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Sequel to 'Eboracvm, The Village'
It is A.D. 78, and Governor Gnaeus Agricola has arrived in Britannia to find that the Brigantes are again in rebellion; this time, the tribes are united with those further north – in the land that will one day be known as Scotland. Agricola is determined to finish a conquest begun only seven years before by Petilius Cerialis. He will do this by leading his armies relentlessly northward, leaving a trail of destruction marked by Roman forts and a web of roads the connect them. Risking the loss of an entire legion, Agricola will let nothing stand in his way – even if is means marching to the furthermost tip of the island.
Cethen Lamh-fada, displaced from home and family by Rome in Eboracvm, The Village, remains loyal to his people; but in so doing he finds that while familiar ties may be lost, they have not been broken. The Roman Gaius Sabinius is once more in Britain, this time as legate of the Ninth. The paths of two generations cross one more in a confusion of violence and divided loyalties that must be resolved. As both cultures are slowly drawn further north, one pursued and the other pursuing, each follows a path littered with ironic twists of fortune. According to history, the conclusion of the campaign conducted by Agricola was inevitable; but defeat is a personal thing, and not always total. Often, it is no more than a turning point.
As with The Village, the reader finds that Eboracvm, The Fortress is filled with action and backed by fact; it is also laced with dark humour, and a touch of hard romance. The book highlights the never ending paradoxes of life’s choices, many of them strikingly familiar. In doing so, Eboracvm continues its unique approach to the history of the times: there are no dashing heroes, no vile villains, just ordinary people with their everyday virtues, faults and failings, all of which include an inbred passion for life that surpasses time.
According to history, the outcome of the extended campaign of General Gnaeus Julius Agricola seemed inevitable in its conclusion; but defeat is a personal thing, and not always total. In the long run, the final battle at Mons Graupius settled nothing; in the short run, it was a 'right bugger' for both sides, but mainly for the families of people such as Cethen Lamh-Fada, and his sharp witted wife, Elena. Laced with action and turmoil, plus a dose of hard romance, the narrative is told with a dark humour that highlights the never ending ironies of choice, many of them strikingly familiar today.
In the words of Marg Gilks, author and editor: The characters live and breathe on the page, moving through meticulously researched and vividly described settings that not only bring the ancient world to life, but show the reader that some aspects of the human condition transcend time.
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