Ancient Historical Fiction

Though the Romans were known for having contributed much to culture and the arts, there was one facet that was unrivaled when it came to ancient civilizations: their published works. Philosophy was their forte, and it goes without saying that the meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a superb piece of philosophical writings and musings. What is interesting about this collection is that it chronicles his thoughts during the time of his reign as Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180.

By the Rivers of Babylon presents the early life of the prophet Ezekiel, from his childhood to his service in the Temple to the Babylonian Captivity, where he was enslaved among the exiles along the River Chebar.

After years of service to Rome, Quintus Sertorius has exchanged the bloodshed of the battlefield for the tranquility of his farm. He dedicates himself to his pregnant wife with the same vigor he displayed in the legion. But soon the bells of war toll again, and there is nowhere in Italy safe from its destruction. As rebel armies close in, Sertorius realizes his wife and child are in danger. The fate of his homeland is at stake, and he cannot ignore the call to arms.

G.A. Henty's classic work, The Young Carthaginian, tells the story of this struggle and the attempt of Hannibal to conquer Rome, despite the formidable geographical barriers and the corrupt leadership in Carthage, which time-and-again undermined all his efforts. Malchus, the young hero, a cousin of Hannibal, becomes involved in political intrigue and joins Hannibal in Spain, sharing for a time in his adventures. Later, he suffers imprisonment and slavery and then escapes to Gaul, where he finally settles. This story is set around 220 B.C.

Ki, a member of a nomadic tribe, has figured out how to plant seeds to grow food and invented a dart-thrower, a new weapon that can kill from a distance. Labeled a witch, her sister is the only person who appreciates her genius. That is until Magog, a vicious warrior tribe, attacks, killing her entire family and enslaving her people. The Magog leader discovers Ki’s talent and takes her prisoner, wanting to exploit her knowledge for his own gains.

Following the assassination of Emperor Gaius Caligula in AD 41, his uncle, Claudius, assumed the imperial throne. After establishing his legitimacy and stabilizing his position with the Roman Senate and people, he looks to legitimize himself militarily. His eyes turn toward Britannia, the elusive isle that even Julius Caesar failed to conquer. Far from being unknown to the rest of the world, various Britannic peoples have maintained trade relations with the continent, and a few of the tribal kingdoms have even formed alliances with Rome that extend back decades.

Before the age of gods and men, the most ancient of the immortals, Nyx, pulled herself into creation. Her power encapsulated the night and all its secrets, where nothing goes unseen. Once respected for the balance and duality that she brought to the world, and the haven she created in Tartarus, the rise of the gods has brought the goddess of night’s influence into question.

AD 1139 - When her husband perishes in a skirmish, the Lady Cantia du Bexley Penden is distraught. Her husband was assisting the mighty Viscount Winterton in the battle for the throne between Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois, caught, like most men, in a vicious struggle for the rightful ruler of England.

Following his vision of the coming Messiah, the prophet Daniel creates a select group of men who will count down the calendar to the arrival of Israel's promised king. Centuries later, as the day nears, Myrad, a young magi acolyte, flees for his life when his adoptive father and others are put to death by a ruthless Parthian queen. Having grabbed only a few possessions, Myrad escapes the city, and searching for a way to hide from the soldiers scouring the trade routes, he tries to join the caravan of the merchant Walagash.

The new Pharaoh, Ramses, aspires to greatness of a magnitude undreamed of by mortal men. But to thwart his dreams, a gaggle of fiends, including a sorcerer, invaders, and his own brother awaits him. Now he will learn whether the friends of his youth - people such as Moses and the aging Greek poet, Homer - can truly be trusted.

King Aethelred II, who men will one day call The Unready, rules over a land divided by the shadowy spin of his mother Queen Ælfthryth and the sprawling power of the Church. The Viking Warlord, Olaf Tryggvason smelling the Kingdoms weakness brings the vicious Jomsvikings to the Saxon coastline ravenous for war and plunder.

It is a time of troubles. In Cahokia, the corn crop is failing again and a warchief - and the warrior woman he may never possess - are disgusted by their Chief's lust for tribute. Now even the gods have turned their faces, closing the underworld to the seers. If the gods have abandoned the people, there is no hope - unless it comes in the form of a young girl who is learning to Dream of Power.

The death of Alexander the Great was the signal to begin the greatest war in human history - a war that swept like a firestorm from one end of the known world to the other, as his former generals fought like jackals to make his vast empire their own. By 305 BC, the most powerful players in this deadly game faced each other across the Mediterranean: Ptolemy, the master of Egypt, and Antigonus One-Eye, master of Asia. And between them, the island of Rhodes, a strategic fortress city that neither could afford to cede to the enemy.

Rome, 107 BC. Quintus Sertorius just lost his father, and he may lose his home. When his rural village is stripped of its political status, he must leave his family to secure their food and protection from inside Rome's cutthroat government. As he transitions from countryman to politician, he's thrust into the middle of a bitter political war…. As Quintus struggles to gain the aid his village so desperately needs, he approaches Gaius Marius, the uncle of Julius Caesar himself.

Cleopatra lies asleep. Harmachis looks down at the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. For a moment, Harmachis aches with grief because he has to kill a thing so lovely! This novel, first published in 1889, is an adventure story set in the Ptolemaic era of ancient Egypt. The Egyptian priesthood attempts to overthrow Queen Cleopatra in order to drive out the Romans and restore Egypt to a golden age.

As famine overtakes the land, Simeon leads his brothers into Egypt to buy grain. He doesn't recognize the vengeful ruler he must bow before: Joseph, his long-lost brother, the very brother Simeon sold into slavery years ago. Now, it is the brash Simeon's turn to endure imprisonment. Only Mandisa, the handmaid who interprets the ruler's language, is his saving grace. The beautiful widow and her young son see another side of Simeon, the tenderness beneath the tough exterior. As much as he would like to, he will never be free to love them until he unshackles the chains around his own heart.

It is 50BC and Caesar winters with his legions in the north - all Gaul conquered but a triumphant return to Rome denied him by the senate who seek his blood. Yet unrest stirs in unknown lands, as the tribes of mountainous Aquitania rise under a terrifying new leader and drive out their Roman occupiers. Marcus Falerius Fronto, exiled from Rome, seeks out his former commander in an effort to build a future and soon finds himself in command of a most unusual legion with a remit to restore peace in Aquitania.

A SONG OF WAR Troy: city of gold, gatekeeper of the east, haven of the god-born and the lucky, a city destined to last a thousand years. But the Fates have other plans—the Fates, and a woman named Helen. In the shadow of Troy's gates, all must be reborn in the greatest war of the ancient world...

The Byzantine empire is fading. Sick with corruption and complacency that paralyses its once mighty people, assailed from within and without by those who seek to feast upon its riches. The emperor is dying, the empress is ageing, and rebellion threatens in the heart of their homelands. The last hope of the eternal empire might lie with a disgraced foreign mercenary. Harald Hardrada fears nothing but failure or dishonour. For eight years he has faithfully served the heirs of Caesar, but has failed in his goal to earn the riches and reputation he needs to reclaim the throne of Norway.

“Captivating...Mah channels Kennedy and brings postwar Paris to life with exquisite detail and insight.” -- People From the bestselling author of The Lost Vintage, a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier’s college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story...