Phobetor's Children
A downloadable book
It is the AD70s. The tumult of The Year of the Four Emperors is over.
Under Vespasian, Rome finally has stability and peace, an emperor with the respect of all classes. Yet beyond the borders of the empire, something dark and unknown stirs.
A fort deep in a Germanian forest failed to report to the border town of Mogontiacum. A contact from a friendly tribe reported catastrophic damage to buildings and Roman war machines. The legionaries are gone; what few Romans remain are mutilated dead.
Unsure of the size and nature of the threat, the new emperor realises he must act fast and decisively. Rome cannot spare a legion but it can spare six of the empire's most famous retired gladiators. With the promise of riches and prestige, it is down to those six: five men and one woman, to cross the border, travel to the forest, and find out what happened.
But the gladiators will find that the greatest horrors are what each of them already carries within their hearts and their minds.
Trigger warnings:
- Sexual assault
- Psychosis
- Suicide
- Psychological abuse.
Also note there is a (free) file of outtakes available here on Itch. Click here to get it.
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Comments
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I didn't expect to get through this book so quickly, but once I started it was pretty hard to stop and I ended up finishing it in about a day. Beginning with a group of gladiators being sent on an unusual mission, the atmosphere of mystery grabs your attention straight away and doesn't let go until the very last page.
This a dark story, but also very gripping and cleverly written. The blend of historical horror tinged with scifi works really well. The suspense is great and the characters are all engaging; I loved how each one had unexpected sides to their personalities and secrets behind their motives.
There were certain scenes I had to skim past but overall this was such a good read with perfect endings. An inventive and chilling book; probably one of my favourites from MG Mason