J. Clifton Slater

A gladius is a short sword. A prodigy is a talented youth. Put them together and people die. Welcome to 271 BC This is not the full-time professional Legion of Imperial Rome. This is the levied Legion of the mid-Republic and it is messy. If you like Roman adventure and 3rd Century...

The heart and life of a battle is the center of the combat line. A dark, throbbing, and terrifying place. A place where death prowls between enemy shields, waiting for sharp blades to carve out an advantage. Welcome to 262 B.C. A single Legion is rushed into combat to stop a fortified army. The...

The two Legionaries appeared to be locked in an embrace. They flew off the top of the slope. Their plunge, however, wasn't voluntary. They were pinned together by a long iron barb protruding through their stomachs. Welcome to 263 B.C. Between clashes of the Qart Hadasht Empire and the upstart...

Alerio hurled the spear. Immediately regretting the loss of his second weapon, he prayed. "Nenia, Goddess of Death, if it's my time, come for me quickly." Welcome to January 263 B.C. Attacking a pair of long spears with his short dagger was going to hurt and add to Alerio's collection of combat...

A tale of war, tactics, subterfuge, and luck. And one man's struggle to resurrect his reputation. Welcome to late 264 B.C. The Legion is a machine of war. When the gears are turning, those not in sync with the machine get pulverized in the cogs. Most of the time, it's the enemy. Unfortunately...

The tide of soldiers washed over the Legion shields. Buried, the ranks of Legionaries sagged. "Push!" the Legion NCO yelled. Welcome to 264 B.C. Over the grunts and cries of men struggling against the mass of bodies pressing down on them, the Optio bellowed again, "Push!" And the Legion shields...

A battlefield covered with dead Legionaries An Empire encroaching on the Republic A Senate in turmoil Welcome to 265 B.C. Alerio Sisera will need all of his skills as a heavy infantryman, a scout and a weapon's instructor to survive. Standing with two gladii in a river of blood, the Legionary...

In the capital of the Republic, politics and scandal are normal. When a powerful citizen conspires with outside forces, normal becomes treason. Welcome to the world of 266 BC. Lance Corporal Alerio Sisera is in transit to the southern Legion. When thugs from a protection racket grab his travel...

It only takes one player in the secrets, surrogates, and spies game to go rogue. Then greed exceeds rationality and Legionaries die. Welcome to the world of 265 BC When a patrol boat of butchered Legionaries washes up on a beach, Lance Corporal Alerio Sisera volunteers to be the scout for the...

When a Legionary pushes the boundaries, he draws a crowd. Either to watch him collect a medal or collect lashes. And if it's really bad, an eighty-foot drop from Tarpeian Rock. Welcome to 261 B.C. There are anxious words to describe being in unfathomable trouble. A feeling of pressure, an...

Infantry tactics at a sea battle offer dangerous options. Run the boarding ramp into the tips of the enemy's blades. Or fall into the gap between warships. Welcome to 260 B.C. Death waits at both, but if you make it to the enemy's deck you have a fighting chance. With the sea, you are doomed by...

In war, there are no easy choices. The Second Punic War made gamblers of the Mediterranean world. Declare for Carthage or declare for Rome? The odds are 50/50 for life or death. Apollonides of Syracuse observed, "No city has ever had a brighter prospect of permanent security or a stronger chance...

A clash of deities . . . "You claim to speak for the Sky Father. That must give you an amazing feeling of power," Alerio suggested. "But Priest of Jupiter, the Goddess Nenia speaks through me. And it is not a feeling of power. In fact, the voice of death creates a sensation of hopelessness."...

Challenges, oaths, and prophecies Cornelius Scipio and Jace Kasia were passionate about their missions, but on a collision course. Unfortunately, one would have to lose for the other to accomplish his goal. As a staff officer, Tribune Cornelius Scipio had experienced more combat and defeat than...

Three battles into the second war between Carthage and Rome, the Republic was reeling. Hannibal Barca moved through the countryside burning, looting, and attracting recruits and supplies from disgruntled city residents and tribesmen. Cornelius Scipio remained with the forward Legions, taking any...

"When this is over, you and I are going to have a short talk over a pair of long blades." The Senior Tribune did not care for Centurion Alerio Sisera and the feeling was mutual. Welcome to 259 B.C. By law, all debts must be paid by the Ides of March. For men like them, sharp steel was the only...

"I've heard Cretan archers are good bowmen but weak skirmishers," a Tribune offered. "It has something to do with the teeny, tiny shields they wear like jewelry on their left forearms." "They wear jewelry into combat," Tribune Scipio moaned. "What have I done?" Set in the desperate years of the...

Some skills need to remain relevant. Everybody starts at the bottom when they change careers. Alerio Sisera understood the concept. He even recognized the difference between being a military man who lived by the gladius and a politician who used a pen to craft agreements. But the theory went to...

Orphan Jace Kasia might have found a home in the green hills and golden valleys of the Insubri. But several things prevented him from relishing his new life. He didn't know his name, he couldn't recollect his training, and he lived like a dog on a farm outside a border town.

Savage Birthright is the plight of Princes, usurpers, and those who inherit the burdens of powerful fathers. When extortion draws Alerio Sisera to an Illyrian capital, the Legion officer finds an old adversary who needs his help, a poison kiss from a masked woman during a street festival, and a...