Praetorian Series [3] A Hunter and His Legion

After having narrowly escaped a trap set for him by Empress Agrippina the Younger, Jacob Hunter and his band of weary time travelers lay low in the ancient city of Damascus, planning their next move. Joined now by a team of Special Forces operators from an alternate and skewed timeline with their own agendas and motivations, Hunter now finds himself without direction. Since escaping Ancient Rome four years earlier, his only goal was to survive long enough to enact his scheme to remove Agrippina from power and place Vespasian, a once and future emperor of Rome, on the throne in her place. But all his well laid plans came to a fruitless end when he and his friends narrowly escaped a grisly fate at the hands of Agrippina. However, there was one thing that survived Hunter’s encounter with the empress to focus his mind. The orb. He has often thought on it, but has never really understood it, yet now comes the moment when he must come to grips with the fact that only by understanding its nature will he be able to harness its power and send everyone home. The orb should have been his sole source of focus from the very beginning, but it was only after his recent failure to apprehend Agrippina that this fact was fully realized. Found in the rubble of Agrippina’s villa was a note left for him by his deceased friend Marcus Varus, tasking him with a mission to track down ancient Druids who may be able to help him. Now, after years trapped in Antiquity, Hunter must finally seek answers to the central mystery that has plagued him since becoming history's first recorded time traveler. Armed with fresh clues and a final destination, Hunter and his company embark on a new quest, one that will take them beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire in search of centuries old information about a relic few even know exists. But a darkness accompanies them. While the orb is a powerful tool, it is also a deadly device in the hands of those who underestimate or do not understand its dark potential. With its ability to grant certain users the ability to manipulate time, also comes a degenerative property that can reduce an individual into a simpering, doddering fool, or warp him into a tyrannical despot. The orb’s ability to do this is well documented in both Caligula and Claudius, and perhaps Agrippina too, but it is Hunter who should be most concerned by its influence. He has interacted with it far more than anyone else, and as he and his friends begin their odyssey, his challenge will be greater than simply discovering the truth about the orb’s origins, but overcoming and surviving its ill effects as he struggles to maintain control of his mind.About the AuthorEdward Crichton, a native Clevelander, lives in Chicago, Illinois with his wife, where he spends his time coming to grips with his new found sports allegiances. A long time enthusiast of Science Fiction, Fantasy, History and everything in between, he spends his time reading, writing, and overusing his Xbox. Until recently, Crichton had often hoped for a cat, but his wife decided to let him have a baby boy instead. Due in November of 2013, he and his wife could not be more excited. His Sci-Fi epic Starfarer: Rendezvous with Destiny, was released in April of 2013, and the latest book in his Praetorian Series: A Hunter and His Legion, was released in September of 2013. Crichton hopes to spend a few months bonding with his wife and newborn child before getting back into writing, but he still hopes to release the next book in his Praetorian Series in the spring of 2014.