''The Emperor's Games'' is the third and last book in a historical fiction trilogy about the 1st-century Roman Empire. Set primarily in Rome and Lower Germany circa AD 81-83, it follows the adventures of a pair of Roman brothers – one free-born and one slave-born – as they serve in the Roman legions.

Plot summary

Correus Appius Julianus is the slave born son of retired Roman general Flavius Appius Julianus who is currently posted as a senior centurion to the Roman naval base of

Misenum Miseno is one of the ''frazioni'' of the municipality of Bacoli in the Italian Province of Naples. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port. Geography Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northwestern end of the Ba ...

in modern-day Naples near Pompeii. The novel opens with Correus frustrated at serving in a peacetime establishment and requesting transfer to a more active post. After overseeing the new emperor

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

's games, including a naval fight, Correus' wish is granted as he is sent off to destroy some pirates while his young wife Ygerna has to remain behind to give birth to her baby. She also has to try to assert her authority as a stepmother over Correus' five-year-old son, which provokes a family war with Correus' half-sister Julia, who has raised the boy for the past five years. Upon returning from his successful mission to destroy the pirates, Correus is caught up in the new emperor

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

's determination to win a triumph at the expense of Correus' old adversaries on the German border. This is complicated by Correus' own off-again, on-again friendship with the German chief and his half-brother Flavius' romance with the widow of that same former chieftain. There is also a complicated subplot involving a truly nasty Senator who is attempting to orchestrate a plot to depose the emperor – a plot that the Julianus family ends up being intimately involved in through the actions of their brother-in-law Paulinus. The fast-paced conclusion ends with the defeat of the Germans, and the transfer of Correus to a new post in the Roman province of

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

Analysis

The novels are marked by their author's obvious love of the topic and the clearly intensive research she did to write them – the depictions of 1st-century Roman life have the ring of authenticity. The trilogy is also remarkable in that both sides are portrayed sympathetically, though the Romans – Correus in particular – are clearly the heroes of the story. However, there is enough ambiguity on both sides that the reader can't help being drawn into the lives of the characters.

Trivia

''The Centurions'' trilogy was written by

Amanda Cockrell Amanda Cockrell (born 1948) is a professor of English at Hollins University, specializing in children's literature and creative writing. She is the author of a number of historical novels for adults, some written under her own name and some und ...

writing under the pseudonym Damion Hunter. The other two books in the series are the eponymous '' The Centurions'' which begin the tale of the two brothers and their extended family and '' Barbarian Princess''. It is unknown why the series never continued past the third book as it was clearly intended to be a much lengthier tale, though the most probable reasons are a lack of consumer interest or a change of direction from either the publisher or the author. {{DEFAULTSORT:Emperor's Games, The The Centurions Trilogy 1984 American novels Novels set in ancient Rome Novels set in the 1st century Historical novels Ballantine Books books