empire rising
by
Sam Barone
It is 3157 B.C.—The
beginning of the Bronze Age and the
rise of cities—and at the eastern
edge of the great southern desert in
Mesopotamia, men are at war. Bandits
and worse plunder the countryside
seeking women, slaves, and gold.
Into this unsettled land come the
outcast Korthac and the remnants of
his mighty desert fighters. They
encounter a band of thieves led by
Ariamus. The two join forces and set
their sights on the biggest prize of
all: the burgeoning city of
Akkad—the town formerly known as
Orak that just a few months earlier
defeated a horde of raiding
barbarians by building an
impenetrable wall. Akkad is known
not only for its riches, but also
for the courage and wisdom of its
leaders, the former barbarian Eskkar
and his enchanting wife, Trella.
Together they drove off the
barbarian horde, and now they face
an even more daunting challenge—to
preserve their victory.
But it's only by defeating Eskkar,
Trella, and the people of Akkad that
Korthac and Ariamus can claim
Akkad's wealth and enslave its
people . . .
Korthac devises a plan to slip
his men into Akkad and conquer the
city from within. And while Eskkar
is roaming the land, winning the
trust of other towns and bringing
them into his growing empire,
Korthac and Ariamus strike, wreaking
havoc on the young city.
Told with rich historical detail
and set in a time of promise and
peril, Sam Barone's thrilling,
beautifully rendered tale places him
in the ranks of the best historical
fiction writers working today.
Empire Rising is another
marvelous trip into the past with an
unforgettable cast of characters
Reviews:
Barone returns to the
cradle of civilization
in his sanguinary sequel
to Dawn of Empire.
Lord Eskkar, a former
barbarian who earlier
saved the city of Akkad
from almost-certain
defeat, and Lady Trella,
an erstwhile slave and
his wife, now rule the
biggest city on the
Tigris. Hoping to crush
the bandits marauding in
the countryside and
extend Akkadian rule,
Eskkar dispatches one
band of soldiers south
from Akkad and leads
another north. In
Eskkar's absence,
Korthac, a newly arrived
Egyptian warrior posing
as a trader, schemes to
infiltrate the city with
his followers and seize
power. Korthac sends
assassins to track down
Eskkar, and bandits
south to ambush the
returning Akkadian
soldiers. Inside the
city, his followers
attack the soldiers left
behind to keep order and
take a pregnant Lady
Trella prisoner. The
ruthless Korthac plans
to kill Trella once his
rule is established,
but, unknown to him,
Eskkar survives and is
preparing to retake the
city. The frenetic
action might be
predictable, but it's
never boring. The
setting is convincingly
rendered, and the
characters—heroes and
villains—are sharply
drawn. Fans of ancient
historical fiction will
enjoy this instructive
journey to the dawn of
civilization. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed
Business Information, a
division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved
- Publishers Weekly
About the Author:
Sam barone
was born
and raised in New York City. He spent
thirty years designing and developing
software, and began writing seriously
after his retirement. He lives in
Scottsdale, Arizona.
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