
Para Bellum
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $23.46
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Robin Laing
-
By:
-
S.J.A. Turney
About this listen
A powerful new audiobook set in the fourth-century Roman Empire by critically acclaimed historical novelist Simon Turney, Para Bellum will delight fans of Scarrow, Kane and Cornwell.
AD 381. Five years have gone by since a Roman governor ordered the deaths of a Gothic king and his attendants at a feast in their honor. This disastrous act led to warfare in the Roman Empire and the death of the Emperor Valens.
The Empire is now at peace, but the powerful brother of the murdered king has sworn revenge on the regicides, and will not rest until they are hunted down. For the eight legionaries who carried out the killings, the bloodshed is only just beginning.
Flavius Focalis is one of those legionaries. After narrowly surviving an attempt on his life, Focalis seeks to warn his former comrades, for he knows their enemy is implacable. So begins a deadly game of cat-and-mouse across the Empire, with far more than eight lives at stake. For war is coming—and the only question is: do they die now, or die later?
©2023 S J A Turney (P)2023 W. F. Howes LtdListeners also enjoyed...
-
Agricola: Invader
- By: Simon Turney
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
58 AD, Rome. Agricola, teenage son of an impoverished yet distinguished noble family, has staked all his resources and reputation on a military career. His reward? A posting as tribune in the far-off northern province of Britannia. Serving under renowned general Suetonius Paulinus, Agricola soon learns the brutality of life on the very edges of the empire, for the Celtic tribes of Britannia are far from vanquished. To take control of the province, the Romans must defeat the ancient might of the druids.
-
-
voices
- By MCC NERO on 07-01-24
By: Simon Turney
-
Marius' Mules I: The Invasion of Gaul
- Marius' Mules, Book 1
- By: S. J. A. Turney
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 58 BC, and the mighty Tenth Legion, camped in Northern Italy, prepare for the arrival of the most notorious general in Roman history: Julius Caesar. Marcus Falerius Fronto, commander of the Tenth, is a career soldier and long-time companion of Caesar's. Despite his desire for the simplicity of the military life, he cannot help but be drawn into intrigue and politics as Caesar engineers a motive to invade the lands of Gaul.
-
-
The best Roman series I’ve listened to!
- By Just_Shoppin on 04-04-20
By: S. J. A. Turney
-
The Great Game
- Praetorian, Book 1
- By: SJA Turney
- Narrated by: Piers Hampton
- Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Promoted to the elite Praetorian Guard in the thick of battle, a young legionary is thrust into a seedy world of imperial politics and corruption. Tasked with uncovering a plot against the newly crowned Emperor Commodus, his mission takes him from the cold Danubian border all the way to the heart of Rome, the villa of the Emperor’s scheming sister, and the great Colosseum. What seems a straightforward, if terrifying, assignment soon descends into Machiavellian treachery and peril as everything in which young Rufinus trusts and believes is called into question....
-
-
COULDN'T KEEP MY INTEREST
- By peter on 12-05-18
By: SJA Turney
-
Caesar's Soldier: The Mark Antony Roman Adventure
- The Mark Antony Series - Book 1
- By: Alex Gough
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who was the man that would become Caesar's lieutenant, Brutus' rival, Cleopatra's lover, and Octavian's enemy? When his stepfather is executed for his involvement in the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mark Antony and his family are disgraced. His adolescence is marked by scandal and mischief, his love affairs are fleeting, and yet, his ambition is vast. Antony's path to prosperity leads him to an education in Athens, a campaign for a seat in the Senate, and a position of military command.
-
-
Excellent point of view from one of our favorite scoundrels in history.
- By Lord_SeaSmoke on 12-02-24
By: Alex Gough
-
The Capsarius
- Legion XXII, Book 1
- By: Simon Turney
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
25 BC. Titus Cervianus is no ordinary soldier. A former surgeon from the city of Ancyra, he's now a capsarius—a combat medic. Cervianus is a pragmatist, a scientist and truly unpopular with his legion. The Twenty Second Deiotariana have been sent to deal with uprisings and chaos in Egypt. Yet the Twenty Second is no ordinary legion either. Founded as the private royal army of one of Rome's most devoted allies, the king of Galatia, their ways are not the same as the other legions, a factor that sets them apart and causes friction with their fellow soldiers.
