Ship of Rome

Name: Ship of Rome
Rating: 3.98 (1652 reviews)

by John Stack Book 1 in the Masters of the Sea series.

First published 2009

Amazon

4.0(1,652)

At the beginning of the First Punic War, Rome is a formidable land power but an inexperienced naval opponent. Atticus Perennis, a captain of Greek origin serving in Rome’s small coastal fleet, understands the sea in ways that most Roman officers do not. He is forced into an uneasy partnership with Septimus, a legionary centurion who has been ordered aboard despite his distrust of ships and sailors.

Carthage’s larger and more experienced fleet compels Rome to construct and crew a navy at speed. Atticus must teach reluctant legionaries to fight at sea while contending with Roman contempt for foreigners and commanders who treat social position as a substitute for competence. The novel follows the dangerous formation of a Roman battle fleet and the friendship forged between two men whose cultures, professions and assumptions initially divide them.