Related to: 'Prophecy: Death of an Empire'

Headline Review

Prophecy: Clash of Kings

M. K. Hume

The first in an epic historical trilogy charting the heroic life of Merlin.In the town of Segontium, a fugitive is washed ashore.  He brutally rapes the granddaughter of the king of the Deceangli tribe, leaving her to bear his son, Myrddion Merlinus.  Spurned as a demon seed, the boy is raised by his grandmother and he is apprenticed to a skilled healer who hones his remarkable gift.  Meanwhile, the High King of the Celts, Vortigern, is rebuilding the ancient fortress at Dinas Emrys.  According to a prophecy, he must use the blood of a demon seed to make the towers stand firm.  Myrddion's life is in jeopardy.  But the boy has a prophecy of his own and a richer destiny to fulfil.  Soon Vortigern shall be known as the harbinger of chaos, and Myrddion must use his gifts for good in a kingdom besieged by evil.  So begins the healer's journey to greatness...

Headline Review

Prophecy: Web of Deceit

M. K. Hume
Headline Review

The Last Dragon: Twilight of the Celts Book 1

M. K. Hume

Headline Review

King Arthur: Warrior of the West

M. K. Hume

The second book in an exciting, brand-new Arthurian trilogyTwelve long, blood-soaked years, have passed since Artor fulfilled his destiny and was crowned the High King of the Britons. Against all odds, Artor has united Celtic Britain and with a last great campaign, has banished the Saxon scourge. The legend of Camlann has begun. But even as Artor's kingdom is at its zenith, even as he has succeeded in conquering all external threats to his rule, his kingdom is being undermined from within. Not only is Artor betrayed by the one person he should be able to trust, he has also learned of appalling perversion at the heart of his kingdom. He must make a terrible choice. Does he commit a deed that leaves him open to comparison with the despotic Uther Pendragon, or does he let evil go unchecked? The burden of leadership, of power, now rests solely - and heavily - on Artor's shoulders for Myrddion Merlinus, master tactician, guiding light for so many years, has left Artor to his fate. Could all that Artor has fought for, the destiny of Britain, be lost? Will Britain be torn apart?

M. K. Hume

M. K. Hume is a retired academic, who is married with two grown-up sons and lives in Queensland, Australia. Having completed an MA and Phd in Arthurian Literature many years ago, M. K. Hume has fulfilled a lifelong dream to walk in the footprints of the past by retelling the epic tale of Arthur in a magnificent trilogy. M. K. Hume's Prophecy trilogy about the life of Merlin begins with Clash of Kings and is available from Headline as a paperback and an ebook.

Headline Review

King Arthur: Dragon's Child

M. K. Hume
Headline Review

King Arthur: The Bloody Cup

M. K. Hume

The third book in an exciting, brand-new Arthurian trilogyFor many years, the people of Briton have enjoyed peace and prosperity under the reign of King Artor and the Union of Kings. Having spurned the despotism of his predecessor, Uther Pendragon, Arthur has ruled with a strong sense of duty, goodness and honour. Artor is now weakening with age, however, and the seeds of discontent are being sown. Seeking to cleanse the land of Christian belief, dissenters need a symbol with which to legitimise their pagan claim and gather malcontents together into a cohesive weapon. These shadowy, subversive elements seize upon the ancient cup of Bishop Lucius of Glastonbury as a way of fragmenting Artor's hard-fought-for kingdom. But first, they must lay their hands on the relic and, in doing so, unleash a force for evil from which murder and violent mayhem ensue. But it emerges that the ultimate threat to Artor's rule lies far closer to home; Artor is betrayed by kin. Celt will slay Celt and the river will run with blood.

Headline

The Eagle's Prey

Simon Scarrow
Headline

Arena

Simon Scarrow

Ancient Rome provides the setting for the gripping story of the champion gladiator Pavo, trained to kill, and a pawn in the games of the powerful and ambitious.Pavo's journey begins when he encounters the Roman soldier Macro, who has been charged with his training. Bonds of friendship develop between the two men, both aware that their fates depend not only on Pavo's skills in the arena but also on the whims of powerful and ruthless senators. Can Pavo survive to fulfil his most cherished goal - revenge for the murder of his father at the hands of a champion gladiator?

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The Song of the Gladiator

Paul Doherty

313 AD, and tempers are rising in Rome. The Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena are trying to make sense of the new Christian religion which is spreading through the Empire - but the Christians can't agree among themselves. Scholars are locked in a bitter struggle over whether Christ really was the son of God, and Constantine invites delegates from both sides to debate before him at his villa.Now strange things start to happen. Envoys from both sides are found murdered in a most macabre way. The villa is secretly attacked, and the Holy Sword is stolen. Helena calls on the help of her secret agent Claudia - that shrewd, unobtrusive detective - to untangle the dangerous web of intrigue. As she sets to work, the spy is also facing a crisis in her own life...

Headline Review

Empress of Rome

Kate Quinn

'Fans of Philippa Gregory will be entranced. Kate Quinn's unforgettable third novel is a mesmerising story of passion, ambition and betrayal.' ElleUnder its beloved Emperor Trajan, the Roman Eagle spreads its wings, advancing ever further into the untamed world. But neither Trajan nor his reign can last for ever. Gladiator turned soldier Vix is back in Rome to make his fortune. Sabina, the wayward daughter of a senator, craves adventure. United by their devotion to the Emperor, Vix and Sabina are unaware that the wolves are gathering. Trajan's enigmatic Empress has her own plans for Sabina. And the aristocratic Hadrian, the Empress's protégé, conceals dark ambitions rooted in a secret prophecy. When Trajan falls, the hardened warrior, the adventurous girl, the shadowy empress and the scheming politician are caught in a deadly whirlwind that threatens to seal all their fates - and that of the Roman Empire itself...

