Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was a Thanksgiving themed list that required participants to list the reasons why they are thankful for books. While this is an interesting topic, I decided against contributing to it, instead I’m skipping ahead to next week’s topic to free up December for my usual end-of-year lists. As such, my topic for this week involves listing my favourite books set in a specific setting of my choosing, whether that be a country, state, outer space or something else. This open-ended list left me with quite a few opportunities for potential topics, but I decided to go back to my historical fiction roots and instead focus on books set in the Roman Empire.
I have mentioned before that when I started reviewing books I focussed completely on historical fiction, which was a favourite genre of mine. While I have expanded my horizons to other genres since then, historical fiction still has a very special place in my heart, and I always like to highlight it on this blog when I get a chance. As such, I thought I would give this latest list a historical fiction theme and look at books set in the most popular historical fiction setting, the ancient Roman Empire.
Due to the rich history, intriguing people, multiple wars, and iconic nature of ancient Rome, so many historical fiction novels and series are set during this period. While most of these books are military fiction, there are a ton other stories that can be told during this period, especially as there are so many detailed records about the various Roman Emperors and their reigns. I have a great deal of love for the Roman Empire in fiction and nearly every major historical fiction author has written a Roman series at some point in their career. As such, I can think of no better setting to focus this list on than the Roman Empire and its many different battles, plots and unique figures.
To feature on this list, a book needed to be set in some period of Roman history, whether it be the rise of city, the early wars, the height of Empire or its eventual decline. I decided to allow whole series to be featured as a single entry on this list as this honestly saves me having to choose my favourite novel from some particularly long series. While I had quite a few good options to feature here, I was eventually able to whittle my list down to ten books/series, with a few honourable mentions thrown in as well. Each of the below entries are very much worth checking out if you want some fiction set in the Roman Empire, so let us see what made the cut.
Honourable Mentions:
The Return by Harry Sidebottom
A dark and gritty standalone novel set shortly after the Roman conquest of Greece, which sees a traumatised former soldier return home only to find himself a suspect in a series of brutal murders.
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Hannibal/The Forgotten Legion series by Ben Kane
Ben Kane has written several great Roman series over the years, and while I have one on the main list, I had to also highlight two of his other series here, including his awesome depiction Hannibal’s battles with Rome in Hannibal and the gripping read about Roman soldiers trapped in the East with The Forgotten Legion.
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The Siege by Nick Brown
The fun first book in Brown’s Agent of Rome series that sees a young intelligence agent lead the defence of an isolated fort and its disparate soldiers. High recommended.
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Top Ten List:
Eagles of the Empire series by Simon Scarrow
This list has to start with one of my all-time favourite historical fiction series, the Eagles of the Empire books by Simon Scarrow. Probably the gold standard of Roman historical fiction, the Eagles of the Empire is a great long-running series that really drew me into the genre when I started reading it years ago. Currently made up of 21 novels (with the 22nd due to drop any day now), the Eagles of the Empire books follow two Roman officers who bounce from deadly warzone to warzone, trying to survive. Filled with elaborate battles, great characters, and a cool focus on some of Rome’s most memorable campaigns, the Eagles of the Empire books are so much fun and I cannot recommend them enough (check out my reviews for The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile, The Honour of Rome and Death to the Emperor).
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Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis
While most Roman series focus on wars and historical figures, one of the best is a fun murder mystery series with the Flavia Albia books by Lindsey Davis. A sequel to Davis’ original Falco novels (a series I still need to check out), the Flavia Albia books follow a skilled investigator as she tries to solve a series of elaborate crimes and murders while also balancing her hectic personal life. I have so much love for this series, especially as Davis always seems to get the perfect blend of humour, mystery, and dark intensity into her fantastic narratives. Some of my favourites in the series include Pandora’s Boy, The Grove of the Caesars (one of my favourite books of 2020), and Desperate Undertaking (one of my favourite books of 2022), and Davis is at her best when she creates particularly elaborate murders and large comedic set pieces. A must-read series for all fans of Roman historical fiction, especially those looking for something other than wars and politics.
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Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri
Many Roman historical fiction authors choose to centre their books around great figures of history, but few of biographic novels are as entertaining or bold as the Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri. Focussing on the life of future Roman Emperor Vespasian, Fabbri works to combines the official record of Vespasian’s life with additional adventures that place the character in the middle of the most significant events of the era. Thanks to Fabbri’s choice to bring every salacious and insane bit of history from the period to life, you get to see the outrageous emperors who preceded Vespasian in all the bloody glory as the protagonist tries to survive the tumultuous wars and politics leading to his ascension. Deeply entertaining, compelling, and highly shocking, the Vespasian series (check out my reviews for Rome’s Sacred Flame and Emperor of Rome), are well worth checking out.
