Having spent much of his childhood visiting historic sites with his grandfather, Simon Turney fell in love with the Roman heritage of the region, beginning with the world famous Hadrian’s Wall. His fascination with the ancient world snowballed with interest in Egypt, Greece and Byzantium, though his focus has remained Rome. A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his time visiting historic sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading.
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Simon’s career meandered along an eclectic path from the Ministry of Agriculture to network management before settling back into the ancient world, returning to university to complete an Honours degree in Classical History through the Open University. With a rekindled love of all things Roman, he set off on a journey to turn Caesar’s Gallic War diaries into a novel accessible to all. Marius’ Mules was completed in 2003 and has garnered considerable, bestseller status and reviews, spawning numerous sequels.
Now, with in excess of 40 novels available in numerous languages, Simon is a prolific writer, spanning genres and eras and releasing novels both independently and through renowned publishers including Canelo, Head of Zeus, and Orion. Simon’s varied series now cover numerous periods of ancient Rome, Medieval and Renaissance Europe, Viking Byzantium, and the Templar Knights. Simon writes full time and is represented by MMB Creative literary agents.
5. Trajan’s KioskOne of the most surprising of all Roman temples lies on an island in Lake Nasser, upper Egypt. At Philae a complex of temples had grown for half a millennium before Rome controlled the land, but under the emperors the complex was expanded, rebuilt and made far grander. One ...
In the Legion XXII books (Capsarius and Bellatrix) our intrepid Romans come up against the warrior queen of Kush, but who was she, who were her people, and why did this conflict occur? Well, without wanting to drop a plethora of spoilers for the books, here’s a precis.Egypt was an ancient ...
Sons of Rome by Simon Turney and Gordon Doherty.The first thing that strikes the reader at the outset of this masterful novel is that two distinct voices narrate it. Not only are these the voices of the two protagonists Maxentius and Constantine, friends in boyhood, foes as men—both ...
In his historical note, S.J.A.Turney tells us that when he decided to approach the Vikings as historical subjects, he was determined to do something new with them. In Blood Feud, he delivers novelty in the most exciting of ways. Leaving behind pillaged English monasteries and Anglo-Saxon ...
In the sixth instalment of his Praetorian series, Simon Turney once again delivers an exciting story of intrigue, military drama and messy Roman politics. With Blades of Antioch, he shows he is not only a master of his craft, but of portraying the Roman world in all its complicated glory. His ...
The Bear of Byzantium is the second instalment in S. J. A. Turney’s new Wolves of Odin series which began with Blood Feud, the story of Halfdan and his quest for revenge against Yngvar, the man who killed his father. Where the former took readers on a thrilling journey from Sweden to Kiev, ...
It follows on directly from the first, The Capsarius (which incidentally has one of the most gripping openings I have read recently). Equally enthralling, this follows legionary capsarius or doctor Titus Cervianus, with his tent-mates, his cohort and his legion, the Twenty Second Deiotariana, ...
Simon Turney, what prompted you to choose the period that you wrote your first book in?The majority of my books are set within the Roman empire. Rome has been my love and my focus since I first visited Hadrian’s Wall at the age of 6. I first wrote Roman fiction in an attempt to make Julius Caesar’s own writings ...
Doherty & Turney, Gordon Doherty and Simon Turney are the authors behind the Rise of Emperors books, the first of which is Sons of Rome. The two writers, both successes in their own right, have teamed up to write this new series. Peter Tonkin, author of
Simon, your novel Para Bellum is set during the Gothic Wars and this is we're towards the end of the fourth century, but we're talking the Gothic Wars, specifically 376AD to 382BC. It is the slow but certain disintegration of the Roman Empire. It’s momentous times, momentous events and a moment of great change. Mass migration is the main ...
Simon Turney, Caligula is the first of two novels based on Emperors of Rome that
Simon Turney, Caligula is the first of two novels based on Emperors of Rome that