Spartacus : The Gladiator
by Ben Kane
The first of two epic novels which tell the
story of one of the most charismatic heroes history has ever known --
Spartacus, the gladiator slave who took on and nearly defeated the might of
Rome, during the years 73-71 BC.
In historical terms we know very little about
Spartacus the man -- partly because most contemporary Roman historians were
keen to obliterate his memory and prevent him from attaining mythic status.
This of course is grist to the novelist's mill. Ben Kane's brilliant novel
begins in the Thracian village to which Spartacus has returned, after escaping
from life as an auxiliary in the Roman army. But here he quickly falls foul of
his overlord, the Thracian king, who has set his heart on Dionysian priestess, Ariadne
-- later to become wife of Spartacus. Betrayed again to the Romans by his
jealous king, Spartacus -- and with him Ariadne -- are taken in captivity to
the school of gladiators at Capua. It is here -- against the unbelievable
brutality of gladiatorial life -- that Spartacus and Crixus the Gaul plan the
audacious overthrow of their Roman masters, escaping to Vesuvius, where they
recruit and train a huge slave army -- an army which will keep the might of
Rome at bay for two years and create one of the most extraordinary legends in
history. Spartacus: The Gladiator takes the story up to the moment when the
slave army has inflicted its first great defeat on Rome.
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