The Rule of Ranging 3

The Tungrian auxiliary cohorts return to Hadrian's Wall after their successful Dacian campaign, only to find Britannia in chaos. The legions are overstretched, struggling to man the forts of the northern frontier in the face of increasing barbarian resistance.

The Tungrians are the only soldiers who can be sent into the northern wastes, far beyond the long abandoned wall built by Antoninus, where a lost symbol of imperial power of the Sixth Victorious Legion is reputed to await them. Protected by an impassable swamp and hidden in a fortress atop a high mountain, the eagle of the Sixth legion must be recovered if the legion is to survive.

Marcus and his men must penetrate the heart of the enemy's strength, ghosting through a deadly wilderness patrolled by vicious huntresses before breaching the walls of the Fang, an all-but-impregnable fort, if they are to rescue the legion's venerated standard. If successful their escape will be twice as perilous, with the might of a barbarian tribe at their heels.

Roman scout Silus is deep behind enemy lines in Caledonia. As he spies on a raiding party, he is abruptly discovered by an enemy chief and his son.

Mounting a one man ambush, everything quickly goes wrong. Silus must run for his life, the head of the enemy leader in his hands. Little does he know the price he will pay...

As Silus is inducted into the Arcani, an elite faction of assassins and spies, he must return to Caledonia, back into the wilderness, and risk everything in the service of his Caesar. The odds don’t look good.

Failure is not an option.

A blood-soaked and unputdownable Roman thriller, anchored in detailed historical research, perfect for fans of Ben Kane, Conn Iggulden and Robert Fabbri

'Gritty and real, exciting and pacy, this is first rate historical fiction, and Gough is clearly ready to take his place among the leading writers of the genre' SJA Turney, author of the Praetorian series

It is a time of political turmoil once more as the fading King Edward begins to lose control over his successors and their supporters. There are two potential heirs—possibly more—and doubt over whether the once separate states of Wessex and Mercia will hold together . Despite attempts at pulling him into the political fray, Uhtred of Bebbanburg cares solely about his beloved Northumbria and its continuing independence from southern control.

But an oath is a strong, almost sacred commitment and such a promise had been exchanged between Uhtred and Aethelstan, his onetime companion in arms and now a potential king. Uhtred was tempted to ignore the demands of the oath and stay in his northern fastness, leaving the quarrelling Anglo-Saxons to sort out their own issues.  But an attack on him by a leading supporter of one of the candidates and an unexpected appeal for help from another, drives Uhtred with a small band of warriors south, into the battle for kingship—and England’s fate.

Aram of the Inda, a scattered people, has seen his lands pillaged, his sons taken and his empire crushed by the all-powerful Jade Empire. Its numberless armies have crushed the disunited Inda, swarming in from the East.

But to the West lies another power, the Empire, ruled by mad Emperor Bassianus. And something powerful is stirring in the wild mountains...

Power abhors a vacuum, and the Inda lands are now fair game. The stage is set for a showdown of cataclysmic proportions. Aram and his sons will find themselves at the heart of events that will shake empires to their very foundations.

This clash of titans is the blood-curdling conclusion to S.J.A Turney’s Tales of the Empire, perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow, Ben Kane and Gordon Doherty.