Bøger af Francis Hagan

REVISED 2nd Edition.Armenia: a land riven by discord, shattered by invasion, and divided into competing factions. A land in which a trapped Queen awaits rescue from a Roman expedition ordered to fail and fall at the last deep in that land. Orders its commander, Flavius Anicius, is determined to avoid.Against the will of Lupicinus, Magister of the East, this Tribune will march both the Twelfth Fulminata Legion and the Senior Sol Legion deep into Armenia to surprise the Persians besieging Artageressa and bring out this Queen both to spite Rome and also redeem a past long since surrendered up to shame and ignominy. It is a march fated to summon up old ghosts and new betrayals as these two legions cross over into a land older than the history of Rome itself; a land riddled with secrets and deep caverns; a land which will twist about the feet of these Romans like quicksand . . .This is the second book on the trilogy The Janus Eagle and follows the fortunes of the Roman expedition under that dark figure known as Flavius AniciusPraise for the Author's previous novel 'The Nowhere Legion': " His characters are realistic and dark, the action is intense and unrelenting, and the story within a story will keep you turning the pages."S.Brabant" . . . bravo to the author for being able to meld that style with the eye to detail that he has for the historical aspects of this novel. "Michael-M"His writing has an elegance and lyrical quality about it, and more than once I caught myself thinking, "I wish I had written that." And I assure you, that is a rare feat."R.W. Peake, Author of the 'Marching With Caesar' novels."Hagan delivers battles as gritty as the Persian desert. This is simply the best description I have read of what it was to fight in the Roman army. From the strategic placement of units to the cut and thrust tactics of the legionary the detail and the drama is unleashed in crashing waves of action."P.A.Gillingwater"The writing is crisp and clear, easily evoking the Late Roman period, the military community and the deserts of the Near East. The landscapes of Syria and Jordan are wonderfully painted in vivid colours. There is a definite sense of suspense and drama in the battle scenes, and bloody realism all the way through."P. Elliot

BOOK ONE - THE SHATTERED FRONTIER - REVISED 2nd EDITIONFar in the east of Rome, along the crumbling borders of the Tigris and the Euphrates, an old legion rots, long since abandoned and neglected by the emperor Valens and his advisors. This is the ancient Twelfth Legion, the Fulminata, the legion that once Thundered, raised by Caesar himself over four hundred years ago. A chance discovery in a dig propels an archaeologist to discover the truth of this legion, now long since forgotten, and its final doom. What he gradually uncovers is a story of betrayal and deception under a strange standard known as the Janus Eagle.This is the first book in a trilogy which tells the story of this Janus Eagle and its final fate deep in the mountains of Armenia, a land riven now with discord and strife. A fate in which the men of this legion are finally forced to confront a shame and a stain over three hundred years old - men who have long since forgotten the thunder that was once the legion's blood . . .Praise for the Author's previous novel 'The Nowhere Legion': " His characters are realistic and dark, the action is intense and unrelenting, and the story within a story will keep you turning the pages. "S. Brabant" . . . bravo to the author for being able to meld that style with the eye to detail that he has for the historical aspects of this novel. "Michael_M"His writing has an elegance and lyrical quality about it, and more than once I caught myself thinking, "I wish I had written that." And I assure you, that is a rare feat."R.W. Peake, Author of the 'Marching With Caesar' novels."Hagan delivers battles as gritty as the Persian desert. This is simply the best description I have read of what it was to fight in the Roman army. From the strategic placement of units to the cut and thrust tactics of the legionary the detail and the drama is unleashed in crashing waves of action."P.A. Gillingwater"The writing is crisp and clear, easily evoking the Late Roman period, the military community and the deserts of the Near East. The landscapes of Syria and Jordan are wonderfully painted in vivid colours. There is a definite sense of suspense and drama in the battle scenes, and bloody realism all the way through."

