EMPIRE OF DRAGONS

Anatolia, 260 AD. The city of Edessa, a Roman outpost, is on its last legsafter the Persian siege by the troops of Shapur I. Roman Emperor PubliusLicinius Valerianus agrees to meet his adversary to negotiate peace. Butno negotiations are initiated, no peace sanctioned. The meeting is a trapand Valerianus ends up in enemy hands, along with the commander of hispersonal guard, Marcus Metellus Aquila, and ten of his most valiant andtrusted men. Their destiny is sealed, they will rot away in a mine, forcedinto slavery in a hell from which there is no escape. But Metellus - legateof the Second Augusta Legion, hero of the empire - and his men break freeand find shelter at an oasis where they meet a mysterious, exiled prince.The Romans become his private militia, agreeing to safeguard the prince'sjourney to his homeland Sera Maior, the mythical Kingdom of Silk - China.And so they begin an extraordinary and epic journey through the forests ofIndia, the Himalayan mountains, the deserts of central Asia, all the way toheart of China. In that faraway land, the Romans will have to face inhumantrials and battles of awesome violence. Together they will also come toknow an outstanding civilization, a marvelous culture, men bothintelligent and tolerant, women who are beautiful and passionate. Buteverything is at stake: love, life, and the very survival of the world'sgreatest two empires . . . In Empire of the Dragons, Valerio MassimoManfredi, bestselling author of the ‘Alexander' trilogy and The LastLegion, shapes history into the very essence of adventure to create a novelthat is simply enthralling