Rise of the Spears: a Sons of Iberia prequel

Sons of Iberia #0.5

by J. Glenn Bauer

A new and fearsome enemy emerges in the ancient lands of southern Iberia. An unblooded warrior sees his clan vanquished. A mother must kill to save her son. Dubgetious is levied into the army of Hamilcar Barca when his clan of Bastetani is defeated and their village sacked. With the death cries of his fellow villagers still ringing in his ears, he is thrown into the harsh world of mercenaries who care little for life. Lyda, an accomplished warrior, vows to find her son and free him from the Carthaginian enemy. She and her small band of veteran Bastetani warriors are soon baying at the heels of Hamilcar’s forces. Dubgetious forges an unlikely friendship while his mother, Lyda, fights to find and save him from the mercenary army of Carthage. When an opportunity to defeat and kill Hamilcar arises, both Dubgetious and Lyda must choose between honour and blood.

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 30, 2018

About the author

News update: 18 August 2020
Off-Grid Boaters: One couple's alternative nomad life on a 25-foot yoghurt pot, is now available on amazon for kindle.

As of August 2019, I have released four Sons of Iberia titles in the Sons of Iberia series and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. The Sons of Iberia series still has some way to go, after all, the 2nd Punic War lasted fourteen years and Carthaginian resistance to Rome continued in the Cisalpine for a few years after Hannibal’s defeat in Africa. In Hispania, the Romans got it very wrong and took two hundred years to subdue the Iberians. I have planned a further four titles in the series.

You may have seen and read the first prequel to Sons of Iberia, Rise of the Spears, which I released in 2018. My thinking is that there are great backstories to some of the characters you encounter in Sons of Iberia. The prequels are novellas that tell of these characters’ lives before Sons of Iberia. These are a great way for you to explore the backstory to the 2nd Punic War. I foresee at least twelve prequels, but there could be many more. The first, Rise of the Spears, centers on Dubgetious, a Bastetani warrior who made an appearance in Gladius Winter (Book 3). It also features Hamilcar Barca and his famous son, Hannibal.

As yet, there is no offer to adapt Sons of Iberia for TV and since I don’t have a publisher or agent, no active plan in place to secure such a deal. If you think Sons of Iberia would make great viewing on Netflix or Amazon, please let me know. Or better yet, if you know somebody who can make that happen, let them know.