Sunday 29 January 2012

A new series and a new book...BLACK LEGION

It is 2012 and after a number of delays my latest novel has been released. This is novel number nine and the first in this new series. Unlike the Star Crusades saga of five books, this series is set far into the future. It is a world populated by aliens, advanced technology and characters with no memory of Earth and its ancient past.

My background is ancient history, advanced computing and European martial arts, so this new book combines the lot into a new and exciting work. The story is influenced by the famous story of Xenophon and the Ten Thousand Mercenaries. I studied this work in great detail when working on my Masters Degree in the original Ancient Greek, and have always found its themes influential in my writing.

It is my plan continue the Black Legion story into a series of at least three books. I would them like to jump ahead a couple of generations to continue the story with new characters with stories to tell. This will all follow the framework of Ancient European history, mixed with renaissance intrigue, politics and style.


The Black Legion is an army like no other. Paid for by the blood money of a sinister alien race and filled with ten thousand of humanity’s best warriors. They are an unstoppable force with their number taken from every known Terran planet in the Galaxy. They have little in common, other than their love of wealth and adventure, and a bitter hatred for each other. Ten thousand savage mercenaries, exiles, thieves and criminals, each looking to make their name in the greatest enterprise in living memory.


Into this world of space travel, war and intrigue comes Xenophon, the exile from the Alliance planet Attica, Glaucon the rich playboy, Roxana the experienced starship officer, and Tamara, the blue-haired castaway with a hidden past and a violent personality. Fate brings them together, to serve on board one of the mighty Titans, the great floating fortresses and the most powerful starships known to mankind. There are only twelve of these in existence, and just one is powerful enough to take on an entire fleet of enemy ships.


With only a few weeks to train with their comrades, nothing will prepare them for the carnage that awaits them at the infamous Gates of Cilicia. This fortified sector serves as the entrance to the Median Empire, the largest and most powerful empire in the known Galaxy and ruled with an iron fist by the tyrant, Emperor Artaxerxes.


An epic science fiction novel that retells the ancient tale of Xenophon and the Ten Thousand Mercenaries.