Rome Adventure

The Spanish Steps are one of the most visited destinations in the Eternal City of Rome. This graceful staircase sits like the tiers to a great amphitheatre. But rather than a stage to watch, those seated here can watch the drama and intrigue of Italian life from the safe distance of an inconspicuous spectator. People-watching is a great Italian pastime and these steps form the prime place for it in the buzzing capital of Rome.

454 AD. Northern Italy. Dux Ambrosius Aurelianus has served the Roman Empire with distinction. His bucellarii, a small band of irregular soldiers, have helped to bring a fragile peace to the beleaguered empire in the west. But, with the empire now at peace, his master, Flavius Aetius, decides to chain up his dogs of war. Ambrosius and his men are left to idle away their days in a rural backwater, but Ambrosius’ boredom is brutally swept aside when old rivals seize the opportunity to destroy him.

The far-flung and isolated citadel of Arete faces out across the wasteland, awaiting the inevitable invasion. One man is sent to marshal the defences of this lonely city; one man to shore up the crumbling walls of a once indomitable symbol of Roman power; a man whose name itself means war, a man called Ballista.

AD 273. Obsessed by the solar religions of the east, the emperor Aurelian sets out to obtain every sacred object within his realm. But one - a mysterious rock said to channel the power of the sun god - lies beyond his reach. Warrior-priest Ilaha has captured the legendary stone and is using it to raise an army against Rome. For imperial agent Cassius Corbulo and ex-gladiator bodyguard Indavara, stopping him constitutes their greatest challenge yet.

The very idea of empire was created in ancient Rome, and even today, traces of its monuments, literature, and institutions can be found across Europe, the Near East, and North Africa - and sometimes even further afield. Historian Greg Woolf expertly recounts how this mammoth empire was created, how it was sustained in crisis, and how it shaped the world of its rulers and subjects - a story spanning a millennium and a half of history.

Axe-wielding barbarian Ulrich is on a quest for vengeance against the men who destroyed his home and killed his family. On his journey, he meets Tau, a freed African slave; Ima, a vengeful German war maiden; and Sigmund, a gentle giant caught between worlds. Together, they must ally with the Roman Legion to fight against an evil that threatens all the civilized world and pursue justice for those they have lost. A terrible force of invaders, the Alemanni, throw a continent into chaos on their quest for power and revenge, and only a young Caesar Julian stands in their way.

Tau, freed galley slave and former prince of Ghana, must leave the Empire of Rome to return home to his African kingdom. With his trusty friend Ulrich, they must battle pirates, cross the freezing Atlas Mountains, and brave the wasteland of the Sahara in order to face their destiny. When an unexpected war blocks their path, they must seek unlikely allies among the reclusive people of the desert in order to upset the balance of empires.

Hraban the Marcomanni has been cast out of his tribe by his treacherous father Maroboodus. He has lost his tribe, his mother and both grandfathers, and his fame and honor with the ones he loved. He has been lied to, he has been used to further his father's plots and in the end discarded, and his lot was to linger in slavery to Odo, a priest to Lok until he would die, having fulfilled the needs of a deadly prophecy.

Nine months ago, undercover detective Ispettore Evalina Gallo protected her heart the only way she knew how, never expecting to see her savior-turned-one-night-stand again. When he returns to Italia - now a person of interest in an investigation of a local organized crime family - her personal connection to the rugged American gets her assigned to the case.

What would you think if, in your old age, the doctors tell you that you only have a couple years left to live, and even ultra-modern medical technology is powerless to help? Some may spend their remaining years at the bottom of a bottle, others may choose to spend it quietly, with family...But there are also those who are ready to leave everything behind. Volper is one of those who has decided to have one last hurrah and immerse himself in a virtual reality.

Heartbroken, Remy flies to Rome—the site of her first kiss—to get over her ex and rediscover herself. On her first night in the city, she jumps into her new life by agreeing to a date with a smooth-talking Italian stranger who, as fate would have it, turns out to be a jerk…and a most wanted international criminal to boot. Implicated in the theft of an ancient amulet, Remy finds herself under house arrest and in the protection of Lorenzo Rossi, the infuriatingly handsome Sicilian detective in charge of the investigation.

