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Series

Imperial Assassin

The Imperial Assassin series follows the soldier Silus and the Arcani, a clandestine intelligence service operating under the Severan emperors. Beginning with Septimius Severus’s campaigns in Caledonia, the novels carry Silus through the rivalry of Caracalla and Geta, political purges, frontier wars, Alexandria, North Africa and the final Parthian expedition.

Espionage, military action and court intrigue are tied to a continuing moral problem: whether loyalty to Rome can be separated from obedience to a dangerous emperor. Historical figures including Septimius Severus, Julia Domna, Caracalla, Geta and Macrinus anchor the fictional missions within the collapse of the Severan family.

Reading order

Books in this series (7 books)

Emperor’s Sword cover

#1 – Emperor’s Sword

Alex Gough

Caledonia, AD 208. Silus serves as a Roman scout during Septimius Severus’s northern campaign, where forests, marshes and mobile enemies make conventional formations unreliable. A reconnaissance mission ends in disaster and draws him to the attention of Marcus Oclatinius Adventus, who recruits him into the Arcani…

Emperor’s Knife cover

#2 – Emperor’s Knife

Alex Gough

Britain and Rome, AD 211. Septimius Severus is dying at Eboracum, leaving Caracalla and Geta to inherit an empire neither is willing to share. Silus, now a centurion and Arcani operative, is drawn from the northern campaign into the guarded households and competing commands surrounding the…

Emperor’s Axe cover

#3 – Emperor’s Axe

Alex Gough

Rome and Alexandria, AD 212–215. Caracalla’s victory over Geta has become a campaign to destroy everyone suspected of sympathy with the murdered emperor. When a child connected to Silus is taken, the Arcani operative follows the trail from a fearful capital to Egypt. Alexandria is already…

Who All Die cover

#4 – Who All Die

Alex Gough

The eastern Roman Empire, c. AD 165. A legionary force returning from the Parthian war is struck by a lethal epidemic that spreads through camps and communities along the imperial roads. The young Marcus Oclatinius Adventus is left responsible for men weakened by disease while hostile…

Emperor’s Spear cover

#5 – Emperor’s Spear

Alex Gough

The German frontier, AD 213. Caracalla seeks military prestige in a campaign beyond the Rhine and Danube, relying on soldiers whose loyalty is essential to his rule. Silus is sent to find Atius, a missing Arcani officer, and discovers signs that the disappearance is connected to…

Emperor’s Lion cover

#6 – Emperor’s Lion

Alex Gough

Numidia during Caracalla’s reign. Reports of a threat connected to the officer Marcellus bring Silus to the Roman North African frontier, where forts, desert routes and relations with the Garamantes create a different form of imperial warfare. He enters a unit known as the Lions while…

Emperor’s Fate cover

#7 – Emperor’s Fate

Alex Gough

Mesopotamia, AD 216–217. Caracalla invades Parthian territory while presenting himself as a new Alexander, and Silus serves close enough to the emperor to see the fear and calculation behind the performance. The campaign places the Roman army far from secure bases and exposes every faction within…