From the Ashes
The Colosseum, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Melanie Presson
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By:
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Melissa Addey
About this listen
Rome, AD 80. A gigantic new amphitheater is being built...
The emperor has plans for gladiatorial games on a scale no one has ever seen before. But the games don’t just happen. They must be made. And Marcus, the man in charge of creating them, has just lost everything he held dear when Pompeii disappeared under the searing wrath of Vesuvius. Now it will fall to Althea, the slave woman who serves as his scribe, to ensure the Colosseum is inaugurated on time - and that Marcus makes his way out of the darkness that calls to him. First in a new series.
If you loved Pompeii by Robert Harris and enjoy books by Kate Quinn, Lindsey Davis, and Colleen McCullough, then the Colosseum series is for you. Following the backstage team of the Colosseum through the risks and rewards of fire, water, earth, and air, this is historical fiction at its most captivating, both action-packed and tender.
About Author Melissa Addey
You can read about me and my books (and get a free novella) on my website, MelissaAddey.com.
I mainly write historical fiction, focusing on the Forbidden City in China’s 18th century, Morocco in the 11th century, and now Ancient Rome in the first century.
I have a PhD in creative writing and was the 2016 Leverhulme Trust Writer in Residence at the British Library. In 2019, I won the Novel London award as well as the Page to Podcast competition. I live in London with my husband and two children.
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What did you do with John Lee?
- By SAM on 04-03-19
By: Wilbur Smith
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Archangel
- Samaria, Book 1
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Tamara Marston
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A tale of the distant future by the author of The Shape-Changer's Wife brings listeners to a world in which the fate of all life rests on the voice of an angel.
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An All-TIme Favorite
- By Carol on 02-27-11
By: Sharon Shinn
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Rosemarked
- By: Livia Blackburne
- Narrated by: Angela Lin, Vikas Adam
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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When Zivah falls prey to the deadly rose plague, she knows it's only a matter of time before she fully succumbs. Now she's destined to live her last days in isolation, cut off from her people and unable to practice her art - until a threat to her village creates a need that only she can fill. Broken by torture at the hands of the Amparan Empire, Dineas thirsts for revenge against his captors. Now escaped and reunited with his tribe, he'll do anything to free them from Amparan rule - even if it means undertaking a plan that risks not only his life but his very self.
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My first book review ever (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
- By Ileana on 11-21-17
By: Livia Blackburne
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Green
- By: Jay Lake
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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She was born in poverty, in a dusty village under the equatorial sun. She does not remember her mother, she does not remember her own nameher earliest clear memory is of the day her father sold her to the tall pale man. In the Court of the Pomegranate Tree, where she was taught the ways of a courtesanand the skills of an assassinshe was named Emerald, the precious jewel of the Undying Dukes collection of beauties. She calls herself Green.
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Gods, Cat People, Female Assassins, Whips--
- By Jefferson on 02-11-11
By: Jay Lake
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Crispin: The End of Time
- By: Avi
- Narrated by: Ron Keith
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Newbery Medal-winning author Avi completes the Crispin saga with this third installment of the riveting trilogy. In 14th-century England, Crispin has embarked on one adventure after another since discovering that he, once known only as “Asta’s son,” has a much grander future than he ever could have imagined. Encountering such trustworthy souls as Bear during the course of his travels, Crispin teeters on the brink of fulfilling his destiny in this stunning tale of the Middle Ages.
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DO NOT READ THISSSSS
- By C. Smith on 02-25-20
By: Avi
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Luck in the Shadows
- Nightrunner, Book 1
- By: Lynn Flewelling
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things, none of them predictable. And when he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice, things may never be the same for either of them. Soon Alec is traveling roads he never knew existed, toward a war he never suspected was brewing. Before long he and Seregil are embroiled in a sinister plot that runs deeper than either can imagine and that may cost them far more than their lives if they fail. But fortune is as unpredictable as Alec's new mentor.
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Fantastic Series! Homophobes, shut up!
- By Ted on 09-23-11
By: Lynn Flewelling
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Cleopatra's Daughter
- A Novel
- By: Michelle Moran
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony's vengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two---the 10-year-old twins Selene and Alexander---survive the journey.
