★★★★☆ Emperor's Lion, by Alex Gough
Silus holds it together while Caracalla goes off the rails
Emperor's Lion
Alex Gough
Silus holds it together while Caracalla goes off the rails
Emperor's Spear, book 4 of Alex Gough's Imperial Assassin series, ended with Silus deeply disaffected with Emperor Caracalla after Caracalla destroyed the Alemanni through base treachery. At the same time Silus is on the outs with his former best friend Atius and their boss Oclatinius, because they knew about and went along with the treachery. Silus knows that they really had no choice -- a soldier must do what the Emperor commands. But the heart has its reasons...
Book 5, Emperor's Lion, begins with Oclatinius forcing a reconciliation of sorts. Caracalla, recognizing Silus's loyalty to himself (enforced in part by Caracalla's hold over Silus's cherished ward Tituria), takes Silus into his personal bodyguard, known as the Leones. "Leon" is of course Latin for lion, thus the title of the novel.
An awful lot of Roman emperors seem to have gone a little (or a lot) crazy towards the ends of their reigns. Caracalla is not all there, sanity-wise. He has an unhealthy obsession with Alexander of Macedon, whom he emulates in sometimes absurd ways. Caracalla is unpopular with the Roman elite, because he despises and mistreats them. Furthermore, there are elements in the Empire who view Caracalla as dangerous and want him gotten rid of. (That goes without saying for any Roman emperor, of course, but is even more the case when the emperor is an unpopular nutcase.)
At the same time Caracalla has undertaken a pacification campaign intended as preparation for the conquest of Rome's ancient enemy Parthia. Caracalla is a soldier's emperor. He leads the army from the front and is often in the thick of the fight.
Put all this together, and Silus has his hands full keeping Caracalla safe. He has his conscience full, as well, since he still distrusts and disapproves Caracalla.
It's a good, action-packed story. If you've made it to book 5 of Imperial Assassin you know what to expect -- a lot of historically accurate violence.
Thank you!!