-
-
Amazing start
- By Todd on 08-17-22
By: Simon Turney
-
Emperor's Sword
- The Imperial Assassin 1
- By: Alex Gough
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A desolate wasteland. A mission gone wrong. An impossible goal. Roman scout, Silus, is deep behind enemy lines in Caledonia. As he spies on a raiding party, he is abruptly discovered by an enemy chief and his son. Mounting a one-man ambush, everything quickly goes wrong and Silus must run for his life, the head of the enemy leader in his hands. Little does he know the price he will pay... As Silus is inducted into the Arcani, an elite faction of assassins and spies, he must return to Caledonia and risk everything in the service of his Caesar.
-
-
Tried to finish
- By Monnie B. on 12-21-24
By: Alex Gough
-
Agricola: Invader
- By: Simon Turney
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
58 AD, Rome. Agricola, teenage son of an impoverished yet distinguished noble family, has staked all his resources and reputation on a military career. His reward? A posting as tribune in the far-off northern province of Britannia. Serving under renowned general Suetonius Paulinus, Agricola soon learns the brutality of life on the very edges of the empire, for the Celtic tribes of Britannia are far from vanquished. To take control of the province, the Romans must defeat the ancient might of the druids.
-
-
voices
- By MCC NERO on 07-01-24
By: Simon Turney
-
Marius' Mules I: The Invasion of Gaul
- Marius' Mules, Book 1
- By: S. J. A. Turney
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 58 BC, and the mighty Tenth Legion, camped in Northern Italy, prepare for the arrival of the most notorious general in Roman history: Julius Caesar. Marcus Falerius Fronto, commander of the Tenth, is a career soldier and long-time companion of Caesar's. Despite his desire for the simplicity of the military life, he cannot help but be drawn into intrigue and politics as Caesar engineers a motive to invade the lands of Gaul.
-
-
The best Roman series I’ve listened to!
- By Just_Shoppin on 04-04-20
By: S. J. A. Turney
-
The Great Game
- Praetorian, Book 1
- By: SJA Turney
- Narrated by: Piers Hampton
- Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Promoted to the elite Praetorian Guard in the thick of battle, a young legionary is thrust into a seedy world of imperial politics and corruption. Tasked with uncovering a plot against the newly crowned Emperor Commodus, his mission takes him from the cold Danubian border all the way to the heart of Rome, the villa of the Emperor’s scheming sister, and the great Colosseum. What seems a straightforward, if terrifying, assignment soon descends into Machiavellian treachery and peril as everything in which young Rufinus trusts and believes is called into question....
-
-
COULDN'T KEEP MY INTEREST
- By peter on 12-05-18
By: SJA Turney
-
Caesar's Soldier: The Mark Antony Roman Adventure
- The Mark Antony Series - Book 1
- By: Alex Gough
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who was the man that would become Caesar's lieutenant, Brutus' rival, Cleopatra's lover, and Octavian's enemy? When his stepfather is executed for his involvement in the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mark Antony and his family are disgraced. His adolescence is marked by scandal and mischief, his love affairs are fleeting, and yet, his ambition is vast. Antony's path to prosperity leads him to an education in Athens, a campaign for a seat in the Senate, and a position of military command.
-
-
Excellent point of view from one of our favorite scoundrels in history.
- By Lord_SeaSmoke on 12-02-24
By: Alex Gough
-
The Capsarius
- Legion XXII, Book 1
- By: Simon Turney
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
25 BC. Titus Cervianus is no ordinary soldier. A former surgeon from the city of Ancyra, he's now a capsarius—a combat medic. Cervianus is a pragmatist, a scientist and truly unpopular with his legion. The Twenty Second Deiotariana have been sent to deal with uprisings and chaos in Egypt. Yet the Twenty Second is no ordinary legion either. Founded as the private royal army of one of Rome's most devoted allies, the king of Galatia, their ways are not the same as the other legions, a factor that sets them apart and causes friction with their fellow soldiers.
-
-
Amazing start
- By Todd on 08-17-22
By: Simon Turney
-
Emperor's Sword
- The Imperial Assassin 1
- By: Alex Gough
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A desolate wasteland. A mission gone wrong. An impossible goal. Roman scout, Silus, is deep behind enemy lines in Caledonia. As he spies on a raiding party, he is abruptly discovered by an enemy chief and his son. Mounting a one-man ambush, everything quickly goes wrong and Silus must run for his life, the head of the enemy leader in his hands. Little does he know the price he will pay... As Silus is inducted into the Arcani, an elite faction of assassins and spies, he must return to Caledonia and risk everything in the service of his Caesar.
