The Last Hour: '24' set in Ancient Rome
Mar 2018 · Bonnier Publishing Fiction Ltd.
4.2star
4 reviewsreport
Ebook
400
Pages
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About this ebook
A battle-hardened soldier has just 24 hours to expose a deadly conspiracy at the heart of the Roman Empire in this brilliantly gripping historical thriller from Sunday Times bestseller and Ancient Rome expert, Harry Sidebottom.
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A lone figure stands silhouetted atop the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Behind him, the sun is setting over the centre of the known world. Far below, the river is in full flood. The City of Rome lies spread out before him on the far bank.
Footsteps pound up the stairs. He's been set up. An enemy is closing in; he is cornered. He jumps.
Bruised and battered, he crawls out of the raging river. He is alone and unarmed, without money or friends, trapped in a deadly conspiracy at the heart of the Empire. The City Watch has orders to take him alive; other, more sinister, forces want him dead. As the day dies, he realises he has only 24 hours to expose the conspirators, and save the leader of the world. If the Emperor dies, chaos and violence will ensue. If the Emperor dies, every single person he loves will die.
He must run, bluff, hide and fight his way across the Seven Hills.
He must reach the Colosseum, and the Emperor.
He must make it to The Last Hour.
Kiefer Sutherland's 24 meets Gladiator in this breathless historical thriller - for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane, Simon Scarrow and Conn Iggulden.
________________________
Praise for The Last Hour and Harry Sidebottom:
'An amazing story of bloodlust, ruthless ambition and revenge' - The Times
'Relentless, brutal, brilliant, this is Jack Reacher in ancient Rome' - Ben Kane
'Epic' - Mary Beard
'A ripping story...this transplanting of 24 to Ancient Rome is a great success' - Daily Telegraph
'A cracking tale. More twists and turns than the Tiber itself' - Rory Clements
'An extraordinarily vivid take on the ancient world' - Evening Standard
'Grabbed me from the start. I loved it' - Donna Leon
'The best sort of red-blooded historical fiction' - Andrew Taylor
________________________
A lone figure stands silhouetted atop the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Behind him, the sun is setting over the centre of the known world. Far below, the river is in full flood. The City of Rome lies spread out before him on the far bank.
Footsteps pound up the stairs. He's been set up. An enemy is closing in; he is cornered. He jumps.
Bruised and battered, he crawls out of the raging river. He is alone and unarmed, without money or friends, trapped in a deadly conspiracy at the heart of the Empire. The City Watch has orders to take him alive; other, more sinister, forces want him dead. As the day dies, he realises he has only 24 hours to expose the conspirators, and save the leader of the world. If the Emperor dies, chaos and violence will ensue. If the Emperor dies, every single person he loves will die.
He must run, bluff, hide and fight his way across the Seven Hills.
He must reach the Colosseum, and the Emperor.
He must make it to The Last Hour.
Kiefer Sutherland's 24 meets Gladiator in this breathless historical thriller - for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane, Simon Scarrow and Conn Iggulden.
________________________
Praise for The Last Hour and Harry Sidebottom:
'An amazing story of bloodlust, ruthless ambition and revenge' - The Times
'Relentless, brutal, brilliant, this is Jack Reacher in ancient Rome' - Ben Kane
'Epic' - Mary Beard
'A ripping story...this transplanting of 24 to Ancient Rome is a great success' - Daily Telegraph
'A cracking tale. More twists and turns than the Tiber itself' - Rory Clements
'An extraordinarily vivid take on the ancient world' - Evening Standard
'Grabbed me from the start. I loved it' - Donna Leon
'The best sort of red-blooded historical fiction' - Andrew Taylor
Ratings and reviews
4.2
4 reviews
A Google user
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February 24, 2018
The cover is stunning in person and the literature itself is good, a little difficult to read and understand to begin with but the further in you get, the more accustomed you become to it and from that point on it's easy enough to read. The storyline is fast paced and although this isn't the usual genre of book I would read, I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. Some of the chapters are a bit lengthy as the whole book overall only has 27 chapters, but I still read it seemingly quickly and finished the book within a week, as I do with most. The main Character, Ballistas, is trying to evade capture and save the emporor, who will be killed in the last hour of light the following day. Ballistas has 24 hours to stop whoever is set out to kill the emporor, with little knowledge of who is behind the plot and nobody to help him. Overall, it was a good read but it did take me a few chapters to get into it.
3 people found this review helpful
Cameron Macintyre
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July 4, 2021
Just finished this book. Great read fast paced adventure.
About the author
Harry Sidebottom teaches Ancient History at Oxford University. His career as a novelist began with his Warrior of Rome series, which has sold over half a million copies. His next series, Throne of Caesars, was equally acclaimed. The Last Hour and The Burning Road introduced us once again to Marcus Clodius Ballista, hero of the Warrior of Rome books. The Shadow King is his fifteenth novel, and his first set in Ancient Greece.
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