The Barbarian — Douglas Jackson

AD 406. Abandoned by friends and hounded by enemies, Roman cavalry commander Marcus Flavius Victor and a small band of loyal warriors know that the time has come to leave an increasingly fractured Britannia.

Their journey takes them across the bleak, pirate-infested seas of the Mare Germanicum to Saxonia and on into the dark heart of barbarism. It seems the Britons' only salvation lies with an old comrade, General Stilicho - based far to the east but still within the sanctuary of the Empire. But the general has troubles of his own: his influence with the Emperor Honorius is waning, and a great warrior people are on the march - for Radagaisus, king of the Ostrogoths, has promised his subjects all the riches of Italia, and they will leave a sea of Roman bones in their wake.

But as Marcus and his companions battle their way towards what they hope will a safe haven of sorts, they stumble across a secret which could decide the fate of the Empire. But who can they really trust, and can Marcus reach Stilicho in time - because his every step is dogged by a son who wants him dead...

Set during the desperate twilight years of Rome's once all-powerful empire, The Barbarian is the action-packed and thrillingly authentic new historical novel from one of the genre's very best.