-
-
Tried to finish
- By Monnie B. on 12-21-24
By: Alex Gough
-
Shadow of the Eagle
- The Borderlands 1
- By: Damion Hunter
- Narrated by: Andrew Kingston
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Will Britain take him in... or mark him as its enemy? Faustus Valerianus is the son of a Roman father and a British mother, a captive sold among the spoils after Claudius’ invasion. When both parents die within a month of each other, he sells the family farm and enlists, joining legendary general Agricola’s campaign to conquer the entirety of the British Isles. But Faustus will have to contend with more than ferocious British warriors and whip-cracking elements. For the bonds of blood can weigh heavy on one’s soul. The call of his mother’s true people.
-
-
Boring as all hell
- By dc1979 on 01-22-25
By: Damion Hunter
-
Under the Eagle
- Eagles of the Empire, Book 1
- By: Simon Scarrow
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Roman series. It is 42 AD, and Quintus Licinius Cato has just arrived in Germany as a new recruit to the Second Legion, the toughest in the Roman army. If adjusting to the rigours of military life isn't difficult enough for the bookish young man, he also has to contend with the disgust of his colleagues when, because of his imperial connections, he is appointed a rank above them.
-
-
Enjoyable Roman Military Mystery
- By Marie on 10-25-13
By: Simon Scarrow
-
East Indiaman
- East Indiaman Saga, Book 1
- By: Griff Hosker
- Narrated by: Alan Medcroft
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the unforgiving docklands of east London, young orphan William must do all he can to survive. Like the other ‘wharf rats', his life of petty crime is not a choice; it's a necessity. But William's misdeeds won't remain hidden for long. When the boy unknowingly steals from a murderous pirate captain, escape is his only option. He is forced to stow away and begin a life that will take him to the far side of the world; a life as a soldier of the East India Company.
-
-
Most enjoyable
- By Benad Shoef on 03-10-25
By: Griff Hosker
-
Hastings
- Conquest, Book 1
- By: Griff Hosker
- Narrated by: Sam Devereaux
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of a young illegitimate son of a Norman noble and the daughter of an English housecarl. Forced to be little more than a servant Robert fitz Malet shows the world and his half brothers that he has qualities which mark him as different. When he meets the famous troubadour, Taillefer, he becomes one of the most skilled swordsmen in Duke William's army as they prepare to invade England and claim the crown promised to him by King Edward.
-
-
Short but we'll paced
- By Nick Mercier on 09-24-24
By: Griff Hosker
-
The Man With Two Names: A Novel of Ancient Rome
- The Sertorius Scrolls, Book 1
- By: Vincent B. Davis II
- Narrated by: Joshua Saxon
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rome, 107 BC. Quintus Sertorius just lost his father, and he may lose his home. When his rural village is stripped of its political status, he must leave his family to secure their food and protection from inside Rome's cutthroat government. As he transitions from countryman to politician, he's thrust into the middle of a bitter political war…. As Quintus struggles to gain the aid his village so desperately needs, he approaches Gaius Marius, the uncle of Julius Caesar himself.
-
-
excellent TRUE historical man
- By Suzi Jones on 12-05-23
-
Blood Feud
- Wolves of Odin, Book 1
- By: S. J. A. Turney
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anno Domini 1040. Christianity has swept unstoppably across Scandinavia, leaving few enclaves of the old ways clinging on to their fading world as King Olof of Sweden works to convert his people. A young warrior, Halfdan, has witnessed the ‘mercy' of the Christian lords, watched his people attacked, his village burned and the Odin stone toppled as heretical. Watched his father cut down by an ambitious Christian jarl and his zealous priest. Among the ashes of his world, he vowed an oath of vengeance before all the gods.
-
-
Just the quality of research that allows the scenes to be realistic.
- By BT on 04-16-25
By: S. J. A. Turney
-
Daughter of War (Knights Templar)
- By: S.J.A. Turney
- Narrated by: Jonathan McGarrity
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Europe is aflame. On the Iberian Peninsula the wars of the Reconquista rage across Aragon and Castile. Once again, the Moors are gaining the upper hand. Christendom is divided. Amid the chaos comes a young knight: Arnau of Valbona. After his Lord is killed in an act of treachery, Arnau pledges to look after his daughter, whose life is now at risk. But in protecting her Arnau will face terrible challenges, and enter a world of Templars, steely knights, and visceral combat he could never have imagined. She in turn will find a new destiny with the Knights as a daughter of war....
