Iron Shaft: Quintus — John Hulme

A deal has been done. Caesar, Crassus and Pompey, three powerful Romans, have divided up their world between them and Caesar has retained Gaul, along with all its Legions and all its riches. But this is not enough for such an ambitious man. He wants more. He wants to set foot in two more countries; Germany and Britain. To do this he needs ships to sail across the English Channel. Romans are not good sailors, so he sends his legions into Gaul to start building, and stealing, the vessels he needs. Iron Shaft is given the task of finding and taking the transport ships owned by the coastal tribes and making them ready for Caesars soldiers. As he quickly discovers - this is not an easy task and he must devise a new way of disabling the faster and stronger transporters. He encounters a bald bear, an eloquent dwarf, a spy and a princess. He also runs into a selection of old enemies and makes some new friends - with his sword and with his shaft. Will Caesar finally set foot in Britain? Not if his enemies can prevent it. Caesar needs the strength of Iron Shaft - and so do the women of Gaul. He is called Iron Shaft for a reason.