchecked.

Pavo, a broken veteran of the legions, cares for none of these things. His life is one of pastoral seclusion on his Thracian farm. A life of love, of peace. His wife and young son are his world. Still, every so often, things seen and done in his old life haunt him, like a cold and unwelcome breeze. But that is all they are, echoes of the past…

…until the past rises, like a shade, to rip his world and the Roman Empire apart."

Blood, steel and high adventure all the way

Link to pre-order: https://books2read.com/Legionary9

And here's my newsletter with all the deets: https://mailchi.mp/679b11cc243e/coming-16th-feb-from-gordon-doherty-legionary-the-emperors-shield?fbclid=IwAR3ifn2oLqFR3wzFo2H-874IqskekRVDv74C4QemqVMaCfRoSheT3_0KVe8

FREE Roman novel

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 17:16:41 +0000

Full aware that I seem to be dominating this part of the forum. Just nudge me if I'm spamming.
However, I couldn't not let you know about this freebie:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/54068

99p novels!

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 12:20:57 +0000

Thought you guys might be interested - three of my books, including LEGIONARY - the opener to my Late Roman series - are on sale via BookFunnel right now, along with a whole bunch of great #Histfic reads from other fine authors. Check it out!

https://books.bookfunnel.com/fantastichistoricalfiction/ja2dafshao

GODS of ROME

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 10:32:11 +0000

To celebrate publication day for 𝑮𝑶𝑫𝑺 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑬 in paperback, I'll be signing this stack of copies.

Fancy one, dedicated to you? https://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/buysignedcopies.html

Special Edition Book Auction

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 10:18:35 +0000

A special edition of one of my books "Legionary: Land of the Sacred Fire" (Late Roman/Byzantine) is up for auction this week - with all proceeds going to charity.

If anyone fancies finding out more, you can do so over here:

https://www.facebook.com/GordonDohertyAuthor/posts/4526611877387141

Thanks & good luck 🙂 !

And to whet the appetite, here's a wee excerpt from the tale:

"The empire’s legions fled. They thundered westwards across the baking plain, the noon sun glaring down upon them like a Persian spy. Legionaries, Syrian archers, Armenian slingers and ironclad riders – more than thirty thousand men all told, gaunt and bathed in sweat, armour battered and caked in dust. Their staggered and untidy formation betrayed great anguish. Each of them shot fearful glances over their shoulders as they jogged, parched tongues darting out over cracked and bleeding lips.

Near the front of the retreat, Comes Domesticorum Jovian led the Imperial Guard. He cut an impressive figure, broad and tall, his face ruddy and well-weathered. But his heavy brow shaded the fear in his eyes. It was a fiery terror that needled at his guts as he thought of those who pursued them. Don’t look back, he mouthed, fixing his gaze on the west. It offered only golden dust and azure sky, but soon they would be back at the eastern banks of the Tigris. Soon they would be reunited with the Roman fleet. Soon he would be safely aboard a bireme and then back in Roman Mesopotamia on the western banks of the river. At that moment, an image flashed through his mind; of the thousands of legionaries who had been slain on this wretched campaign, their grey, lifeless eyes fixed on him. In these last weeks they had fought and died in some of the most ferocious battles he had ever witnessed. They would never again feel the sun on their skin or the caress of their loved ones. Jovian, however, had barely sullied his sword on this journey. Yet here he was, dreaming only of his own wellbeing. He scowled at his timorous thoughts as self-loathing clutched and twisted his heart. He bit into his bottom lip until he tasted blood, then looked up to the figure riding just ahead.

Emperor Julian sat astride a white stallion, wearing a wreath that hugged his flaxen curls like a crown. He wore no armour – only pure-white robes and a sword belt. This epitomised the man. The one who had renounced the Christian God and revitalised the old pagan ways. The strident and fearless leader who had led the army into this burning land, intent on ending the centuries-old Persian threat. The legions loved him, hailing him for his seemingly endless courage. Julian was everything Jovian longed to be.

From where . . . from where do you draw your courage? Jovian mouthed.