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Eagles of Rome series by Ben Kane
As I mentioned above, there are several great Roman historical series written by Ben Kane, but my personal favourite is the Eagles of Rome series. Set around the infamous massacre of three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest, the first book, Eagles at War, perfectly covers the massacre, while the sequels, Hunting the Eagle and Eagles in the Storm shows the attempts by the Roman characters to get revenge years later. Eagles at War really sets the tone for this excellent and dark series and I loved this fantastic and brutal portrayal of such an infamous event.
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Warrior of Rome series by Harry Sidebottom
One of my absolute favourite Roman historical series is the amazing Warrior of Rome books by Harry Sidebottom. One of the first series I ever had the pleasure of reviewing, the Warrior of Rome novels follow the intriguing character of Ballista, a German hostage turned Roman nobleman who serves as a general and siege expert in the army. The first book, Fire in the East, saw Ballista take command of a doomed city in one of my favourite siege books, while the sequels show his attempts to save his friend the emperor from threats outside and within with some amazing reads. This series has remained very fresh and fun over the years, especially the last three novels which have featured an intriguing range of storylines, often laced with compelling thriller elements, such as the 24-inspired The Last Hour, the intense survival novel The Burning Road, and the behind-enemy-lines novel, Falling Sky. I have a lot of love for this outstanding series and Sidebottom continuously shows himself to be one of the very best authors of Roman historical fiction.
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Commodus by Simon Turney
A fascinating and addictive read that followed one of the most intriguing Roman Emperors, the infamous and beloved Commodus. Turney does a wonderful job of showcasing this complex figure in all his glory, strength and insanity, and you really get a feel for both his nobility and his struggles. One of the most moving and compelling Roman fiction novels I have had the pleasure of reading, this is an outstanding book.
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Empire series by Anthony Riches
Another Roman historical series I got into years ago is the Empire series by Anthony Riches, which is a classic and impressive collection of books that dive into the comradery of a dedicated regiment. Starting with Wounds of Honour, this series primarily follows a political fugitive fighting in the legions under an assumed name in several deadly conflicts. I deeply enjoyed the first several books in the series, and I recently got back into it when I read the fun novel River of Gold. An awesome and exciting series that proves very easy to read whenever I want a new historical adventure.
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The Throne of Caesar by Steven Saylor
Another excellent Roman detective series is the Roma Sub Rosa books by Steven Saylor which follow the long running character Gordianus the Finder. I have only had the pleasure of reading one of Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa books, The Throne of Caesar, but I really loved it. Set just before the Ides of March, The Throne of Caesar sees Gordianus investigate the conspiracy against Julius Caesar in a clever narrative that gets even more intense the closer the protagonist gets to the assassination. A brilliant read that I am really glad I got the chance to check out.
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The Sword of Attila by Michael Curtis Ford
Another great standalone Roman fiction book I had to highlight on this list was the invigorating and compelling read, The Sword of Attila by Michael Curtis Ford. The Sword of Attila is a gripping novel that focussed on two figures from history, Attila the Hun and the Roman general who beat him, Flavius Aetius. Set towards the end of the Roman Empire, The Sword of the Attila did an excellent job of examining the lives of both fascinating historical figures and the connections they shared. One of the better character-driven Roman historical fiction novels I have had the pleasure of reading, I deeply enjoyed learning about both these intriguing legends.
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Emperor series by Conn Iggulden
The final series I want to feature on this list is one of the best with the Emperor series by iconic historical fiction author Conn Iggulden. An awesome retelling of the entire life of Julius Caesar, Iggulden imagines all the triumphs and tragedies of this illustrious leader and portrays them in a captivating and intelligent way for the reader. A deeply impressive series that proves very hard to put down, the Emperor books are some of the best Roman historical fiction novels out there and are a must read for fans of the genre.
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Well that’s my latest list. As you can see, there are a range of awesome and compelling novels and series set in the Roman Empire that are very much worth checking out. I am such a huge fun of this setting and all the above books and series come highly recommended. Let me know in the comments below what your favourite books set in ancient Rome are, as well as some of your favourite settings.
The Unseen Library 