John Ringo – författare

Centurions were the guardians of Rome. At the height of the Roman Republic there were over five thousand qualified Roman Centurions in the Legions. To be a Centurion required that, in a mostly illiterate society, one be able to read and write clearly, to be able to convey and create orders, to be capable of not only performing every skill of a Roman soldier but teach every skill of a Roman soldier.

Becoming a Centurion required intense physical ability, courage beyond the norm, years of sacrifice and a total devotion to the philosophy which was Rome. When Rome fell to barbarian invaders, there were less than five hundred qualified Centurions. Not because Rome had fewer people but because it had fewer willing to make the sacrifices. And the last Centurions left their shields in the heather and took a barbarian bride . . .

We are . . . The Last Centurions.

Prince Roger MacClintock was heir to the galaxy’s Throne of Man and a spoiled young brat—that is, until he and his Royal Marines were stranded on the barbarian planet Marduk. So far, they’ve traversed a continent, taken over an enemy spaceport, and hijacked a starship. But they’re not home free yet—because home is no longer free.

Traitors have murdered Prince Roger’s brother and sister. His mother, the empress, is still alive, but in the hands of Roger’s own biological father, who controls her through drugs and torture. A new heir to the throne has been conceived, and once he is born, Roger’s mother will no longer be necessary to the traitors’ plans. Prince Roger must somehow retake the empire before his new brother is born and his mother dies. It’s an impossible task—but Prince Roger knows all about impossible tasks.

Roger Ramius Sergei Chiang MacClintock was young, handsome, athletic, an excellent dresser, and third in line for the Throne of Man. So it wasn’t surprising that he became spoiled, self-centered, and petulant. After all, what else did he have to do with his life?

But that was before his mother, the empress, packed him off to a backwater planet and he found himself shipwrecked on the planet Marduk, with jungles full of damnbeasts, killerpillars, carnivorous plants, and barbarian hordes of bad disposition. Fortunately, Roger had an ace in the hole: Bravo Company of Bronze Battalion of the Empress’ Own Regiment. Now all Roger has to do is hike halfway around the planet, capture a spaceport from the Bad Guys, commandeer a starship, and go home.

Ever since an attempt on his life marooned him with his bodyguards on the hostile planet Marduk, with its unending series of threats, obstacles, and adventures, Prince Roger McClintock has evolved from a spoiled, petulant heir into a true leader of humans and aliens alike.

This third installment in the Prince Roger series takes the Bronze Barbarians across the Eastern Ocean of Marduk, facing giant sea monsters, pirates, and the barbarian nations that dwell on the other side. Their destination is a spaceport held by humans of questionable loyalties. As Roger comes nearer to making his way home, he learns that his attempted assassination was part of a larger plot. Not all is as it seems on Earth or on Marduk. Fortunately, he’s got the Bronze Barbarians and the Basik’s Own at his back.

Prince Roger MacClintock, Tertiary Heir to the Throne of Man, was a spoiled rotten, arrogant, whiny, thoroughly useless young pain in the butt. But that was before an assassination attempt marooned the Royal Brat and his bodyguards on the planet Marduk, and before they had to march half way around the planet, through 120-degree heat and five-hour rainstorms in jungles full of damnbeasts, capetoads, killerpillars, and atul-grak, not to mention hostile peoples, to make their way back to port.

Under the right circumstances, even the most spoiled brat can grow up fast, and it turns out that, under his petulant exterior, Prince Roger is a true MacClintock, a scion of the warrior dynasty that created the Empire of Man. Now both Prince and bodyguards are determined to get each other off the planet alive. Of course, the planet has other ideas.