But his envy faded when he saw something up ahead; the shimmering golden infinity now offered a faint, sparkling thread of turquoise. The Tigris! His heart soared momentarily, then he frowned, noticing something else; a dark smudge by the banks. The heat haze sharpened to reveal the last wisps of black smoke spiralling from the incinerated Roman fleet. Charred timbers, torn sails and smouldering masts jutting at all angles. Hundreds of vessels. Utterly ruined.

Jovian slowed. The rest of the column slowed, jaws dropping as the tang of wood smoke danced in the stifling air. He shot glances around his imperial guardsmen, cooking alive in their scale vests. They gawped at the fleet, then twisted to behold the still and silent horizons behind them in terror. A chorus of panicked murmurs broke out all along the vast column. Eyes darted around the sweltering land, then all looked to the Emperor.

‘Emperor?’ Jovian gasped, failing to disguise the tremor in his voice. ‘The Persians did this?’

Emperor Julian stared solemnly at the ruined fleet, then gave the faintest shake of his head. ‘No, not the Persians.’

Horror shuddered through Jovian’s chest as he realised what had happened.

Emperor Julian continued; ‘I had no choice. When we set off from these banks, I gave the order to burn the fleet lest it fell into Persian hands.’

‘But how will we . . . ’ Jovian’s eyes darted to the far banks of the river. Safety lay in sight but out of reach, across the tumbling waters of the Tigris. This was not bravery, this was madness! The emperor’s hubris would be the death of them all.

‘The fleet is gone. But the riverbank will protect our rear and our flanks,’ Emperor Julian said as he heeled his mount round to look over his bedraggled army then off to the east. He winked, straining to see through the heat haze that lay out there. Suddenly he sat up straighter in the saddle, a confident rictus spreading across his face. ‘Yes . . . it seems that either death or glory will grace us today.’

Jovian’s flesh crept as he turned to follow the emperor’s gaze.

The eastern horizon offered nothing but a blur where golden dust met azure sky. Then a thunderous boom burst across the land. Then another.

‘Persian war drums!’ one panicked voice wailed. ‘They’re coming for us again!’

The heat haze flickered and a silvery dot appeared, slowly expanding to fill the eastern horizon like the horns of an iron bull. Now the war drums throbbed in an eager rhythm.

Jovian gawped at the sight. The Savaran cavalry, the Persian war machine, Shahanshah Shapur II’s finest. They seemed to rise from the sands like demons. A sea of spear tips, iron helms and riders. Each gund of one thousand men was segmented into ten drafshs of one hundred, and each hundred carried a banner of fluttering fabric – vibrant reds, greens, golds and blues depicting bears, deer, asps and lions. And these endless ranks were punctuated by great, fierce and all-too-real creatures, the likes of which Jovian had never before set eyes upon; beasts with swishing, armour-plated trunks, bronze-coated tusks and archer-packed cabins strapped to their broad backs.

The Savaran were here to annihilate the Roman war machine that had pierced into the heart of Persian lands, the legions that had only days ago dared to attempt a siege of the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon. A clutch of dark-robed magi walked before this army, holding aloft gemmed, gilt torches, the flames flickering and lurching like serpents’ tongues. The magi carried this, the Zoroastrian Sacred Fire, as a testament to their great god, Ahura Mazda, and to inspire the masses who marched behind.

Jovian felt his throat clenching and the familiar trembling in his limbs. A skinful of wine in the mornings had become a loathsome habit, but one he had been unable to break as he tried to cope with the demands of his lofty post as the emperor’s protector. He looked to his guardsmen, desperately trying to summon the words to rally them. He licked his lips to give an order.

‘For – form up, f-face . . . ’ the staccato uttering died in his throat and drew only confused frowns from his men. Self-loathing now strangled his heart.

But his shame was short-lived as, once more, Emperor Julian led the way.

‘Form up, face your enemy!’ Julian cried, kicking his white stallion until the beast reared up and whinnied. Buccinae were raised to lips, the horns wailing across the ranks as standards waved frantically. Like a silver asp, the staggered mass of the Roman retreat came together and turned to form a broad and deep line facing east. They presented a wall of battered shields and a nest of spears. On each flank, an ala of some five hundred equites sagittarii shuffled on their saddles, nocking arrows to their bows, winking under the rim of their helms as they sighted their targets. These Roman horse archers were well armoured in scale and armed with the finest composite bows, but they would meet their match today.

