Showing results by author "Simon J." in All Categories

The Romans invaded Britannia in AD 43 confident of victory. They swept through a divided and ill-equipped enemy, scattered across tough terrain. But one man was not prepared to surrender. Caratacus - quick-witted youngest son of a a tribal king - had been trained from birth to be a warrior of power and grit. Sent to be schooled by the Druids in his boyhood, his training meant that an already strong and cunning prince returned to his father's kingdom as a war machine.

Pavo's journey begins when he encounters the Roman soldier Macro, who has been charged with his training. Bonds of friendship develop between the two men, both aware that their fates depend not only on Pavo's skills in the arena but also on the whims of powerful and ruthless senators. Can Pavo survive to fulfil his most cherished goal - revenge for the murder of his father at the hands of a champion gladiator?

Roman Britain, AD 44. General Plautius' hard-won defeat of Caratacus should have brought peace. But though the land is conquered, it is far from tamed. A puppet king is doing little to calm the hatred of the tribes and bring them under Roman rule. Fighting is in Optio Horatius Figulus' blood. His Celtic ancestry is mocked by his fellow soldiers, but it gives him the toughness essential for survival.

Despite defeat in battle, Britannia's natives continue to resist their Roman conquerors. All attempts to impose Roman rule have failed. A new king has been installed among the Durotriges to bring them into line, and Optio Horatius Figulus of the Second Legion is charged with protecting him. It's a thankless task, and, worse still, the Druids are rumoured to be plotting to assassinate the king. The king begins a devastating campaign of reprisals against his political rivals. Whole families are murdered, weapons are confiscated and the old gods are denounced.

The invasion of Britannia has been bloody and relentless, and still the barbaric islanders have not been fully conquered. With winter fast approaching, they face a new threat: ferocious native warriors launching coordinated attacks from their secret base on the Isle of Vectis. In response, the new legate announces a plan to invade Vectis and rout the enemy in what he expects to be a speedy and successful mission. But Horatius Figulus, a junior officer with local knowledge of the enemy, doubts the invasion will be so straightforward.

In the winter of AD 44, Rome's plan to install a friendly king in the most hostile area of Britannia is facing a new threat. There are rumours of a traitor close to the new king, and a new enemy is gathering strength beyond the marshes. As the king continues with his plans to Romanise his subjects, Horatius Figulus, a junior officer in the Second Legion, is charged with training up the new royal bodyguard. But when a trap is sprung on the Roman army, a secretive Druid sect seizes power and takes the king hostage. Now Figulus must infiltrate the enemy ranks, release the king and track down the elusive leader of the Druids - before the whole of Britannia descends into bloody chaos....

When young Telemachus gets the chance to join the crew of the merchant ship Selene, he's delighted to escape the rough streets of Piraeus. He knows little of the dangers of life at sea. And even past hardship has not prepared him for the terror on board when a pirate ship appears on the horizon. The fight is bloody, but the result is never in doubt. Then the victorious pirate chief, Bulla, offers the beaten men a cruel choice: join us, or die.

Britannia is a nightmare campaign setting for the brave soldiers of the Second Legion. Horatius Figulus, a junior officer, has been rewarded for bravery and skill against the island's rebel forces with a mission that could bring him prestige and position. He and his most trusted comrades are to help install a new king in a hostile area. Succeed, and they'll establish an imperative Roman stronghold. Fail, and the whole invasion will be jeopardised.

Founded in 1922, over the last century the BBC has become Britain’s most influential broadcaster. Its programs have been part of everyday life in the UK and around the world, from Its That Man Again to Life on Earth, Doctor Who, and Eastenders, reflecting social change and reshaping our culture. However, the BBC now faces significant challenges, which may even jeopardize its continued existence. This new book draws out these issues and looks at how similar threats—including hostile governments, management failures, and new technologies—were met and overcome in the past.

The environment and its decline in health is the most important issue facing mankind today and is a subject everyone should have an understanding of, from business CEOs to the average person in society. By exploring topics such as biodiversity, ecosystem services, sustainability, and ecology, the listener will be equipped with the necessary foundational knowledge that is required before effective management strategies can be considered and implemented, either in business or at the home.

