 |
|
Alternative Fiction & Fantasy |
|
| The Leaves of the Sybil—SPQR: Like many, I have always been fascinated by the similarities between ancient Rome and the modern west, and the question of what the world and future would have been like had the Roman Empire not fallen. It is often popular belief that it was a military failure. My research has convinced me that it was a nearly inevitable economic failure. The last possible time to alter the economy and subsequent history would have been in the time of the Emperor Tiberius—a vastly underrated emperor and tragic figure. This is a series that spans the time from 14 CE to the far future, when Rome has expanded the empire into the stars. Current works include: The story of the men and women who come to Tiberius' aid, and set the empire on a course of change and adaptation; and one in which a Praetor Peregrinis and his erstwhile assassin must prevent a powerful trade magnate from plundering a star system on the frontier of empire. Planned works include a series on the conquest of the northern half of the western hemisphere, contact with the Japanese Empire on the west coast of the western hemisphere, and relations with the Chinese Empire. |
|
| The Littlest Einherjar: Odin and the Old Gods wake from a thousand year sleep, and realize that Ragnarok has come in an entirely unexpected way. Odin looses his Einherjar, the warriors of Valhalla, on the world, each to be accompanied by an heroic soul from the animal world—and one is a surprise. |
|
| Roundeye: Only the superior strategic, tactical, and fighting skills of two exiled northern "barbarians" can save the emperor and his son from the general who plots rebellion. Once before these two outwitted the general and lead him a deadly chase through the empire, eventually confronting the Emperor himself. But can even their skills, and a handful of loyal soldiers, prevail against the general's vast army, and the web of his intrigue? Back to Top |
|
Historical Fiction |
|
| The Left Hand of Light: Gaius Cassius Chaerea, the Man Who Assassinated Caligula: Relatively little is actually known about him. Cassius Chaerea was a Roman Centurion who had distinguished himself in Germania. We know that he was the only centurion to survive the Rhine mutiny unscathed. For his services he was promoted to the Praetorian Guard, probably on the recommendation of both his legionary commander and Germanicus Caesar. It was he, a client of Germanicus and therefore of the Julian gens, who finally put an end to the madness of his patron's son, Caligula. For this service to his family, and the Senate and People of Rome, Claudius had him executed. This was a man loyal to Rome, and to the family of the Julian Caesars. Yet he was ensnared in the political conflict within that most unhappy family. It was suspected that his primary patron, Germanicus, was murdered at the instigation of, or at least with the tacit permission of Tiberius. To him, this would have seemed a second betrayal by the Emperor“the first was the failure to crush the Germans after the Clades Variana. Agrippina, Germanicus wife, would have been Chaerea's friend, and one he valued and respected. She, too, was at odds with Tiberius, and for some of the same reasons. Tiberius causes her death in exile, creating yet another wound in Chaerea's psyche, but Tiberius also destroys Sejanus, Chaerea's bitter enemy, and Chaerea rises in the Praetorian ranks as a result. Finally there is the problem of the emperor's only acceptable remaining heir, Caligula. Once, Chaerea affectionately called his patron's son "Little Boots." Now an increasingly bitter and ill Tiberius seems to be making him a monster, a "serpent for the people's breast." Ultimately, Chaerea must kill the son of those who were his patrons and his friends—and set a precedent of devastating consequence to Rome and her empire. Back to Top |
