The Siege: Agent of Rome: Agent of Rome 1

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He is the only ranking Roman officer left in the line of the Palmyran advance. He must take command of the fort of Alauran, the last stronghold still in Roman hands, and hold it against the enemy until reinforcements arrive.

What Cassius finds at Alauran would daunt the most seasoned veteran, let alone a year-old with no experience of war. A mere scattering of divided and demoralised legionaries remain, backed up by some fractious Syrian auxiliaries and a drunken Praetorian Guardsman. With the Palmyrans just days away, Cassius must somehow find the discipline, resourcefulness and courage to organise the garrison, save Alauran and secure Rome's eastern frontier Overview Music Video Charts.

Not with the Romans anyway. The Roman forces Cassius is sent to command have been lacking a Centurion and discipline and the usual Roman efficiency has suffered accordingly. But he thinks it best not to let his forces in on the secret just yet. Another little secret he has to keep from his men. An independent wing of the military, the Service had been established during the time of the Emperor Domitian. Originally concerned with the supply and distribution of grain to the legions, it's officers were spread far and wide across the Empire.

And 'the Service' are disliked by the ordinary soldiers. So understandably, Cassius would rather the men under him did not find out too much about THAT little secret either. I did, at times, think it read a little like a western. The new Sheriff sent to sort-out a run-down, lawless town, in a lawless area, etc.

Except here, it's the Wild East. There are good-guys who seem like they can be relied on and there are quite probably spies lurking here and there. Then, all the time in the background, there's the ever-nearing, unavoidable date with destruction, in the shape of the Palmyrians coming inexorably closer.

As the book progresses, so does the character of Cassius. He starts out, as we all would no matter how much training we had behind us, scared shitless and decidedly unsure if this was the right career choice. He develops slowly, as experience only comes with time in the job - not something he has a lot of just now. But, you can see he is already on the way to developing the instinct to do the right thing at the right time in the right situation. It is now five books long and was clearly imagined to be a quite lengthy series.

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Which is as I like it. More world-class reviews on Speesh Reads Toen bleef mijn blik hangen bij, jawel: Leek me wel interesting, dus zonder boekenbonnen ging ik terug naar huis. Over het algemeen vind ik historische boeken niet super, maar mede doordat ik Klassieke Talen heb leek dit me wel leuk te proberen. Cassius is totaal onervaren, wat het erg spannend maakt hoe hij het ooit tot een goed einde wil laten komen. De mannen in het fort zijn een stelletje luilakken en zuipschuiten die al jaren niet meer gevochten hebben. Het lukt Cassius om samen met een aantal officieren daar de orde weer te herstellen, en ze trainen de legionairs.

In het fort is ook een andere hoofdrolspeler aanwezig: Hij is zoals zijn naam al suggereert een lid van de Pretoriaanse Garde, en heeft een hoog aantal onderscheidingen op zijn naam staan. Kortom, een enorm ervaren en goede militair. Helaas heeft hij een ernstige alcoholverslaving en een ziekte in zijn organen. Hij ligt de hele dag in de herberg wijn te drinken. Geen van de legionairs durft dicht bij hem te komen. Cassius weet hem te overtuigen van de ernst van de situatie.

Samen met de andere legionairs maken ze met de Pretoriaan een plan om de vijand buiten de deur te houden.

De Pretoriaan wil echter niet meevechten, hij blijft in de herberg. Tot mijn grote verbazing weten Cassius en de andere legionairs de vijand buiten de deur te houden. Hier gaat ook het gros van het boek over. Misschien denk je nu: Nou, dat valt echt reuze mee!

Het Beleg is echt een spannend en interessant boek: Ook de personen die in het boek aan bod komen zijn origineel: Cassius, de onervaren legionair die voor een schijnbaar onmogelijke opdracht staat. Verder is er natuurlijk de Pretoriaan. Ook Serenus en Simo zijn leuk bedacht. Mijn favoriete personage was Strabo, de gardeofficier. Hij was echt onmisbaar in het boek, en het was dus ook echt zo jammer toen hij doodging.

Het Beleg is een echte aanrader: Ook al denk je misschien: En ik beloof je, als je het boek uithebt, wil je niks anders als het 2e deel! Aug 01, Justin rated it really liked it Shelves: This review was first published in the Historical Novel Review. Queen Zenobia of Palmyra has turned on her erstwhile master, Rome.

She has sent her armies across Arabia, Egypt, and Syria to sweep away the weakened Roman forces. Cassius Corbulo is new to the Roman ranks. Nevertheless, his rank in the This review was first published in the Historical Novel Review. These men, part bureaucrat and part secret police, were answerable to the emperor himself, and were despised by Roman soldiers. Much more than a simple military story, The Siege is also a character study and offers a rare glimpse into 3rd century Rome and her occupation of Syria. Dec 02, Edoardo Albert rated it really liked it. Two thirds of the elements that will make this a great series are already there: Cassius himself and his slave Simo, ever punctilious for his master yet careful to conserve the small dignity afforded to him as a slave in Imperial Rome.

However, even without him, this book serves to introduce an unusual, for historical fiction, hero and his even more unusual slave.

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Cassius is not much good with a sword, relying on his brain rather than muscles, although he does match up with the male wish fulfillment element of historical fiction in that he is unfeasibly handsome and attractive to women. Simo is, potentially, an even more interesting character; I hope Brown will look more deeply into how a slave might attempt dignity when he is, literally, property. The story itself rips along. May 29, Laurentiu Lazar rated it it was amazing Shelves: The main character is a young security service officer named Cassius Corbulo , who by chance gets sent far off into the desert, south-east of Antioch, to the fort of Alauran so as to coordinate the defense against a potential invasion force — strategically important due to its water source.

