The Exiled

Description

A gripping historical thriller for fans of Robert Harris's Cicero trilogy A.D. 79. Parthia is gripped by civil war. One king vying for the throne, desperate for help, welcomes an alliance from an unlikely source: a man claiming to be Nero, the dethroned Roman emperor. Meanwhile, young Gaius wishes he could spend his summer on the Bay of Naples amongst his books. Instead Pliny, the famous admiral, has sent him to befriend the nephew of Ulpius, the mysterious blind senator from Spain. A man Pliny does not trust. But when a Parthian hostage is nearly killed, days before Parthian emissaries are expected, and as rumours of the False Nero entering the land reaches Rome, Gaius and Pliny race to learn how these events are connected. As the political intrigue comes to a head, something happens that only the mysterious clairvoyant Sibyl could have foreseen: Mount Vesuvius erupts, and black ash fills the sky . . . Review: A great read and utterly enthralling - I had read the first novel in this series and enjoyed it hugely. This one is even better with Pliny, Vesuvius and Parthian conspiracies. I read it over two days and wished it had lasted me longer. This is a great historical novel with utterly believable characters, excellent pacing and a first rate plot-line. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical novels as much as I do. I hope the third novel will be published soon.