-
-
Battles
- By Jodi LeBlanc Pogline on 04-17-25
By: S.J.A. Turney
-
Nero
- Nero Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Conn Iggulden
- Narrated by: Lydia Leonard
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story begins with a hand curled around another man’s throat. This is Roman justice: Emperor Tiberius first dispatches a traitor—a friend he once trusted with the city—then the man's whole family and all of his friends. It is as if he never existed. Into this fevered forum, a child is born. His mother is Agrippina, granddaughter of Emperor Augustus. But their imperial blood is neither balm nor protection. Rather, it is a liability. Blood is easily spilled or poisoned. So swiftly corrupted. As the aging Tiberius becomes blind to the ignoble end awaiting him, Agrippina sees the future.
-
-
Engaging, Pre-Nero set up.
- By Chris on 06-05-24
By: Conn Iggulden
-
The Forgotten Legion
- Forgotten Legion Chronicles 1
- By: Ben Kane
- Narrated by: Michael Praed
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Romulus and Fabiola are twins, born into slavery after their mother is raped by a drunken nobleman on his way home from a good night out. At 13 years old, they and their mother are sold: Romulus to gladiator school, Fabiola into prostitution, where she will catch the eye of one of the most powerful men in Rome, and their mother into obscurity and death in the salt mines. Tarquinius is an Etruscan, a warrior and soothsayer, born enemy of Rome, but doomed to fight for the Republic in the Forgotten Legion.
-
-
can't stop listening
- By mark malcolm on 07-22-24
By: Ben Kane
-
Tudor Warrior
- Tudor Warrior, Book 1
- By: Griff Hosker
- Narrated by: Frazer Blaxard
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James of Ecclestone is one such youth and when he runs away to become a billman fighting the Yorkist pretender, Lambert Simnel, he begins a journey that will shape him from a youth to a man, a wild child to a Tudor warrior. Set against the backdrop of the early years of King Henry VII’s reign, this fast-moving novel takes us from the Battle of Bramham Moor to the siege of Boulogne. Beginning with the battle of Bosworth field and ending with the Skirmish of Glastonbury Tor, we see an England changing from Yorkist to Lancastrian and James of Ecclestone becoming a warrior of renown.
-
-
Improbable plot but entertaining
- By MCW68 on 11-08-23
By: Griff Hosker
-
Warrior Prince
- The Last Viking, Book 1
- By: JC Duncan
- Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exiled from Norway, Harald Sigurdsson, brother to murdered King Olaf, must battle mercilessly for survival in the lands of the Kievan Rus. His brother’s legacy gifts him a warband of hardened warriors and entry to the court of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. By his wits, sword and skill in battle, Harald must learn not just to survive but to triumph. He fights for glory, for fame, and to regain his family’s battle-stolen throne. But his greatest challenge may not come from battlefield foes but from those who stand by his side.
-
-
I love it
- By Dennis wilson on 03-27-25
By: JC Duncan
-
Hannibal: Enemy of Rome
- Hannibal 1
- By: Ben Kane
- Narrated by: Michael Praed
- Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the First Punic War, the Roman legions defeated and humiliated Carthage, their only serious rival for power in the Mediterranean. Now a brilliant young Carthaginian general, called Hannibal, is out for revenge. Caught up in the maelstrom are two young boys, Hanno, the son of a distinguished soldier and confidant of Hannibal, and Quintus, son of a Roman equestrian and landowner. A disastrous adventure will see Hanno sold into slavery and bought by Quintus's father.
-
-
" Almost" as good as Iggulden
- By DPM on 03-27-12
By: Ben Kane
Action packed!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Disappointingly mediocre
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A very good novel with superb narration and feeling!
The narrator was excellent!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
PS: Gave this a second listen and I enjoyed it more than the first time. I have enjoyed and have just about all of Simon’s books. He is a creative writer and not every character has the stature of a Fronto. If there’s a second book I’ll buy it. Enjoy
Story is a stretch.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Turney does it again!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent as always...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Please make this a series
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not good
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So tedious and slow
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Dumb story, terrible narrator
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.