World rights to The Forgotten Legion trilogy were sold to Rosie de Courcy at Preface/Random House. US rights sold to St. Martin’s Press (3 book deal); Italian rights to Edizioni Piemme (3 book deal); Russian rights to Exmo (3 book deal); Spanish rights to Ediciones B (all 3 sold individually); Greek rights to Anubis (3 book deal). Dramatic rights with Intellectual Property Group.
The paperback of The Forgotten Legion came out on the 16th of April 2009, and with the gods’ help, it’s also doing well – with nearly 50,000 copies sold so far. It did so well in Waterstone’s that they made it one of their ‘Books of the Year’ for 2009 and it stayed on the ‘3 for 2′ stands until Christmas.
Here are a few of the reviews The Forgotten Legion has had:
James Rollins, best-selling author of The Last Oracle:
“Bloody, fast-paced, thrilling…a masterful debut that should not be missed.”
Part of the review from Fantasy Book Review, where it was Book of the Month for April 2009: www.fantasybookreview.co.uk
“One of the biggest compliments I can give this book is that its 600+ pages felt like only 300. The Forgotten Legion is a book that has universal appeal; a fascinating, educational and action-packed tale of bravery, suffering and hope set at the height of the Roman Empire. Fantastic entertainment.”
Manda Scott, author of the Boudica novels and the bestselling novel The Crystal Skull:
“The world is full of authors trying to emulate Rosemary Sutcliffe’s
EAGLE OF THE NINTH. Few even come close to succeeding. With THE
FORGOTTEN LEGION, Ben Kane has come very close indeed. Where others
play in the rarified world of senators, legates and upper class
merchants, Kane delves into the grim underbelly of slavery,
prostitution and gladiatorial carnage; a place where life is cheap
and the thirst of the conquerors for the blood of the conquered knows
no bounds. Here, we smell the grim, lie on the cold floors, face
death daily with little to live for beyond the faint spark of hope
that one day there might be revenge. His weaving of
the many character strands is deftly done and the conclusion leaves
us waiting for the sequel.”
Buy it now in hardback
Meanwhile in Italy, Fabiola encounters the vicious slave-catcher Scaevola, a man who makes it his sole purpose to hunt her down. Caught up in the riots and unrest which threaten Rome’s very existence, Fabiola must flee to the only person who can offer her protection: her lover Brutus. But he is far away in Gaul with Caesar, desperately trying to quell the massive tribal uprising led by the charismatic chieftain Vercingetorix.
Published 4th June 2009, and selling really well. As of February 2010, The Silver Eagle has sold nearly 12,000 copies, which is a greater than 25% increase on The Forgotten Legion in its first year. Pre-publication orders went exceedingly well, at over 55,000 copies (more than twice the number of The Forgotten Legion). I can confirm that The Silver Eagle is in Waterstones, WH Smith’s, WH Smith Travel, and all the major supermarkets, as well as Amazon. In its second week, it reached no. 28 in the Bestellers top 50 list, and remained in the top 50 for a month.
Douglas Jackson, author of the acclaimed novels Caligula, and Claudius, had this to say: “The Forgotten Legion marches again…The Silver Eagle is an utterly engrossing combination of historical fact and believable fiction that draws the reader in and holds his interest to the last page.”
Order now or preorder the paperback here.
The last book in the trilogy, The Road to Rome, is back from the printers, but it won’t be coming out until the 19th of August, I’m afraid. However, I will put up the first chapter on the site in the next month or two…It’s had a revamped cover which is different in style to the previous two books. This is to give the book a more dramatic appeal to potential readers. I think the new cover looks amazing, and I hope you do too.
Having survived the perils of a journey across half the world, Romulus and Tarquinius are press-ganged into the legions, which are under imminent threat of annihilation by the Egyptians. Meanwhile in Rome, Romulus’ twin sister Fabiola lives in fear for her life, loved by Brutus, but wooed by Marcus Antonius, his deadly enemy. Soon after, Romulus fights at Zela, the vicious battle where Caesar famously said, ‘Veni, vidi, vici’. Tarquinius, separated from Romulus in the chaos of war, hides in Alexandria, searching for guidance. But mortal danger awaits them both. From the battlefields of Asia Minor and North Africa, to the lawless streets of Rome and the gladiator arena, they face death daily, until on the Ides of March, the twins are reunited and must decide either to back or to betray Caesar on his day of destiny.