Robert Southworth is the first author on my new “Author Spotlight” blog feature

Rob has released four books so far which are all historical works of fiction, three focus on one of my all-time favourite subjects Spartacus.

Spartacus has always been someone I’ve been very interested in, the slave rebellion is a fascinating subject for me.

The three tales follow Spartacus after the rebellion has been crushed. Many say Spartacus died in the final battle but the body was never recovered. As an author Rob seized on this and has decided to write tales with idea that he survived.

To give you an idea what the first book is like below is a review from another great author Steven A. McKay –

This, Robert Southworth’s debut novel, is billed as an “alternative history” tale. That’s not really a genre I’ve read much of, other than the odd Philip K. Dick or Harry Turtledove novel. However, Spartacus, Talons of an Empire can quite easily be read as a “straight” historical novel so don’t be put off by the “alternative” tag. The idea here is that Spartacus survived his famous rebellion, and is then put to bloody work for the hateful Roman overlords in return for his freedom. It’s a fine premise to base a story on, but to be honest, you can imagine the protagonist as any gladiator and it’ll make no difference to your enjoyment of what is a fine book. What we have is a group of men – almost a “Dirty Dozen” of the Roman-era – taking on a dangerous mission through hostile lands and, ultimately, fighting to the brutal end in the arena. The author sets the scenes well, drawing vivid pictures of each place in the reader’s mind so it’s easy to become drawn into the action as if we were right there. The characters are fairly varied and there are some poignant, gentler moments scattered throughout which serve as an interesting and welcome diversion from the brutal action and let us see the human side of these hard fighting men. There were a few places, though, where I felt the action jumped a little too quickly – it might have been nice for certain scenes to have lasted a bit longer, building the tension before cutting to another part of the story – but in general the pacing is very good. I also struggled somewhat with a couple of characters’ (Cassian and Spartacus) reactions – both at the time and subsequently – to certain deaths. I can’t go into more detail or it would spoil the plot a bit, but I thought, if it had been me witnessing those events I would have felt rather different to Cassian or Spartacus. But that’s down to the individual’s outlook so can’t really be classed as a criticism, just an observation. I picked this up for under a pound on Amazon and I have to say it was well worth the admission price, and, with the next in the series, Spartacus, The Gods Demand Sacrifice just released, I would recommend you take a look at this fine new author.

 Steven A. McKay, author of “Wolf’s Head”

I really can’t praise this series of books enough, Rob did something with Spartacus which felt new and fresh and he kept me wanting more and more.

Rob’s other work “Wrath of the Furies” is of a similar high quality and the big twist in the book grabbed me as a reader.. it was brilliant.

Click the picture below to head to Amazon.co.uk to read some reviews….

 ….. See it’s not just me who thinks these tales are top notch!

My advice today… buy one of his books… buy them all! Rob has a talent for storytelling and these tales deserve to be read.

Lastly, Rob seems like a very genuine and friendly person, get in touch and let him know what you like about his books

Want to connect with Rob? You can do so via Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or his Amazon author page.