It is two years after Julian, the last pagan emperor of Rome, has died in the disaster of his Persian invasion and the east of Rome now is in chaos. A usurper has appeared to challenge the rule of the emperor Valens while all along the frontiers of the empire, the Persians and the Saraceni are rising up in war and revolt. For one lonely legion, marching south from Damascus to a transit camp, these events conspire to lead it out into the hostile deserts and ruins deep in the lands of the Saraceni. There, it must garrison an abandoned fort far from home; a fort riddled with betrayal and in whose shadow lies the awful legacy of a dead emperor. Follow the exploits of the men and officers of the Quinta Macedonica Legio as it makes a final stand far from empire and succour only to discover that the sands of the past run deep and no one is quite who he appe

A Roman expedition lost and marching across the 'Roof of the World'; a desperate Senator alone in a city of mirrors looking for his youth; a cavalry officer caught in that fog between his mind and his eyes; a fateful voyage of one last galley into a sea riddled with Vandals; an ancient Labyrinth under the sands of the Empire larger than Rome itself; a last philosopher on his death-bed as all his past faces fall from him in time - these and others are some of the tales contained within this collection. Inside, you will find allegory and the clangour of arms intertwining in that elusive shadow that is the End of Empire. Here is a collection of parables and heroics which collude and collide uneasily against each other. As well as the novella 'The Lost Expedition', printed for the first time, this collection also includes 'The Navigatio' and 'The Battle of Mons Aelian' which are also available as standalone short-stories.

It is the final years of Roman rule in Britain and chaos reigns. As the army collapses and the towns fall one by one to the Saxon invaders, competing tyrants and petty warlords turn upon each other. The north of the island remains aloof from the south, hiding behind its walls and forts while in the south, jealousy and intrigue paralyse the remaining town councillors. The last Roman defenders vanish into the Wood of Annwn fighting to the last. All seems doomed. It is a dark time but in that darkness a final light gleams. Deep within a strange storm a figure is found with no past and a heavy burden upon his heart. Alone he spins about him a fateful destiny to unite the warring Britons and bring the Saxons finally to heel in one last battle under the crumbling ramparts of Mount Badonicus. This is the story of Arthur, Dux Bellorum, known to the Britons as the Bear, and Donn, the god of death. A man caught on that cusp between the end of Rome and the dawning of a heroic age. A man in whose hands lies not just the fate of Britain but the end of Rome itself . . . Praise for the Author's previous novels 'The Nowhere Legion' and 'The Janus Eagle': " His characters are realistic and dark, the action is intense and unrelenting, and the story within a story will keep you turning the pages. " S.Brabant "His writing has an elegance and lyrical quality about it, and more than once I caught myself thinking, "I wish I had written that." And I assure you, that is a rare feat." R.W. Peake, Author of the 'Marching With Caesar' novels. "Hagan delivers battles as gritty as the Persian desert. This is simply the best description I have read of what it was to fight in the Roman army. From the strategic placement of units to the cut and thrust tactics of the legionary the detail and the drama is unleashed in crashing waves of action." P.Gillingwater "The prose is just so vibrant and the way the author describes a city or a battle, the day to day goings of a Legion or even the machinations and schemes of those men (and women!) in power - it is all so detailed and compelling that you really do feel you are there not so much as reading but rather seeing events unfold with your own eyes, and then with the very thoughts, prejudices, hopes and feelings of someone from that time. It is a skill I know very few authors to posses, to not only make you care, but to care and think as if you were seeing this tale unfold as a contemporary and not just through the eager but ultimately detached eyes of a modern reader." J. Mason

It is two years after Julian, the last pagan emperor of Rome, has died in the disaster of his Persian invasion and the east of Rome now is in chaos. A usurper has appeared to challenge the rule of the emperor Valens while all along the frontiers of the empire, the Persians and the Saraceni are rising up in war and revolt. For one lonely legion, marching south from Damascus to a transit camp, these events conspire to lead it out into the hostile deserts and ruins deep in the lands of the Saraceni. There, it must garrison an abandoned fort far from home; a fort riddled with betrayal and in whose shadow lies the awful legacy of a dead emperor. Follow the exploits of the men and officers of the Quinta Macedonica Legio as it makes a final stand far from empire and succour.

An account, in the form of a case history, of an encounter between a psychotherapist and a former paramilitary. Nothing less than an examination of the conflicting values underpinning Irish culture, the novel traces the intersecting worlds of its two protagonists.