Captain of Rome

Name: Captain of Rome
Rating: 4.16 (672 reviews)

by John Stack Book 2 in the Masters of the Sea series.

First published 2009

Amazon

4.2(672)

Atticus commands the Aquila, flagship of a Roman attack fleet whose success depends on seamanship that many senior officers neither possess nor respect. When an inexperienced aristocratic commander orders the fleet into a Carthaginian trap, Atticus must choose between obedience and the survival of his ship. His decision prevents a complete disaster but turns a superior officer into a determined enemy.

Summoned to Rome to answer for his defiance, Atticus enters a political arena more dangerous to him than open battle. Senate influence, purchased commands and private vengeance threaten his career while the republic prepares a vast naval expedition against Carthage. The novel moves between intrigue aboard the Roman fleet and the major sea fighting of the First Punic War, testing whether professional judgement can survive a hierarchy built on birth and patronage.