
by Peter Darman
RomeAdded on August 6, 2026
When Rome transgresses upon his father's domain that lays between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Pacorus, a prince of the Parthian Empire, is sent to exact revenge. After a string of victories Pacorus and his men are captured in Cappadocia, clapped in chains and sent to Italy to live out the rest of their days as slaves. But fate intervenes and Pacorus and his companions are saved from a living hell by a renegade gladiator named Spartacus. In gratitude, Pacorus agrees to help Spartacus build his army as Rome musters its legions to crush the slave uprising. And so begins an epic adventure of glory and savagery played out across the length and breadth of Italy, as Spartacus defeats the armies of Rome and Pacorus leads his horsemen to victory after victory. But will Pacorous and the slave army escape from Italy, and will he win the love of the fierce and proud Gallia before the most powerful man in Rome, Marcus Licinius Crassus, takes the field against Spartacus?
A map of the Parthian Empire at the time of Pacorus (the 1st Century BC) can be found on the maps page of my website: www.peterdarman.com
"Darman has researched this novel extremely well, as one would expect with his military non-fiction background. This detail is meshed with great story telling which flows along with great gusto. Less for the fact that this book is about a Parthian rather than a Roman, I would describe it as a ‘Roman Sharpe’. Darman’s style is similar to and as good as Bernard Cornwell’s, one of my favourite authors." British Army Rumour Service review, June 2011
Actual rating: 3.5
Let me preface this by saying I'm all for seeing more indie authors taking up the historical fiction mantle--I love the genre, but it remains one still largely in the realm of the traditional publishers. That said, I was quite excited when I happened upon Darman's work, particularly for the uniqueness of the setting. While Rome is certainly not unfamiliar to the genre, nor Spartacus (not now, anyway...), few take us to the sandy domains of the Parthian Empire.What resulted, however, was a bit of
Great historical fiction and quite an epic story. I love having the story told from the outside, and then from inside the slave rebellion. Unlike most books dealing with Spartacus, there is no gladiatorial combat here as the rebellion is already underway when we join the uprising. I read this about ten years ago and listened to it this time. It's nice to see Rome as the enemy for a change despite them being the ones who wrote history. But of course, who can't get behind a slavery revolt!
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