Plot Summary:
Prince Honorious led his legions into a massacre and joined the enemy, claiming that Emperor Aurelius, his great-grandfather, used their murdered family’s souls in a ritual to prolong his life. Is Honorious the vilest of traitors…or is he right?
Sulanth is a Roman Empire where the gods are real, and touch people’s lives in sometimes surprising ways. The Empire’s Soul Burner sorcerers form the backbone of imperial might. The Soul Burners bind the shades of the damned from the Underworld to fuel their power. The price is the constant presence of these lost souls in their minds.
Honorious’ treachery rocks the Empire, and the lives of countless others.
Tribune Flavia Tempestanus, Honorious’ lover and adjutant, escapes the massacre with only her wits and blade. She struggles across hostile territory to confront Honorious, her only company the questions about Honorious’ motives swirling through her head.
Vercandua, a disgraced former Soul Burner, disregards her orders and leads her imperial assassin squad in pursuit of Honorious, sensing her last chance at glory.
Lord Argivum, the Emperor’s Shadow, moves spies and facilitators to counter the nobility’s plotting while investigating Honorious’ betrayal.
Ulfilas’ mother saved an infant Honorious’ life, earning the family imperial favor. Honorious’ treachery has curdled that honor into shame, upending Ulfilas’ carefree barracks life, and leaving him desperate for a chance at redemption.
Honorious, wracked with guilt over the loss of his legions, and his belief that Flavia is dead, struggles to carve a place for himself in a foreign land while searching for a way to liberate Sulanth from the emperor’s madness.
With the nobility questioning his sanity, and civil war brewing, Emperor Aurelius raises an army to bring Honorious to justice. All forces converge to decide the fates of two empires, and a family.
Who’s that Clown in the Centurion Costume?
That’s me, Mike Schnaars. This is my first novel. I take perverse delight in creating realistic characters that one can identify with, and sticking them in unpleasant situations that require them to make morally gray decisions. Let’s hope they never learn that I’m the one forcing these problems upon them. All this grim business is leavened with enough humor to keep things lively. I like to see villains as characters with different goals who are doing what they must to achieve them.
I’ve been an avid reader of history my entire life, especially that of the Roman/Byzantine Empire. My biggest influences as an author are Steven Brust, Glen Cook, Steven Erikson, Robert Jordan, and Stephen King. Wow, I had no idea how many authors I liked were named Steven/Stephen until just now.
This will hopefully be the first of many books set in Sulanth’s world. I have another book on the verge of completion that will begin a series set several centuries after Shades of Imperial Blood, where the Empire is a different place. With every pre-order, we take one more step to making that a reality. Come on, it’s only $5. That seems pretty cheap for front row seats to an unforgettable adventure.