However, step by step Cassius proves himself as a rather witted individual, good at running the strings, thus overcoming each trial that is set before him. In this particular case, the author has outdone himself. By comparison with other novels, the main character is, in my opinion, peculiar to the bones. What intrigued me the most was how humane Cassius appeared to the eye, he had a bit of arrogance given his high birth, but at the same knew when to back off or when to ask for help in a matter. And on top of that, he is no soldier — poor handling of a sword, low stamina.

Moreover, the situation he is put in… first posting, no experience, acting under the cover of Centurion… So I am asking you now, does he not seem peculiar given all these facts? I cannot remember a historical fiction book in which a main protagonist is so flawed, so humane, so successful overall. As for secondary characters, I have to mention Simo , the household slave who accompanies our hero from beginning till the end and starts off as a manservant ending up as a doctor for the little fort — this one has such an innocent manner of behaving, along with his speech.

In my own little world, I laughed out loud at the relation between man and servant. Another even more odd character was the one called the Praetorian. I got to admit it kept me on needles to see what his role will be in the story given his background and seeing how he treated himself and everybody else — short-tempered, aggressive. It is rather an unusual one, but put into frame with great depictions, vividly described and richly innovative and imaginatively speculative wherever it must be so.

Read in some other review, about the Palmeryan attack to be unreal… I thought about it as well, but it did make sense given their supply shortage and misinformation on actual number of defenders. All in all, I profoundly enjoyed the book. It has great depictions, somewhat unique characterization and story for a novel set in the Roman world.

Moreover, it possesses not much gore, minimal verbal violence and lots of poignant moments. I appreciate the maps for the region and fort — helped my imagination a lot. May 04, Robin Carter rated it it was amazing Shelves: There are the subtle parts of a new writer, like will they be a writer of explosive action, or slow burn deep facts, or a mix of them both?

With so many authors out there turning out great books it then means its down to the marketing and the cover artists to draw the eye and make you pick up the book and read the back cover. With Siege of Rome the cover is fantastic, giving the reader the impression of action, pace, and history, Some excellent back cover blurb to really rope the reader in, so i was hooked and ready to part with my cash Yes is the simple answer, the cover is actually slightly deceiving as the book is not just an all out action thriller, it is a well paced well thought out story with a great plot, with a complex multi faceted hero in the guise of Cassius Corbulo, It also good to see a less written about section of the Roman world by going east to the parts that are more ancient than even Rome, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Palmyra, all names far older than Rome.

With this fantastic background Nick brown has woven his great ability as a writer of time and location, blending the history with an ability to take the reader right to the location and when you couple that with his great characterisation, people who are living breathing soldiers, with more than cut and slash on their minds, people who have families and a past, who have fears and problems and unlike a lot of writers Nick lets you know this and lets you meet your hero at his best and worst so you know every facet of his character.

Making this book so much more than a swords and sandals gory war story. I highly recommend you part with some cash and buy this book Parm Synopsis from back of book AD Rome has ruled Syria for over three centuries. But now the weakened empire faces a desperate threat: Arabia, Palestine and Egypt have fallen and now Antioch, Syria's capital, stands exposed.

Cassius Corbulo is a young intelligence agent fresh from officer training. He has been assigned the menial task of rounding up wounded legionaries but then urgent new orders arrive. He is the only ranking Roman officer left in the line of the Palmyran advance. He must take command of the fort of Alauran, the last stronghold still in Roman hands, and hold it against the enemy until reinforcements arrive. What Cassius finds at Alauran would daunt the most seasoned veteran, let alone a nineteen year old with no experience of war.

A mere scattering of divided and demoralised legionaries remain, backed up by some fractious Syrian auxiliaries and a drunken Praetorian Guardsman. With the Palmyrans just days away, Cassius must somehow find the discipline, resourcefulness and courage to organise the garrison, save Alauran and secure Rome's eastern frontier Cassias Corbulo is a fresh grain officer who has been dropped into the role of defending a key resource with a rag-tag group of soldiers.

With so many books set in Roman Britain that I have been reading lately , it was nice to get a different picture of the vast Roman Empire. Syria is such a completely foreign place. Nick Brown did an excellent job of bringing Cassias Corbulo is a fresh grain officer who has been dropped into the role of defending a key resource with a rag-tag group of soldiers.

Nick Brown did an excellent job of bringing the country to life and the trials of fighting in such a harsh and unforgiving environment. Cassius is an interesting character. He is in over his head; he does not have the experience to pull off this task on his own. Cassius uses the tools at his disposal to get the job done, ingrained Roman discipline threats and bribery.

by Nick Brown

This is what made the Roman world work and last for so long. Nick Brown spent a good amount of time with the enemy. This was a great point of view. They had their own troubles and problems to overcome. The Palmyrans were not the simple barbarians that would attempt to overpower the Roman line with sheer numbers. Having spent weeks trying to discover his fate, Cassius's time is up. But when an old ally's daughter is enslaved, he feels obliged to repay a long standing debt.

Refusing the offer of a prestigious post, Cassius - and his Christian servant Simo - join nomadic chieftain Kabir and a trio of warriors, determined to rescue the missing girl. Agent of Rome 7 books in series.

The Siege: Agent of Rome, Book 1 (Unabridged)

He has been assigned the menial task of rounding up wounded legionaries, but then urgent new orders arrive. He is the only ranking Roman officer left in the line of the Palmyran advance. He must take command of the fort of Alauran, the last stronghold still in Roman hands, and hold it against the enemy until reinforcements arrive.

What Cassius finds at Alauran would daunt the most seasoned veteran, let alone a year-old with no experience of war. Nick Brown Narrated by: Add to basket failed. Please try again later. Add to wishlist failed. Free with day trial.

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