Soldier of Rome: The Fall of Jerusalem

The Great Jewish Revolt #3

by James Mace

The Flavians have arisen. Following the death of Emperor Nero, four men battled to become ‘Caesar’ in what was now called The Year of the Four Emperors. Flavius Vespasian, the fearsome general previously in command of the furious onslaught against the rebellion in Judea, emerged victorious. As emperor, he must return to Rome, leaving his son, Titus, to destroy the rebels and capture Jerusalem.The Judean capital finds itself under siege, not just from the imperial army but from its supposed protectors. Since the overthrow of the post-Roman government, a bitter and extremely violent struggle raged for over a year, as various zealot factions battle for control of the Jewish state. John of Giscala, who murdered the moderate, Hanan ben Hanan, rules the city through brutality and terror. His chief rival, a former Sicarii ally named Simon bar Giora, is a man of even greater ferocity who recognises neither John’s government nor that of Rome. The factions descend into madness, bringing untold misery to the people of Jerusalem.As Titus advances towards the Jewish Holy City with his massive army of seventy-thousand imperial soldiers, the warring Judean factions must decide whether to stand together against the coming onslaught or die in a bloodbath of mutual hatred.

380 pages, Paperback

Published December 24, 2016

About the author

James Mace is an author, historian, and life-long storyteller. He began writing as a hobby in the early 2000s, penning physical fitness articles for a bodybuilding website and a magazine called Hardcore Muscle.

James wrote the initial draft of his first novel, Soldier of Rome: The Legionary, as a cathartic means of escapism while serving in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. He has since released thirty-five books, including fifteen Ancient History best-sellers, and five South African History best-sellers. His works currently span his two favourite eras: Ancient Rome and the British Empire.

Outside of writing historical novels, James is a Research Historian and Script Writer for the channel, Redcoat History. He maintains a blog called The Buffed Historian, sharing random fitness articles and other tales from across history. His hobbies include weightlifting, road cycling, foothills hikes, travelling across the globe, live theatre, video games, and sitting down for a game of Dungeons & Dragons with friends.

James can be reached via his website: www.legionarybooks.net
Official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/legionarybooks
Instagram: @legionarybooks
Threads: @legionarybooks
BlueSky: @legionarybooks.bsky.social
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/james...

Reviews

[Adam Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep conclusion

A conclusion of perhaps one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read, and while this is a work of historical fiction the events it’s based upon were horrifying indeed.

I was glad however to see some light at the end of the story with the minor characters however. Overall, I highly recommend.

[Tammy Bulcao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised!

(Books1-3)
I suppose I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into when I started this book. In the beginning and actually often times during this series I found myself a little confused, but a lot intrigued lol. But “it’s not you it’s me” lol I’m not exactly a historical genius (not even much of a historical fan 🤷🏻‍♀️) so the places & names were somewhat unfamiliar to me. That said, I couldn’t stop reading/listening to this amazing story. Devastating, sad and disheartening, but at the same time, fascinating and extremely entertaining.
I have to admit, the only reason I started this series is because I think narrator Jonathan Waters is one of the best story tellers out there. He has a great voice which is absolutely perfect for this genre.
This review is for books 1-3 in this series. If you are a fan of this era I highly recommend this series.

Sisters Spotlight 💜

[Eurydicegirlgmail.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pivotal epoch in western history brought to life

Strong. character development, compassion that leavened the brutality sufficiently for me to read without getting nightmares.

Human propensity for extremism is difficult for me to comprehend, but Mr. Mace portrays what dealing with zealots must be like, and how easily ignited, divisive and destructive societies become that demand ideological conformity.

The passive acceptance of despotic ideologues by the literate section of the population I found very disturbing.

The larger point I drew that pertains to contemporary Americans is that toleration of corruption leads to loss of self agency and complacency in prosperous classes.

We can easily become sheep if ambivalence, conformity and manipulative factionalism takes root.
An unreasoning denial of sociopolitical dysfunction, abuse of justice and toleration of corruption go hand in hand.

[William B. Young]

This book is a great read
A history lesson and a great novel in one go.
terrific an enjoyable book
HARDS TO PUT DOWN TO GO TO SLEEP
wAS SORRY WHEN IT FINISHED

[Sherrie Lynn Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

After reading the other books of Rome in Judah I had to read this book to see the end story