Arena: Barbarian

by Simon Scarrow Book 1 in the Roman Arena series.

First published 2012

Amazon

4.0(1,020)

Rome, AD 41. Pavo, the son of a disgraced Roman officer, is condemned to gladiatorial service and placed under the supervision of the veteran soldier Macro. Claudius’s insecure new regime uses the arena to display authority and punish enemies, making Pavo’s survival politically useful to several factions. Training and public combat begin a partnership in which both men must understand that victory can be manipulated before the fighters enter the sand.

Pavo’s punishment turns hereditary status upside down. The son of an officer becomes property displayed before crowds, while Macro is required to train a man whose death may serve political interests better than his survival. Claudius’s shaky accession makes spectacle part of imperial propaganda, so the arena becomes another place where the new regime tests loyalty and manufactures public authority.