The rally cry of Emperor Julian had been enough to strike the fear from many thousands of Roman hearts. But not from Jovian’s. Forming part of the Roman right, he and his imperial guardsmen were on the front rank. His tongue was shrivelled and utterly dry, his bladder seemingly full to bursting. There would be no escaping battle today. White lights flashed in his eyes and he felt his guts melt as he beheld the Savaran riders facing them. A solid wall of clibanarii; iron-masked horsemen who betrayed not a glimpse of humanity, armour in every place there should have been flesh and tall, pointed helms with plumes whipping behind them. Thousands of them. Sharpened lances held two-handed. Lithe mounts clad in iron plate-armour and scale aprons. The riders sighted their targets, then kicked their gnashing, frothing mounts forward at a trot with an ululating war cry.

Jovian roared, not in defiance like the imperial guardsmen around him, but in utter terror. He screwed his eyes shut in disgust at his craven heart. In this coward’s darkness, he felt the blistering heat fall away momentarily. He cracked open one eye and saw that the sky had blackened, the azure masked by a thundercloud of Persian arrows, hovering momentarily before darting down like a brood of iron raptors. Jovian’s legs seemed numb and unable to respond to his primal urge to run. He gawped as those around him scattered, some splitting their ranks and others falling back to avoid the incoming hail. They were oblivious to Emperor Julian’s cry to hold their lines. The arrows hammered down into backs, necks and limbs. A fine crimson mist puffed into the air all across the panicked Roman lines and many hundreds fell. Jovian trembled in disbelief; arrows quivered in the earth and in corpses all around him – yet he was unharmed. Then he heard the Persian war horns blare once again, and saw the glint of thousands of enemy lances falling level like outstretched and accusing fingers, the clibanarii riders now lying flat in the saddle and coming forward at a gallop. The Persian arrows had tenderised the Roman ranks, now their lances would cut the legions to pieces.

Jovian met the inhuman eye slits of the masked rider coming for him, clutched the Christian Chi-Rho amulet around his neck – the one thing that gave him courage – and roared his last as the Savaran charge smashed into the Roman ranks. In a flash of steel it was over. A blow wrenched Jovian’s spear from his grasp and threw him from his feet. Sky and ground swapped places, hooves and boots thundering past him, dust and blood filling his throat and blinding him. Then he felt the earth shake fiercely. The trumpeting of the great, tusked creatures filled the air. Then came a terrible chorus of snapping bone, tearing flesh and screaming men. Finally, like an ebb tide, it all died away, and he was numb.

He presumed the long blackness that followed was death. But he still felt something. A crushing pain in his head. Next, a distant, dull cry cut through the blackness.

‘Emperor Julian has been slain! Throw down your weapons and they may spare us!’

In his confusion, Jovian wondered if these voices were those of the dead accompanying him to the afterlife. Perhaps his devotion to the Christian God had been prudent. Then he realised he was floating, or perhaps being carried. He put everything into an attempt at reaching out, but heard only a pained groan topple from his lips.

‘The Comes Domesticorum – he’s alive,’ a voice said.

‘Then there is no doubt about what must happen,’ another added.

At last, Jovian’s eyes cracked open. He was in a torn, smoke-stained Roman command tent, reclined upon a cot. His guardsmen stared back at him; a circle of filthy, bloodied and sullen faces. The nearest of them stepped forward and thrust a white robe and a wreath into his hands. He stared at the dark-red stain on the midriff of the robe; Emperor Julian’s blood.

Then, as one, the guards raised their hands in salute and cried;

‘Imperator!’

He looked up at them. A terror like never before gripped his heart."

Sons of Rome - a brand new Roman novel by Gordon Doherty & Simon Turney

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 11:55:11 +0000

As twilight descends on the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire is but a shadow of its former self. Decades of usurping emperors, splinter kingdoms and savage wars have left the people beleaguered, the armies weary and the future uncertain. And into this chaos Emperor Diocletian steps, reforming the succession to allow for not one emperor to rule the world, but four.

Meanwhile, two boys share a chance meeting in the great city of Treverorum as Diocletian's dream is announced to the imperial court. Throughout the years that follow, they share heartbreak and glory as that dream sours and the empire endures an era of tyranny and dread. Their lives are inextricably linked, their destinies ever-converging as they rise through Rome's savage stations, to the zenith of empire. For Constantine and Maxentius, the purple robes beckon...

