Empire of the centurion

Empire of the centurion (original Title: The Centurion' S Empire) is a novel of Science-fiction of the American writer Sean McMullen published in the the United States in 1998 and France in 2003.

Presentation of work

the Empire of the centurion consists of four distinct stories being held at four different times whose meeting forms a coherent whole. The fourth history is considerably more important cuts some than the three other of which it constitutes the result. It occupies indeed almost half of the ouvrage.
The first three stories are told in only one chapter:

Immortale venenum : Ancient Rome, in year of grace 71.
Pax Romana : Wessex, in British Isles, in year of grace 870.
the Anchor of Charon : North of France, in the year of grace 1358 during the revolt of the Jacques.

The fourth history corresponds to three chapters. It is held in the year of grace 2028:

the Champion of the centurion : Durvas in Great Britain, then Paris (France) and Moscow (Russia).
Déciade : Houston (Texas), then Fisbourne (Great Britain), Durvas (England)
the Countess and the knight : The United States, France, Australia.

If it is not its first novel, the Empire of the centurion is on the other hand the first of Sean McMullen which was translated and published abroad, in particular in France.

Synopsis

In year 71 after Jesus Christ, a secret society made up of old Étrusques, which is made call the Temporiens , an occult influence on the city of Rome exerts. For five centuries, the Temporiens have reigned egoistically in secrecy thanks to a potion, the Immortale venenum , which confers the capacity to them to be able to fall asleep with impunity in ice. They awake thus several decades later ready to control.
again the Immortale venenum was discovered by Celcinius, an Etruscan born five hundred and eighty years ago. This oil is extracted from insects having the property to resist the great colds. It is also a violent one poison for the majority of human which is unable to support its acidity. Only some rare elected officials there parviennent.
The Roman soldier, Vitellan Bavalius, which will become later centurion, has just drawn the attention of the Temporiens while surviving during five days cold icy of the Tyrrhenian Sea after the shipwreck of his ship. This resistance indicates it like ready to support the oil of immortality and the long sleep in the Frigidarium , the tomb of the ices. The Temporiens disappear however before to have been able to recruit Vitellan Bavalius, carried by an adventure of the histoire.
Vitellan Bavalius does not escape however its destiny. Some time later, it meets a Greek doctor, named Milos, between the hands of which an minor amount of the oil of the Temporiens arrived. This small quantity will be sufficient to enable him to start a voyage in the time which will last two millenia.

Literary prizes

the novel the Empire of the centurion gained the price of the best novel to the Aurealis Award in 1998.

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