It's "The Magnificent Seven" meets "The Clan of the Cave Bear." There have been many huge epics of the Roman Age, of the Pharaohs, of Prehistory even but never the brutal, mysterious Bronze Age. Three thousand years before the birth of Christ and the world is dominated by savage tribes of barbarians who despise the first farmers and townsfolk trying to settle the land and bring civilization to a dark world. In the Tigris valley, the first primitive farmers attempt to bring civilization to a dark world. But every few years Barbarians sweep in raping, killing and burning. This time the people of Orak are going to fight, but their military commanders fell as the enemy army approaches, leaving only Eskkar a lowly lieutenant in charge. But Eskkar has one advantage: he understands the barbarians better than anyone: he was once one himself but fled a vendetta. Eskkar is given Trella, a slave girl as a reward for his loyalty. They form a partnership forged on mutual desire and courage; he with his ability to command men and his military expertise, she with her insight into the minds of the townsfolk. Together they rally the people. What follows is an orgy of battle, bloodshed and sex that is simply unputdownable. The epic series will continue with Esskar and Trella, now King and Queen, and will lead far into the future to the Foundation of Babylon.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, Sam Barone attended Manhattan College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965, with a major in Psychology. After a hitch in the Marine Corps, he became a software developer and manager. After spending nearly 30 years in the software development game, he retired in 1999 to start working on his second career: writing. Dawn of Empire is his first novel. He is currently working on the sequel.

Prizes

'What a cracking story. I've lost two days of writing time because of it and I don't regret it at all. This is a brilliant, fact-paced epic, bringing an ancient people back to roaring life. Superb' Conn Iggulden

Reviews

In the fertile land of Mesopotamia circa 3000 B.C.E., the first cities arose, threatening the existence of nomads who depended on raiding small, defenseless farmsteads and villages for food and slaves. When news reaches the people of one of these cities that the barbaric Alur Meriki have targeted them for their next raid, Eskkar, a nomadic warrior exiled from his clan, assumes the role of war leader and devises a plan to save Orak and its people. With the assistance of his wife, who was a former slave and daughter of a noble, Eskkar unites the people of Orak, builds an enormous wall around the city, and, with a few hundred archers and warriors, defeats a horde of thousands. Barone has written a compelling first novel of the dawning of an age that saw the rise of the great walled cities of Akkad and Sumaria. Readers will find it hard to put down this dramatic tale of conflict between cultures, bloody warfare, and early diplomacy and statehood as seen through the eyes of a man born to conquer and rule. Recommended for public and university libraries where there is an interest in ancient civilizations.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Former software designer Barone sets his entertaining debut novel in Mesopotamia at the dawn of civilization. The nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes, who in 2500 B.C.E. still dominate the fertile valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, are agitated at encroaching gentrification. Barbarian chieftain Thutmose-sin announces that Orak, the agricultural "great village" of 2,000 people nestled along the banks of the Tigris, "defies our way of life" and must be destroyed. Instead of fleeing the fearsome barbarian warriors who have never been defeated by "dirt eaters," the citizens of Orak stay and fight. They're led by a former barbarian, Eskkar, and his young slave mistress, Trella, who is wise beyond her years and station. The apocalyptic battle that ensues will determine which culture that of the nomad or the villager will prevail. Barone's characters are engaging enough, if not fully realized, and the action is fast-paced, if sometimes predictable. The combat scenes, gritty and bloody, are especially vivid. Equal parts history lesson, love story and war saga, Barone's first historical will have readers turning pages. (On sale Aug. 29) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.