In Mesopotamia, AD 260, Ballista faces yet another enemy, the man the Syrians call the Lion of the Sun.
Betrayed by his most trusted advisor, Roman Emperor Valerian has been captured by the Sassanid barbarians. The shame of the vanquished beats down mercilessly like the desert sun as the frail old emperor prostrates himself before Shapur, king of kings. Ballista looks on helplessly but vows under his breath to avenge those who have brought the empire to the brink of destruction with their treachery. But first he must decide what price he will pay for his own freedom. Only the fearless and only those whom the gods will spare from hell can now save the empire from a catastrophic ending. Ballista, the warrior of Rome, faces his greatest challenge yet.
Harry Sidebottom received his doctorate in ancient history at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He has taught at various universities, including his alma mater, where he is now a fellow and director of studies in ancient history at St. Benet's Hall and lecturer in ancient history at Lincoln College.
Stefan Rudnicki is an award winning audiobook narrator, director and producer. He was born in Poland and now resides in Studio City, California. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks and has participated in over a thousand as a writer, producer, or director. He is a recipient of multiple Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as a Grammy Award, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Ray Bradbury Award. He received AudioFile’s award for 2008 Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Along with a cast of other narrators, Rudnicki has read a number of Orson Scott Card's best-selling science fiction novels. He worked extensively with many other science fiction authors, including David Weber and Ben Bova. In reviewing the twentieth anniversary edition audiobook of Card’s Ender's Game, Publishers Weekly stated, "Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take." Rudnicki is also a stage actor and director.