Empire of Dragons [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Valerio Massimo Manfredi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2006

Southern Anatolia, 260 AD. The town of Edessa, a Roman outpost, is on its last legs, besieged by the Persian troops of Shapur I. Roman Emperor Licinius Valerianus agrees to meet his adversary to draw up a peace treaty, but it is only a trap and the Emperor and his twelve guards are chained and dragged away to work as prisoners in a solitary Persian turquoise mine. After months of forced labour the Emperor dies, but his guards make a daring escape lead by the heroic and enigmatic chief, Marcus Metellus Aquila. They meet a mysterious, exiled Chinese Prince, Dan Qing, and agree to safeguard his journey home to reconquest his throne from his mortal enemy, a eunuch named Wei. Thus begins the adventures of the Romans and the Prince as they journey to China. There they will discover that they aren't the first of their kind to arrive in China: they were preceded centuries before by the survivors of the 'lost legion'.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Valerio Massimo Manfredi is professor of classical archaeology at Luigi Bocconi University in Milan. He has published nine works of fiction, including the 'Alexander' trilogy, which has been translated into 24 languages in 38 countries. He has written and hosted documentaries on the ancient world, and has written screenplays for cinema and television.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Macmillan (March 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405089725
• ISBN-13: 978-1405089722
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,678,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Half-half, June 8, 2009

By 

M. PONG (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Empire of Dragons (Hardcover)

Undoubtedly the author is familiar with Roman and Persian history, but not Chinese. My reading pace was always interrupted when I found the differences between the history mentioned in the book and Chinese history in my mind.

"Da Qin" is how ancient Chinese called Rome. It mean "great Qin", implied that Rome was strong and civilized like the Qin Dynasty of China(221BC-207BC). The story said Prince Dan Qin explained "Da Qin" means "The West", this is not correct. There is another name for Rome "Hai Xi", which means "the west of the sea".

The story mentioned that China was in the three-kingdom period. If so, Han dynasty was already destroyed, there is no more prince of Han. One of the three kingdoms was "Shu", the emperor of Shu was a distant relative of Han's emperors, but not the heir of Han's royal family.

The Romans of the story were brought to Luo Yang - Capital of Han Dynasty, and the capital of the Kingdom of Wei, one of the kingdoms in the three-kingdom period. The emperior of Wei is not the same blood of Han, and the life or death of Wei's emperor has no relation with Dan Qin (The story mentioned Dan Qin's father died and the man named "Wei" kept the secret, implied that his father died in the city of Luo Yang).

[...]

I think this story somehow represents how an Italian views China - full of secrete societies and Ninja-like people playing Kungfu (although Ninjas are from Japan), and women are like Zhan Zi-Yi in Croching Tigers and Hidden Dragon.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Speculation, Mediocre Execution, October 2, 2007

By 

J. Rice "Jodi" (Walnut Creek, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Empire of Dragons (Paperback)

As a professional archaeologist, Manfredi must be aware of the growing body of evidence that many ancient civilizations had contacts with each other - notably the Celtic adventurers who traveled the Silk Road and settled in western China in pre-Roman times. But why populate a story about possible Roman/Chinese contacts with rigidly ethical and honorable Roman Imperial legionaires and near-superhuman martial arts secret societies, as well as a Han dynasty princess who throws away her privileged status for a newfound infatuation with a scruffy legion commander? The plot is reasonably well developed, considering protagonists with little credibility, including the supposed martial arts training for the princess and her brother. This promising speculation really deserved better execution than this somewhat juvenile effort.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Novel of Two Powerful Civilisations, October 3, 2006

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empire of Dragons (Hardcover)

Few authors can be better equipped to write about the history of ancient Greece and Rome than Valerio Massimo Manfredi. Professor of archaeology at the university of Milan, he has carried out many excavations and expeditions in the Mediterranean region. He has produced many factual books on historical matters, mainly military and has still found the time to write several novels and this is one of the best yet.

This book has a storyline that must surely be unique. It begins with the personal bodyguard of the Roman Emperor Publius Licinius Valerianus and their commander caught in a trap after Valerianus had agreed to meet his adversary, to negotiate peace and save the city of Edessa. However Marcus Metellus Aquila, legate of the Second Augusta Legion and his men manage to break free and find shelter at an oasis, where they meet a mysterious exiled prince. With nothing left for them the Romans agree to become the prince's private militia and volunteer to guide him back to his homeland., China.

While they are there they see things that no other European has ever seen. They see cruelty, violence, but on the other side they see men of great intelligence and tolerance and beautiful women, unlike any of the women in Rome. But everything is at stake, even the very survival of the world's two greatest empires . . .