The beginning of an epic historical fantasy series that reveals the hidden celestial battle behind the course of history.

HISTORY BELONGS TO THE CONQUERORS — BUT THE FUTURE IS FORGED BY THE WEAPONS OF THE GODS

Julius Caesar is dead, assassinated on the senate floor, and the glory that is Rome has been torn in two...

Octavian, Caesar’s ambitious great-nephew and adopted son, vies with Marc Antony and Cleopatra for control of Caesar’s legacy. As civil war rages from Rome to Alexandria, and vast armies and navies battle for supremacy, a secret conflict threatens to shift the course of history.

Juba, Numidian prince and adopted brother of Octavian, has embarked on a ruthless quest for the Shards of Heaven, lost treasures said to possess the very power of the gods — or the one God. Driven by vengeance, Juba has already attained the fabled Trident of Poseidon, which may also be the staff once wielded by Moses. Now he will stop at nothing to obtain the other Shards, even if it means burning the entire world to the ground.

Caught up in these cataclysmic events, and the hunt for the Shards, are a pair of exiled Roman legionnaires, a Greek librarian of uncertain loyalties, assassins, spies, slaves. . . and the ten-year-old daughter of Cleopatra herself.

Book 1 in THE SHARDS TRILOGY
#1 The Ark and the Empire
#2 The Spear and the Storm
#3 The Ring and the Ruin

'Livingston impressively makes these less famous personages feel more interesting and vivid than the usual headliners.' * Publishers Weekly *
'This is a top-notch tale. An accomplished nonfiction author and historian, Livingston has a talent for storytelling that will keep readers immersed in the complex tale.' * Library Journal *
'A brilliant debut. Livingston has spiced real history with a compelling dose of fantasy!' -- Bernard Cornwell, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of THE PAGAN LORD

Michael Livingston is the author of the bestselling audiobook Black Crow, White Snow, the Seaborn Cycle series of novels it inspired, and The Shards historical fantasy trilogy. He has twice won the Distinguished Book Prize from the international Society for Military History and is the author of numerous popular histories, including Never Greater Slaughter and Agincourt.