Laurence O'Bryan

Published Roman novels: 3

Website: lpobryan.com
Twitter: @LPOBryan
Goodreads: Laurence O'Bryan Author Page

1. The Sign of the Blood (A Dangerous Emperor: book 1 of 3)

Cool mist settles over the legion advancing toward the Persian army. Constantine, the son of an emperor, the Roman officer leading the attack, tells his men to halt - something is wrong. Before long, the battle rages. He frees a slave named Juliana. She is half Persian and half Roman. As they are pursued to Britannia over land and sea, he learns that she can see the future - his future.

It is 306AD, long before Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and became the first Christian emperor. To ensure he survives, he must eliminate his enemies. But who must die first? The priestess, Sybellina, who joined them in Rome and practices dark and seductive magic? Or the brutal legion commanders who surround his father? Or, as Juliana suspects, are those who want him dead even closer?

A gripping historical novel about Constantine’s bloody rise to power, the woman who helped him, and the real reason he supported a persecuted Christian minority, a decision which changed the world into the one we know.

Hardcover: Latest edition: 2018 Publisher: Ardua Books ISBN: 978-1912732807 Pages: 474 Availability & latest prices:

Paperback: Latest edition: 2018 Publisher: Ardua Books ISBN: 978-1790245840 Pages: 467 Availability & latest prices:

Kindle: Latest edition: 2018 Publisher: Ardua Books Availability & latest prices:

2. The Road to the Bridge (A Dangerous Emperor: book 2 of 3)

Torn between love and duty Constantine faces disaster. Juliana, his mistress, has been kidnapped by a raiding party and taken to northern Germania, out of reach of his legions. Ignoring his mother’s demands for him to marry quickly, Constantine assembles a Roman cavalry cohort and heads into the endless forest. Somewhere far ahead is the meeting place of the tribes where Juliana is facing a fight to the death among a people who collect skulls as ornaments and are ruled by a queen with a strong blood lust. Constantine then finds out that his young son has been taken to Rome as a hostage. His only hope of rescuing him is to march on the city.

Battered and in disarray, he and his legions finally reach the city walls. His Saxon allies have defected. He is seriously injured, and every key battle his army has won, was because of his personal intervention. Then his closest friend, the leader of the Christians in Rome, also defects to the enemy. Is this the end for Constantine?

The Battle of the Milvian Bridge was one of the most important in history. This story tells us what could have happened that stormy day in 312 A.D. and who the women were who changed the course of the battle. And the part Christianity played in his victory.

Paperback: Latest edition: 2019 Publisher: Ardua Books ISBN: 978-1912732951 Pages: 360 Availability & latest prices:

Kindle: Latest edition: 2019 Publisher: Ardua Books Availability & latest prices:

3. The Cursed City (A Dangerous Emperor: book 3 of 3)

Constantine has been in power for twenty years when a moment of real danger arrives. Christianity is on the rise in Rome thanks to Constantine, and peace has finally come to the empire, but many are unhappy with the changes and his family is in turmoil. His wife, Fausta, is expecting a child, but she is looking for ways to end the pregnancy. His son, Crispus, is waiting for the date when his father will abdicate. A feast held in Rome to celebrate Constantine's arrival there ends with a poisoning, and then the priestess, Paulina, who is in charge of creating the first St. Peter's, is kidnapped.

Constantine heads for New Rome. His mother, Helena, is in Jerusalem. She has found what could be the True Cross. A ceremony to dedicate New Rome, the city that later becomes Constantinople, would be the ideal moment to unveil it. Will the followers of the old gods find a way to stop the dedication? And will Fausta, the empress, find a way to stop Juliana, the emperor's Saxon bodyguard, from taking everything from her and her family?

Paperback: Latest edition: 2020 Publisher: Ardua Books ISBN: 979-8657799248 Pages: 363 Availability & latest prices:

Kindle: Latest edition: 2020 Publisher: Ardua Books Availability & latest prices: