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Today we know very little about Spartacus the man – partly because contemporary Roman historians were keen not to eulogise his successes. This of course is grist to the novelist’s mill.
Ben Kane’s latest novel begins in the Thracian village to which Spartacus has returned, after serving as an auxiliary in the Roman army. He quickly falls foul of his overlord, the tribal king, who has set his heart on Dionysian priestess, Ariadne – later to become Spartacus’ wife.
Betrayed to the Romans by his jealous king, Spartacus – and with him Ariadne – are taken in captivity to the gladiator school at Capua. It is from here – against the unbelievable brutality of gladiatorial life – that Spartacus and Crixus the Gaul plan their escape to Vesuvius, where they recruit and train a huge slave army. An army which will keep the might of Rome at bay for two years and create one of the most extraordinary legends in history.
69 Comments
@ClassicFictionLover: you’re welcome. Any time you’d like more suggestions, please ask.
when is the next installment of spartacus due out
@ceaser68: August 16th!
Hi Ben we met at History in the Court on the 29th Sep, I wore the Kilt,
Just to say, I have read all that you have written and eagerly await the next installment of Spartacus, and then the next in the Hanibal series,
I may have helped to push Spartacus into no3 position as I had the book pre-ordered on Amazon, and then I also downloaded it to my kindle. (you owe me a book)
Keep up the good work.
Will you continue to write Roman novels? or would you try something different?
I have always found the Times of Clovis or Charlemane around the 8-9th century of great interest as it is almost pre-history, this would give you almost unlimited license to create a tail of your own imagination.
@plato: Hi there! Cheers for buying the book twice! Sadly, the ebook doesn’t count towards bestseller status – yet. This is because there are so many vendors (Amazon, Sony, iTunes etc) that compiling the data has not yet been centralised. It will be soon, I am told…
As for new novels, well, I will be pitching to my publishers for a new contract some time this year. I have lots of ideas up my sleeve, but if I told you them, I’d have to kill you.
For the forseeable future, it’s Roman, but I do have other time periods in mind as well. Not Wars of the Roses any more, however!
Hi Ben – nearly at the end of your first book – decided to go straight to Startacus on Audiobook – looking forward to starting that in the next few days – great writing and well done on the No.3 bestseller!
@Mightywhite: Thanks a lot for your good wishes. Very pleased that you like The Forgotten Legion too!
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed “Hannibal”. I am so glad there will be more to come in this series. This is the first of your books I have read and thoroughly enjoyed it. Spartacus next I think.
Keep up the good work
P
@peterthereader: apologies for not replying sooner. Glad that you liked Hannibal! Cheers. Ben
I’m 3/4a the way through Spartacus, haven’t read a page in over a week, I’ve got a few days off work and have been saving the book for then, I’m getting withdrawal symptoms. But really looking forward the the new books coming…. Keep up the GREAT work Ben.
Hi Ben – that first weekend in June at Chester promises to be a cracker! I’ve already had people getting in touch with me about it, and if they’re as excited as this about it already , I’d love to know how it would feel in 2 months’ time when we all gather there! I know that you and Ruth will be there again, and it’s good to see that this time Tony and Manda will be there as well. Something to really look forward to, have a good Easter and best regards, Mike.
@Mike: yes, it should be good! Happy Easter to you too.
Hi Ben
I have read all of Conn Igguldens books on the Mongols and Caeser they are great books.
However I purchased all three of your books on the forgotten legion and sadly read them solidly for three days until I’d finished them. Gripping to say the least and they really put you in ancient Rome. It’s made me want to visit Rome next year in pursuit of some real Roman history.
On another note your last book leaves Romulous looking east with a view to go and find Brennus can I assume I’ll be parting with some well spent cash on a future novel with Romulous and Co?
@mini4q2: Thanks very much!I hope you get to Rome soon. If you have a look elsewhere on the site, most likely under The Forgotten Legion, you’ll see that I have no plans to write another book about Romulus. Sorry!
Just letting you know Ben, I’m sorry to tell you I won’t be in Lincoln next week. My car’s being MOT’d, and although I’ll have got it back by then, I’ll be using it to play catch-up on things.
The good news though is that I’ll still see you at Chester when you join Tony and Manda. Kelmarsh I’m in two minds about, but what is certain is that even if I’m not re-enacting, I’ll still be seen drawing pictures at the festivals with a chance I can get some commissions, and as the summer develops, there’ll be some more pictures of the Roman army in action on my website. Last year people were only just getting to know me, but with me now having a profile stretching across no fewer than 60 countries thanks to Twitter and FB, I should get a few commissions. What I’ll enjoy most is talking to the visitors about my works.
I’m glad Tony’s big night went well, it won’t be long before I read TLS, but what’s stopping me at the moment is that (of all things!) I’m reading Spartacus! Anyway, I must carry on with my project now, best regards, Mike.
Hey Ben!
Just finished reading the forgotten legion trilogy and I must say… Wow!
You’ve left me on such a cliff hanger! Your wording and use of historical events was great! I especially loved the reason why you changed 27th to the 28th legion in Alexandria!
I am just about to download another book of yours on my kindle
I hope you can also rerun my email
Cheers, Lee Worrall.
@Mike: Lincoln’s off, Mike, so glad you can’t make it there! I’ll be in Cowbridge instead, with Tony. Glad to hear that your projects are bearing fruit.
@Personification/Lee: thanks for posting, and welcome to my site. Glad you’ve been enjoying the books.
Will reply to your email asap.
Thanks for your info Ben. Cowbridge! I thought I’d heard of it! It’s in South Wales and I’m no stranger to that area. I graduated just down the road in Swansea with a degree in Visual Arts in 1996, and the outer Severn Bridge was only just being built then. Back to 2012, and despite my wish to be with you and Tony in Cowbridge it looks doubtful, but I hope it goes well for you both.
Thanks also for your wishes – I now already have an art commission (a portrait in Roman armour) which I’ll be starting this week. I’m working on both posed pictures as well as action scenes such as the operation of a ballista, a gladiatorial fight, or perhaps an extract from the Battle of Teutoberg Forest. The works of Graham Sumner (whom I spoke to on the phone before last Christmas) and of Angus McBride have both inspired me with ideas for my project. I remember looking at Graham’s works on one of your old websites, and the works of Angus McBride are also well worth the look. If, Ben, you wish to find out more of this project, you’re more than welcome to do so. Best regards, Mike.