Sons of Rome, book 1 of the brand new 'Rise of Emperors' series by Gordon Doherty & Simon Turney

Quote

A page turner from beginning to end ... A damn fine read - Ben Kane

Grab a copy here: http://getbook.at/rise1

New from Gordon Doherty - LEGIONARY: DARK EAGLE

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 16:41:18 +0000

What hope has one forgotten soldier of bringing an emperor to justice?

Winter, 382 AD. The Gothic War is over. After years of bloodshed, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Goths have struck a deal for peace. Imperial heralds crow about the treaty as if it were a triumph. Feasts and celebrations take place across the Eastern provinces. Every hero of the war is honoured and acclaimed... except one.

Tribunus Pavo languishes in exile, haunted by a dark truth: that it was Gratian, Emperor of the West – the most powerful man alive – who caused the war and manipulated its every turn. Tormented by memories of loved ones lost during the great conflict, one word tolls endlessly through Pavo’s mind: Justice!

But in this great game of empire, justice rarely comes without a grave cost…

Sound good? You can pick up a copy for a couple of quid here

Roman goodie bag prize draw

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 09:31:46 +0000

Free stuff! Legionary 7 goodie bag up for grabs.

I'm running a prize draw for a signed copy of The Blood Road plus a bundle of collectables: signed artwork, music score and more! Enter here by 10th Sept:

www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeblog/legionarygoodiebag

Writing Historical Fiction set in Late Antiquity

Fri, 10 Aug 2018 10:52:19 +0000

A Q&A re writing historical fiction set in Late Antiquity:

https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/08/10/authorinterview-for-legionary-the-blood-road-by-gordon-doherty-gordondoherty-legionary-thebloodroad/

I need reviews

Tue, 16 Jan 2018 17:44:40 +0000

My book THEOPHILUS: A TALE OF ANCIENT ROME has been out for eight months now. So far, I have ten Amazon reviews. I would love to have some feedback from my fellow Roman history aficionados! If you are so inclined, find THEOPHILUS on Amazon, download or purchase a copy, and let me know what you think!

Legionary: Empire of Shades

Mon, 29 May 2017 10:32:55 +0000

Hi All,

Just a shout out to let you know that my new Legionary novel - 'Empire of Shades' - is out.

If you're not familiar with the series, it's Late Roman, and is set in the Eastern Empire during the time of Valens and Theodosius.

Here's the foxy cover art and a teaser intro

379 AD: Thracia has fallen to the Gothic horde…

With the ashes of Adrianople still swirling in the air, the Eastern Roman Empire is in turmoil. The emperor is dead, the throne lies empty and the remaining fragments of the army are few and scattered. Numerius Vitellius Pavo, now Tribunus of the XI Claudia, tries to hold his patchwork ranks together amidst the storm. One of the few legions to have survived the disaster at Adrianople, the Claudia do what they can to keep alive the dying flame of hope.

When word spreads of a new Eastern Emperor, those hopes rise. But the coming of this leader will stir the Gothic War to new heights. And it will cast Pavo headlong into the sights of the one responsible for the East’s plight – a man mighty and seemingly untouchable, and one who will surely crush any who dares to challenge him. From the ashes of Adrianople, new heroes will rise… with dark ghosts in close pursuit.

Paperback and eBook, available here:

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

And there's plenty of goodies - free samples, imagery and companion short stories etc - here:

http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/legionary/legionary-empire-of-shades---free-prologue

http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/legionary/legionary6gallery

http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeblog/cityoftheblind

If you decide to try, I hope you enjoy. Would be great to hear your thoughts too.

Cheers,

Gordon

THEOPHILUS is now available!!!!

Mon, 10 Apr 2017 18:00:16 +0000

My new novel, THEOPHILUS: A TALE OF ANCIENT ROME, has just been released on Amazon!

