Gladiator: Son of Spartacus

by Simon Scarrow Book 3 in the Gladiator series.

First published 2013

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Italy, 60 BC. Marcus is free but still searching for his enslaved mother when Caesar orders him to help suppress bands led by the rebel Brixus. The rebels hope to revive the cause of Spartacus, while Marcus has personal reasons to understand their anger and protect their leader. Torn between Caesar and former allies, he tries to prevent another war that would bring mass punishment upon enslaved people.

Marcus's sympathy for Brixus makes Caesar's order morally complicated. Suppressing the rebels may protect thousands of enslaved people from collective punishment, yet it also means acting against men whose anger Marcus understands through his own enslavement. The novel uses the memory of Spartacus to test whether freedom can be pursued through rebellion when Rome's response to revolt is likely to be indiscriminate violence.