A young magician in a pub opens his hands to release a cloud of tropical butterflies; a female bookseller is forced to attend a dance in drag to atone for a misdemeanor; a lonely man searches for a mysterious woman on a cruise; four school friends experience terror on a caravan holiday, and a macabre stranger wanders the streets at midnight, stealing dreams. Ranging from just 100 up to 4000 words, these and 106 other memorable little stories are found in this eclectic and tantalizing collection by Simon J. Wood, an exciting new voice in the Flash Fiction genre.

The first in a series of action-packed novellas set in ancient Rome introducing Pavo, a novice gladiator, and featuring Simon Scarrow's ongoing soldier character Optio Macro. It is AD 41. The savage Gaul Britomaris has defeated the best of the Roman gladiators in the arena. Now a young volunteer, Marcus Valerius Pavo, the son of a murdered general, has been given a month to prepare to face Britomaris in a fight which only one man can survive. He is to be trained by veteran soldier Macro, who fears for his young trainee's chances.

Britannia, AD 45. Rome's plan to establish a new friendly king over a hostile native tribe is in grave danger. A sinister new Druid sect, led by a charismatic priest, is threatening to destabilise the province and has taken several Roman soldiers prisoner. Now Optio Horatius Figulus faces his most dangerous mission yet. He must venture deep behind enemy lines in search of his captured comrades and the Druids' secret fortress.

The imperial gladiator school in Capua: once the pride of the Roman Empire, lately driven to the brink of ruin by a greedy lanista. Now the school welcomes its newest recruit: Marcus Valerius Pavo, the high-born gladiator with a string of impressive victories to his name, sworn to seek revenge for the brutal murder of his father. Meanwhile, Lucius Cornelius Macro, the decorated optio of the Second Legion, has been appointed as the school's new lanista. Macro faces a race against time to turn the school around before the start of the games in Rome, held in honour of the new Emperor.

Rome under the rule of the ruthless new Emperor Claudius is a dangerous place. Condemned to gladiator school, Marcus Valerius Pavo, the son of a treasonous general, is a celebrated hero following a dramatic victory in the arena. Now he finds himself pitted against one of the greatest gladiators who ever lived: Decimus Cominius Denter. Though Denter has fallen on harder times, he is still a formidable opponent, and it is up to newly decorated Macro to whip him into shape.

From the moment his father was executed in the arena for an act of treason, former military tribune and condemned gladiator Marcus Valerius Pavo has burned with the desire for revenge. Now all that stands between Pavo and victory is a man considered by many to be the greatest gladiator to have ever lived: Hermes. But even with Optio Macro as his trainer and the help of the snakish imperial secretary, defeating Hermes appears an impossible task.

The opening day of the Games in Rome is a time for celebration in honour of the new Emperor. But for Marcus Valerius Pavo, a young military tribune fallen from grace, only despair awaits. Along with former mentor Optio Macro, Pavo must fight for his life in a ferocious beast hunt. Battling against lions and bears, he'll have to use all his wits to survive as well as the help of a hated former rival. But when Pavo achieves a stunning victory, his reward is to be condemned to death in a chaotic free-for-all. Now the young gladiator faces a race against time to triumph over the odds....

Grab your partner and join the spirits on the dance floor. Scare Street’s latest collection of supernatural horror is a grand ball of fear and nightmares. This sinister collection is bursting with 14 tales of terror - more than enough to keep you dancing with demons all night long.

An eminent British writer returns to the resort hotel in the Japanese mountains where he once spent a beautiful, snowed-in winter. It was there he fell in love and wrote his best-selling novel, The Waterwheel, accusing America of being in denial about the horrific aftermath of the Tokyo firebombings and the nuclear destruction at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A husband, trying to rekindle his marriage in a lonely seaside village, meets a strange young woman from his forgotten past; a man taking a garden gnome to a museum gets an unexpected surprise; a lonely widow encounters an enigmatic character from an embryonic pop group; a group of scientists make an horrific discovery at a big cat conservation centre; and a baby hare comes of age with a momentous idea.