The past is never dead, it isn’t even past
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,...
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...
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...
The Gothic Wars & Historical Fiction with Simon Turney | RSS.com
Simon Turney, Caligula is the first of two novels based on Emperors of Rome that have rather, shall we say negative reputations (the second is Commodus)? Caligula was the 3rd Emperor after Augustus and Tiberius, but why did you want to write about him in particular?...
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...
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...
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 Caesar’s...
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...
5. Trajan’s Kiosk One 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...