Headline

Guardians of the Key

Clio Gray

Lucca, City State for hundreds of years, keeper of secrets and relics, possessor of the Holy Face of Christ, has Napoleon's army at its gates, the emperor having declared himself King of All Italy. A continent away in Bexleyheath, Mabel Flinchurst gazes down from her window upon the Advent Fair. With all the hustle and bustle she doesn't see the pilgrim walk into the church of St Anthony's across the square, and slit his own throat. But Lucca and this suicide are strands from the same rope, a rope that is being wound unseen about Mabel, ready to rip her from her cosy world.  When Mabel's friend, Toby, is kidnapped she enlists the help of compulsive list-maker and missing-persons finder, Whilbert Stroop. Together they are drawn into a mystery that began many centuries ago, and soon they find themselves losing a race against time and treachery, as an unknown enemy, and murder, begin to snap at their heels...

Headline Review

Mistress of Rome

Kate Quinn
Headline Review

Basil Hume: The Monk Cardinal

Anthony Howard

Following Cardinal Basil Hume's death on 17 June 1999, The Times concluded his obituary with a remarkable accolade: 'Few churchman in this century, inside or outside the Catholic Church, have died more deeply loved.'Basil Hume served as Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster for twenty-three years and his holiness and wisdom made him an extraordinary leader. In this enthralling biography, Anthony Howard, who has had unique access to Cardinal Hume's private papers and the people who knew him best, traces his life, from his Newcastle upbringing through to his schooling at Ampleforth and his reign at Westminster, including his long and ultimately successful fight on behalf of the Maguire Seven and the Guildford Four.

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Envoy of the Black Pine

Clio Gray

An enthralling mystery of dangerous secrets, desperate men and macabre murderApril 1808: A storm sweeps across the islands of the Baltic Sea, destroying the village of Lower Slaughter as it goes. Into this ruined land comes missing-persons finder Whilbert Stroop, on the trail of a lost miniature library and its protector. Almost crossing his path is Griselda Liit, a refugee from Lower Slaughter, carrying her father's secrets back to the island of her birth. Behind Griselda, in the shadows, a strange figure follows for a very different reason. Stroop's investigation will lead him from the flooded valley to sinister printworks, and to the strange island archipelago of Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea. Once there, he must unravel the increasingly tangled strands of past and present that surround the islands, and delve into a mysterious world of ancient Brotherhoods, insurrection, piracy, and death.

Headline Review

Footprints in the Sand

Sarah Challis

When Emily Kingsley arrives at the church for her eccentric Great Aunt Mary's funeral, she is still grieving for her broken relationship with the vain, mean and unfaithful Ted, and has little sorrow to spare. At the wake afterwards, she is dismayed to learn the content's of Mary's will. Emily and her cousin Clemmie must go to Mali, where they are to travel by camel into the Sahara Desert to scatter her ashes. Clemmie, fanciful and rootless, is thrilled at the chance of adventure. Emily is not. With immense reluctance, she agrees to travel to Mali, and find Timadjlalen, a place in the desert that no one has ever heard of. Why Mary chose it as her final resting place she cannot imagine, and the thought of a hot, pointless trip is almost too much to bear. But once Emily and Clemmie set foot on the Saharan sand, and begin to uncover Mary's sixty-year-old secret, they come to understand why they must complete her journey...

Janet Gover

Janet Gover was born in Melbourne, Australia. After studying Journalism and Politics at Queensland University, she went on to forge a path in television journalism, which has taken her around the world, living and working in Australia, Hong Kong, and the UK. In 2007 she won the RNA's Elizabeth Goudge Trophy.

Poppy Gee

Poppy Gee was born in Launceston, Tasmania, in 1977. She spends every summer with her family at their shack in the Bay of Fires. This novel was written as part of a Masters in Creative Writing, at the University of Queensland, which Poppy completed in 2011. This is Poppy's first published fiction. She has worked as a journalist, editor and book reviewer and currently teaches journalism and creative writing. Poppy lives in Queensland, Australia, with her husband and two beautiful children. She has nearly completed her next novel, another literary thriller set in the Tasmanian ski village Ben Lomond.

Headline Review

Bay of Fires

Poppy Gee

Deep in a national park on the east coast of Tasmania, the Bay of Fires is an idyllic holiday community. There are no more than a dozen shacks beside the lagoon - and secrets are hard to keep; the intimacy of other people's lives is their nourishment. The fact that Sarah Avery has returned, having left her boyfriend and her job, is cause for gossip in itself. Then, the bikini-clad body of a young girl is found washed up on the beach; a year after another teenage girl went missing. Journalist Hall Flynn is sent to the coast to investigate, and all too quickly the close-knit community turns in on itself. As he uncovers long-buried secrets, the delicate balance of their fragile lives is threatened. . .

Joy Chambers

Joy Chambers is a company chairman, business woman, and actor who has been writing for over twenty years. A lover of history and never idle she sets her books in the past and enjoys the extensive research.Born in Ipswich Queensland Australia, Joy is married to media mogul, Reg Grundy and they share their home with their Shetland sheepdogs.