Rome - as a city, as an empire, as an enduring idea - is in many ways the origin of everything Robert Hughes has spent his life writing about with such dazzling irreverence and exacting rigour. In this magisterial book he traces the city's history from its mythic foundation with Romulus and Remus to Fascism, Fellini and beyond. For almost a thousand years, Rome held sway as the spiritual and artistic centre of the world.

Throughout the Roman Army, the brutal XIIth Legion is notorious for its ill fortune. For one young man, Demalion of Macedon, joining it will be a baptism of fire. And yet, amid all of the violence and savagery of his life as a legionary, he will come to love the Twelfth and the bloody-minded, dark-hearted soldiers he calls his brothers. But during the punishing Judaean campaign, the Hebrew army inflict a catastrophic defeat upon the legion - not only decimating their ranks, but taking away their soul - the eagle.

Is learning a lesson worth losing your life? Bringing back a traitor to face trial seems an easy job for young Roma Novan officer Carina Mitela – until she is catapulted into confrontation with the powerful head of the Praetorian Guard. Will she collapse in face of corruption at high level or risk disgrace and destruction in standing up for her principles? On her first overseas mission, Carina and her comrade-in-arms Flavius’s sole task is to recover a traitor hiding in the Republic of Quebec. Under no circumstances must she enter the Eastern United States where she is still wanted ...

Sebastos Pantera, known to his many enemies as the Leopard and something of a lone wolf, is the spy the Emperor Nero uses only for the most challenging and important of missions. His next mission: to find the most dangerous man in Rome's empire and bring him to bloody justice. His prey is cunning, subtle and ruthless. Saulos has pledged to bring about the destruction of Rome and her provinces, and now fate, good luck and planning have given him the means to do so. The brilliance of Saulos' plan will be difficult to combat, but Pantera has a new ally.

Rome, AD 41. Caligula has been assassinated and the Praetorian Guard have proclaimed Claudius Emperor – but his position is precarious. His three freedmen, Narcissus, Pallas and Callistus, must find a way to manufacture a quick victory – but how? Pallas has the answer: retrieve the Eagle of the Seventeenth, lost nearly 40 years before. Who but Vespasian could lead a dangerous mission into the gloomy forests of Germania?

With the empire collapsing about him, Heraclius, the Exarch’s son, becomes the first Roman Emperor in 300 years to lead an army into battle. But this is no ordinary army: it is the Last Army, cobbled together from the bits and pieces that remain of once-great legions. Arrayed against him are the most formidable enemies Rome has ever faced: the Avar horde, the Sassanian Persian Empire intent on Rome’s annihilation, and the relentless plague that exploded under his predecessor Justinian and halved the Roman population.

Imperial agent Cassius Corbulo is about to go rogue. His bodyguard, Indavara, has been kidnapped and has seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. Having spent weeks trying to discover his fate, Cassius's time is up. But when an old ally's daughter is enslaved, he feels obliged to repay a long standing debt. Refusing the offer of a prestigious post, Cassius - and his Christian servant Simo - join nomadic chieftain Kabir and a trio of warriors, determined to rescue the missing girl.

Rome, AD 63. Vespasian has been ordered to a far-flung empire in Africa to free 200 Roman citizens who have been enslaved by a desert kingdom. But when Vespasian reaches the city, he discovers tensions spilling over into bloody chaos. Battling thirst and exhaustion, Vespasian must help the Romans escape, their only route to survival a desperate race across a barren desert with a hoard of heavily armed rebels at their backs. Meanwhile, back in Rome, Rome's elite fear for their lives as Emperor Nero's extravagance goes unchecked.

AD 58. Rome is in turmoil once more. Emperor Nero has surrounded himself with sycophants, and together they rampage by night through the city. Meanwhile, Nero's extravagance has reached new heights. The Emperor's spending is becoming profligate at the same time as the demands of keeping the provinces subdued have become increasingly unaffordable. Could Nero withdraw from Britannia, and at what price for the Empire?