Atilus the Slave — E.C. Tubb

Set against the immense decadence of Imperial Rome, the story of Atilus depicts the glory, the spectacle, and the blood-lust of the gladitorial games in all their savagery. In the third year of the reign of Claudius, a young boy, Atilus Cindras, watches in terror as the Roman legions plunder, rape, and route the proud Icení warriors of Britain. When they leave, they take the young men with them as slaves--and Atilus is among them. Trained first as a house slave, then as a secutor in the School for Gladíators, Atilus soon learns how to survive both slavery and the arena. Using his sword and wits with fierce and deadly skill, Atílus becomes a favorite of the Roman mob. But even that's not enough. Atilus fights with only one goal in mind: to attain the rarely awarded rudis--the wooden sword from the Emperor's hands that will grant him his freedom! The first book in the thrilling Atilus series.