I'd love to have some reviews from my fellow Romanophiles here at UNRV, so please go ahead and download it or purchase a copy in paperback. This is the finest tale I have written yet, and I promise you - it's worth every denarius of the cover price!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1632132729/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491839182&sr=8-1&keywords=theophilus%3A+a+tale+of+ancient+rome

Military historian Ian Hughes (sonic) on the fall of Rome

Wed, 03 Feb 2016 05:27:22 +0000

...nice interview with forum member sonic

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/frontpage/2016/01/20/Military-historian-Ian-Hughes-on-the-fall-of-Rome.html?ci=stream&lp=8&p=76,description.,site_name.Sandusky

Tom Holland interview: Caligula, vampires and coping with death threat

Sat, 05 Sep 2015 15:01:01 +0000

The bestselling historian talks Islam, Twitter storms and the lurid world of the Roman empire

Tom Holland is, excitably, showing me his latest acquisition, in his high-ceilinged study in south London. Ten shelves of books soar up above us, from tomes on sexual practice in the ancient world to Fred Donner’s Narratives of Islamic Origins. Above his desk is a reproduction of a lovely 15th-century fresco of the young Cicero reading, and laid here and there are reproduction military helmets (one, in the Roman style, elaborately plumed), a shield and a cricket bat. The last relates to Holland’s second obsession, aside from history: he is an ardent member of the Authors XI, and is much pained to have missed a recent match against the Thespian Thunderers...

....to the Interview at the Guardian

Legio XVII: Battle of Zama

Thu, 11 Jun 2015 22:27:01 +0000

I'm very pleased to announced publication of my latest book.

The Legio XVII series, Roman Legion at War, Battle of the Danube, and just published Battle of Zama are historical fiction novels that take place during Rome’s Second Punic War with Carthage (218 - 202 BC). The fictional exploits of Legio XVII are impacted by the Punic War and its military operations are conducted in support of the overall war effort, but do not intrude into or alter actual historical events. Together, the three books present a complete summary of that ancient War. It’s available at Amazon, B&N, Apple, Smashwords, etc. Here’s the link to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Legio-XVII-Battle-Thomas-Timmes-ebook/dp/B00ZDZONZ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1434061497&sr=1-1&keywords=legio+XVII%3A+Battle+of+Zama

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it!

Legio XVII: Battle of Zama - by Thomas A. Timmes

ONLY 26 DAYS!

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 20:19:57 +0000

Until my first purely historical novel, THE REDEMPTION OF PONTIUS PILATE, is released!

I tried very hard to create an authentically Roman setting for this work, which follows Pilate from his time as a Legate under Tiberius in Germania until his death in 38 AD. Since little is known of his life outside the 10 years he was governor of Judea, I obviously had to fabricate a biography for him, but I wove him into the events that were happening in Rome and its provinces from the late reign of Augustus until early in Caligula's brief rule. I sincerely hope some of you good folks will read it and give me some good, honest feedback.

Release date is May 19, from Electio Publishing. It will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, as well as directly from my publisher, www.electiopublishing.com

Just Got the Cover Art for My New Novel!!!

Wed, 06 May 2015 19:45:42 +0000

I love the way it turned out!!

The Road To Rome Trailer

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:05:22 +0000

Narrated by Ian McKellen, The Road To Rome is a feature-length documentary about three authors (Ben Kane, Anthony Riches and Russel Whitfield] of historical fiction who walk from Naples to Rome dressed as Roman soldiers to raise money for charity. So far the walk has raised over £25,000 in donations for charities Médecins Sans Frontières and Combat Stress.

Inteview with Goldsworthy by Yale

Wed, 28 May 2014 12:36:54 +0000

Adrian Goldsworthy, an award-winning biographer and historian, has brought ancient Rome to life through a trilogy of biographies of the leaders of the greatest empire of all time. In Caesar: Life of a Colossus and Antony and Cleopatra, Goldsworthy cut through the traditional stories told of these well-known figures, exposing the complexity of their political maneuvers and providing more human portraits to balance the legends. His new book, Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, to be released this August, holds up the same revealing lens to a character who is less well-remembered, but equally—if not more so—influential in the history of Rome.

more at the Yale Blog

TV Interview with Ben Kane

Sat, 15 Mar 2014 05:33:02 +0000

Author Ben Kane joins Bord Gais Energy Bookclub to tell about his latest novel Hannibal: Clouds Of War.

http://www.tv3.ie/ireland_am_video.php?locID=1.65.74&video=77220