Saturday Special!
Today, I'm delighted to welcome back my author friend, Tim Walker, who has come to share news of the latest release in his A Light in the Dark Ages Series. Where I have chosen to focus on the earliest part of the Ancient Roman invasions of northern Britannia, Tim has been setting his sights, and imagination, on later centuries of Roman occupation, and beyond into the virtually unrecorded haze after the Romans retreated from Britannia.
Neither of our chosen eras are easy to research, so I truly appreciate the effort it takes to create a credible world for the protagonists in the novel, and for the reader to believe in them when work is set in those formerly named 'Dark Ages' A.D.
I've very much enjoyed Tim's previous adventures in Ancient Britain and have this next book on my kindle where he gives us a new perspective on the intriguing figure of the fabled King Arthur. I'm looking forward to reading Arthur Dux Bellorum very soon!
(I have to find more pleasure reading time since my kindle pile is still too large!)
Along with details about Arthur Dux Bellorum, Tim's sent along an excerpt today to give us an idea of what to expect and to whet my/our appetite... so make sure to read all the way down...
Enjoy!
BTW- Tim mentions an author unknown to me - Mathew Harffy- so I'll just have to go onto Amazon and fill up my kindle even more.
From the ruins of post-Roman Britain, a warrior arises to unite a
troubled land
Britain in the late Fifth Century is a troubled
place – riven with tribal infighting and beset by invaders in search of plunder
and settlement. King Uther is dead, and his daughter, Morgana, seizes the crown
for her infant son, Mordred. Merlyn’s attempt to present Arthur as the true son
and heir of Uther is scorned, and the bewildered teenager finds himself in
prison. Here our story begins…
Arthur finds friends in unexpected quarters and
together they flee. Travelling through a fractured landscape of tribal conflict
and suspicion, they attempt to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, whilst
keeping a wary eye on Saxon invaders menacing the shoreline. Arthur’s
reputation as a fearsome warrior grows as he learns the harsh lessons needed to
survive and acquire the skills of a dux
bellorum, a lord of war.
Tim Walker’s Arthur Dux Bellorum is a fresh look at the
Arthurian legend, combining myth, history and gripping battle scenes. Although
in a series, it can be read as a standalone novel.
Fans of Bernard
Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and Mathew Harffy will enjoy Walker’s A
Light in the Dark Ages series and its newest addition – Arthur
Dux Bellorum.
You can buy the book using this link HERE
Tim Walker is an independent author based in Windsor, UK. His
background is in marketing, journalism, editing and publications management. He
began writing an historical series, A
Light in the Dark Ages (set in Fifth Century Britain), in 2015, starting
with Abandoned, set at the time the
Romans left Britain. This was extensively revised and re-launched as a second
edition in 2018.
Book two, Ambrosius: Last of the
Romans, was published in 2017 and the third installment, Uther’s Destiny, was published in March
2018 (winner of One Stop Fiction book of the month award, April 2018). The
adventure continues from March 2019 in the fourth book, Arthur, Dux Bellorum.
His creative writing journey began in July 2015 with the publication
of a book of short stories, Thames Valley
Tales. In September 2017 he published a second collection of short stories
– Postcards from London. These
stories combine his love of history with his experiences of living in London
and various Thames Valley towns.
In 2016 he published his first novel, a dystopian political thriller, Devil Gate Dawn, following exposure
through the Amazon Scout programme. In 2017 he published his first children’s
book, The Adventures of Charly Holmes,
co-written with his 12-year-old daughter, Cathy, followed In 2018 by a second
adventure, Charly & The Superheroes.
From: Arthur
Dux Bellorum
Arthur
and his father-in-law, Chief Meirchion Gul of the Rheged, are leading an army
north of Hadrian’s Wall to secure an alliance by evicting Hibernian settlers
(the Scotti) from Galway…
BY
MID-AFTERNOON on the second day, the army of Meirchion and Arthur had reached
the settlement of the Scotti on the rocky, windswept coast called Galwydell.
Meirchion sent Gawain and his cavalry to by-pass the coastal village and
surround them. Arthur waited with his father-in-law on a sandy dune looking
down on the feeble picket fence that enclosed a settlement of no more than
fifty dwellings in a crude semi-circle, their ships lying on the beach behind.
These were single-mast ships that could take eight oars on each side and carry
about fifty men. The Scotti, a fierce tribe from the island of Hibernia
in the western sea, knew of their presence and had their men lining the inside
of the fence, armed and ready. Meirchion kept looking out to sea away to his
left, until he saw what he searched for – the sails of a fleet of at least half
a dozen ships.
“Ah,
there they are. Those are our cousins, the seafaring Setanti. I ordered them to
come and cover our sea flank. We have yet to establish the numbers of Scotti
settlers on this coast, so their presence can help us count and corral them.”
“What
do you intend to do with them?” Arthur asked.
Meirchion
laughed and jabbed his heels into his horse’s flanks, pointing ahead of him
with his short spear to where Gawain’s banner could be seen fluttering on a
dune on the far side of the settlement. Horn blasts signalled the advance, and
his foot soldiers marched through the sand and tufts of wild grass to take up a
position within a hundred yards of the fence. Gawain did the same from the far
side – a shallow stream separating the two forces.
Meirchion
gathered his commanders to him. “These warriors, Arthur, are from the Novantae
clan on whose land we are standing,” he said, pointing to a group of stocky
warriors with weathered faces, their dark eyes under thick eyebrows burning
with passion. “They are keen to evict the Scotti and take back their lands, and
we are here to aid them.”
He
pointed to the guarded settlement where ragged black banners fluttered in the
strong sea breeze, and continued. “But first we must talk to their leaders. I
will invite them to leave, provided they swear allegiance to me and give me
warriors for our campaign further north.” He instructed three deputies,
including one who spoke the Scotti tongue, to ride to the gates and request a
meeting with their leaders. By now, the Setanti ships had blockaded the
harbour, cutting off any chance of escape.
They
had not long to wait before the rickety gates of the stockade opened and three
men walked out. Meirchion nodded to Arthur and they took a central position,
out of arrow range of the platform above the gate, and waited for them. The
Scotti leaders had plenty of opportunity to see the thousand or more men lining
the dunes around them as they walked out. Their leader spoke through a bushy
grey beard in the language of the Gaels, his arm bands jangling as he
gesticulated. Meirchion waited patiently for the translation.
“Tell
him that I am Meirchion Gul of the Rheged and this is Arthur of the Brigantes.
Together we speak for the entire north of this land, below and above the wall.
They have seized this place from our friends, the Novantae, who now want it
returned to them. They also want your heads on spikes to adorn their hall.”
Meirchion paused for the translator to catch up. The startled looks on the
faces of their opponents showed that they understood the full nature of the
threat.
A
garbled reply was translated as, “We have lost our home lands to raiders and
have been forced to travel here, across the narrow sea. We are at your mercy,
mighty lord, and ask only for land to settle.”
“Who
is your leader?” Meirchion demanded.
“They
are led by their king, Fergus Mor, who is in a settlement to the west,” the
translator replied.
“Another
king. That’s all we need. Don’t translate that,” Meirchion muttered.
~~~~~~
Thank
you for sharing with us today, Tim, and very best wishes for a great launch
of Arthur Dux Bellorum.
Slainthe!