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A pretty engaging story
- By Annette on 12-23-09
By: Michelle Moran
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Sword and Verse
- By: Kathy MacMillan
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Raisa was just a child when she was sold into slavery in the kingdom of Qilara. Before she was taken away, her father had been adamant that she learn to read and write. But where she now lives, literacy is a capital offense for all but the nobility. The written language is closely protected, and only the king, prince, tutor, and tutor-in-training are allowed to learn its very highest form.
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Hormonal Teenagers in the middle of a Slave Revolt
- By Natalie C on 01-21-16
By: Kathy MacMillan
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Shadowmarch
- Shadowmarch, Volume I
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 29 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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For generations the misty Shadowline has marked the boundary between the lands of men and the lost northern lands that are the lair of their inhuman enemies, the ageless Qar. But now that boundary line is moving outward, threatening to engulf the northernmost land in which humans still live - the kingdom of Southmarch.
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It's the characters that matter...
- By JC on 11-09-10
By: Tad Williams
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Jester Leaps In
- A Medieval Mystery
- By: Alan Gordon
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In 13th century Europe, political turmoil is the order of the day and the Fool's Guild and its agents - jesters, jugglers, and knaves to a man - works behind the scenes to manipulate events, trying to maintain a balance of power. Theophilos, a member of the Guild known by many names, is still recovering from his last mission during which he was severely wounded and nearly lost his life but, in the person of Viola, found himself an apprentice and a wife. But there is no rest for the wicked.
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further entertainment
- By wylie smith on 09-16-24
By: Alan Gordon
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Hand of Isis
- By: Jo Graham
- Narrated by: Gigi Shane
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.
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Reader does not know how to pronounce words
- By Gail N. on 07-31-19
By: Jo Graham
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Shaman's Crossing, Book One of the Soldier Son Trilogy
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Robin Hobb crafts intricate fantasy tales featuring larger-than-life characters and exotic landscapes. Nevare Burvelle survives the King’s Cavalla Academy—where nepotism and corruption reign—to become a soldier in the Gernian king’s army. As he and his fellow soldiers are thrust onto the front lines of the king’s brutal territorial expansion campaign, they struggle against the Plainspeople—forest-dwellers who possess a powerful magic long dismissed by the Gernians.
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Sometimes Magic Isn't A Good Thing
- By Therese M. Woolley on 10-18-13
By: Robin Hobb
What listeners say about From the Ashes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Falmouth
- 05-29-22
Epic story starting with the destruction of Pompei
Althea is a scribe in Pompei. She is also a slave. This story covers over a year, from Althea being transferred to a wealthy, talented man with a wife and young son. The story takes us through the tragedy of the explosion of Mount Vesuvius to Rome, a plague, and a great fire. All the while, planning the building and opening of the biggest and most impressive colosseum in all of the Roman Empire.
The entire story is told through the eyes of Althea, a talented and smart woman, who is dedicated to her master and to the people she lives and works with. The story provides us with insight into the every day lives of the people in ancient Rome; what they ate, how they dressed, their customs, and their gods. It also covers their fears and their work.
This is a well written story that kept me interested from start to end. I think it can be read and enjoyed from young adult through mature audiences.
I listened to the audio version of the book. The narrator did an excellent job.
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- Elyse Becker
- 02-13-23
From Pompeii to Rome
There was some modern phrasing I didn't care for, but overall this was a convincing recreation of ancient Rome. It was well-written with wonderful, memorable characters, especially our heroine. Having just read a couple of novels that take place IN Pompeii during the eruption of Vesuvius, I found it interesting to read about the disaster from the point-of-view of people impacted but not present: the loss of loved ones and the aftermath. While her emotion was great, unfortunately the narrator used a high-pitched voice for the heroine that sometimes annoyed me.
I'm sad that Book Two in the series isn't yet in audio.
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- Sherry
- 02-15-22
Narrator is juvenile
I enjoyed this story and the historical time frame- but the narrator sounds like she’s 11 years old and it took away from the story
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2 people found this helpful