Egypt. 25 BC. A former surgeon from the city of Ancyra, Titus Cervianus is now a capsarius – a combat medic. He is a pragmatist, a scientist – and deeply unpopular with his legion, the Twenty Second Deiotariana.
The Twenty Second have been sent to deal with uprisings in Egypt. Founded as the private army of one of Rome’s most devoted allies, their ways are not the same as the other legions’, which sets them apart and causes friction with their fellow soldiers.
Marching into the unknown, Cervianus will find unexpected allies: a local cavalryman and a troublesome lunatic.
Both will be of critical importance as the young medic marches through the searing sands of the south, finding forbidden temples, hidden assassins, and worst of all, the warrior queen of Kush…
The Capsarius by Simon Turney is published on 10 November, 2022.
Simon has written several features about the background to his Roman-era books, including Domitian, an unlikely emperor, Agricola’s victories in Britain, and (with Gordon Doherty) A game of gods: religion in a changing Roman world.
