Six brothers, trained since birth to become great warriors, prepare to experience their first taste of battle...1033, the Norman/French border. The sons of Tancred de Hautville are following in their father's footsteps. As knights, they have but one true purpose: to fight. But denied service with their duke, they are forced to take employment as mercenaries: their unequalled battle skills are for hire to the highest bidder.Victory and defeat, betrayal and revenge combine as the desperation to rule the wealthy Norman lands becomes an intense battle, testing even the strongest of ties.

NO FIGHTING MAN CAN GO INTO THE BATTLE THINKING OF DEATH, FOR TO DO SO IS TO RISK BRINGING ON THAT VERY FATE11th Century Italy. The domination of the Normans, the most feared warriors in Christendom, is causing trouble. At their head is Robert de Hauteville, the 'Guiscard', who has colonised much of Italy and now commands the triple Dukedom of the extended Norman family. But Robert has made many enemies, including the ever-powerful papacy in Rome.As Robert successfully suppresses a Lombard revolt, his first-born, Bohemund, now seventeen and blessed with the strength, height and military prowess of his father, has come to fight in his army. Already recognised as a formidable warrior, Bohemund seeks to assert his natural right as the heir of Robert's dukedom. With Robert's second son, Borsa, legally entitled to inherit, his quest is not without conflict. A battle between the sons is inevitable, and blood ties will count for nothing.ReviewBuilds up from pure adventure with excitement and daring all the way. --Historical Novels Review'Exciting and unpredictable' --The Bookbag About the AuthorJACK LUDLOW is the pen name of writer David Donachie, who was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has had a variety of jobs, including selling everything from business machines to soap. He has always had an abiding interest in the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which he drew upon for the many novels he has set in that period. The author of a number of bestselling books, he now lives in Deal with his wife, the novelist Sarah Grazebrook.

Justinian desperately wants the lost provinces returned to his rule but must first dispatch his brave general, Belisaurius to fight the Persians in the East. Justinian grows concerned that Belisaurius will grow successful and courageous in his feats, thus becoming a threat to his power and person. He subsequently dispatches him on a near-impossible mission to North Africa to take back from the Vandals what was once Ancient Carthage.

As Hitler sets his sights on the Sudetenland, not everyone in Britain is willing to appease him. Convinced that the Fuehrer's land-hunger is insatiable, the head of the SIS recruits Cal Jardine to help him prove zechoslovakia is threatened with invasion. Before heading undercover to Prague, however, Jardine must first extricate himself from France, where his attempts to smuggle guns to Spain have been held up by a group of fanatical fascists. In their struggle to overthrow the French government, they are prepared to kill for the sake of procuring weapons. Finally arriving in Czechoslovakia, working undercover for the SIS proves no less dangerous. As jealousy and mutual suspicions within Secret Service ranks make it impossible for Jardine to tell friend from foe, he rediscovers old friends of dubious loyalty and makes new enemies of untested ruthlessness.

With barbarians at the gate and enemies within, two men must fight for the soul of the Republic and the greatest empire in the world.A cave hacked out by rock, lit by flickering torches...two young boys appeal to the famed Roman oracle for a glimpse into their future. The Sybil draws a blood-red shape of an eagle with wings outstretched: an omen of death. As they flee from the cave in fear, Aulus and Lucius make an oath of loyalty until death. An oath that will be tested in years to come.Thirty years on and Aulus, now Rome's most successful general, faces his toughest battle. Barbarian rebels have captured his wife and demanding the withdrawal of Roman legions from their land in return for her life. It is unthinkable for Aulus to agree, and he fears her life must be forfeit to Rome. Meanwhile Lucius has risen to a high rank in the Senate; a position he uses and abuses. But when Lucius is suspected of arranging a murder, the very foundations of the Republic are...

THEY WERE MEN BORN TO FIGHT. IF GOD WILLED THAT ANTIOCH WAS THE PLACE WHERE THEY GAVE UP LIFE, SO BE ITThanks to the stratagems of Bohemund de Hauteville, leader of the Apulian Normans, the Crusade has taken the city of Antioch, and just in time. Once the besiegers, Bohemund and his men are about to become the besieged – a huge Turkish-led army, commanded by the fearsome General Kerbogha, is fast approaching. Provisions are needed to support not only the army, but also thousands of camp followers and pilgrims. But the surrounding countryside is near barren and the storerooms of Antioch much depleted. It soon becomes obvious that the Crusaders cannot hold out for long without falling prey to starvation.And for Bohemund and his nephew Tancred there is another difficulty: the dissent between the Crusade leaders has broken out into the open, with the wealthy Provençal magnate Raymond of Toulouse stirring up conflict. If the Christian host is fighting on two fronts, so is Bohemund himself. With the enemy Turks at his front and his warring peers at his back, can he gain the mighty city of Antioch once and for all? Only one of the greatest battles of the age will decide.Review'Historical fiction at its very best ... The story is fascinating and expertly told - narrated intelligently and with elan' Historical Novels Review 'High adventure ... cunningly spliced battle scenes' Literary Review About the AuthorJACK LUDLOW is the pen name of writer David Donachie, who was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has had a variety of jobs, including selling everything from business machines to soap. He has always had an abiding interest in the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which he drew upon for the many novels he has set in that period. The author of a number of bestselling books, he now lives in Deal with his wife, the novelist Sarah Grazebrook.

With all the fire and passion of the ancient Romans, The Sword of Revenge follows in the epic footsteps of top ten bestseller The Pillars of Rome.Rome has lost its greatest warrior - for Aulus, the doom-laden prophecy of forty years earlier has come to pass. It is now left to Lucius to defy the oracle's curse alone, and the corrupt and powerful senator leaves nothing to chance in his bid to survive. But one boy, alone in the world, holds the key to his fate, and the future of the Roman Republic.