The Path of Revenge by Tom Haward Virtual Book Tour

 

Guest Post

In the course of writing our books, there is always a fascinating piece of research that we stumble on and it may, or may not make it into our stories. Really good research should, of course, never be intrusive so here is your opportunity to let that little piece of trivia or major research point have its moment in the sun. For your post, it would be wonderful if you could share a “Fun Fact”. Illustrations are welcome. Please attach all photographs as separate .jpg files

I’m not sure whether it’s a ‘fun fact’, but it’s certainly interesting! When writing The Path of Revenge, and the first book in the series, The Path of Chaos, I have been researching a lot about gladiators and their role in Roman society. With the many depictions of gladiators on screen, it’s easy to think that gladiators were more like lambs to the slaughter than revered fighters.

One of my characters, Maverick, is a firmer gladiator and a superstar. He’s like the Muhammed Ali of the gladiator world, where millions tuned in to watch him fight, with his bouts streamed around the world. I was researching particularly famous/notorious gladiator duels from ancient Rome to understand a bit more about the weapons they used and how I might adapt those weapons to fit with the advancement of weaponry over two thousand years. As I was doing that, I came across an anecdote about a gladiator match in 80AD. It was between two men named Priscus and Verus and they fought each other for three hours until they both decided they’d had enough and laid their weapons down.

I had always assumed this wasn’t permissible to essentially call a truce as it had to be a fight to the death, but I was wrong. The emperor of that time, Titus, was apparently to impressed by their fighting skills and endurance that he granted both men’s freedom. I was fascinated by this as the sadistic side of gladiator bouts has always been highlighted but in my research found the humanity and reverence that went with these men and the skills they had!

The rebellion is in hiding. It has been a year since Boatman King attempted to overthrow the Empire, but instead had to escape London with his wife and their closest allies.

Not all of Boatman King’s allies are in hiding. Maverick “The Beast” Kirabo is on a mission to finish what he started on the streets of London. The former gladiator has a score to settle and revenge to unleash: Rome will fear him as they once adored him.

Despite its failure, Boatman King’s rebellion has spread disquiet in Rome’s political circles. Grand Protector Faust dispatches a pair of hunters to search the country and bring Boatman and his followers back to London for reckoning. Although Faust is the official face of Rome’s leadership, Emperor Maximus is thirsty to stamp his mark on the world and step out from his dead father’s shadow.

Unbeknownst to Faust and Maximus, a terrifying presence is watching the unrest and relishing in the vulnerabilities it’s causing.

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Path-Revenge-Tom-Haward/dp/1962308138/ref=sr_1_1

Excerpt

Maximus called for the nurse. Well, called was a rather generous word for the animalistic noise that his mouth emitted. Ever since his head had been caved in by a hammer, he wasn’t able to vocalise much that made any sense. In his head, though, in his head, everything made sense and the words that bounced around his brain were as clear as the hatred that bubbled in his gut. The hatred was centred on Maverick Kirabo, the man who had wielded the hammer that had left a permanent dent in Maximus’s skull.

It had been eleven months since Max had one minute been enjoying crucifying Olivia King, feeling the butterflies in his belly as he smashed nails through her wrists, and the next minute waking up in this gods-forsaken room, fluorescent lights causing splinters of pain in his skull and tubes sprouting from his body like a plastic porcupine.

Maximus made a guttural noise again to try and get the nurse’s attention. Eventually she appeared; she tried to conceal a look of disgust, but she was either a poor actor or disinterested in trying. Maximus had assumed his face was a picture of horror from his injuries, which it was, but the nurse’s disgust didn’t come from the patient’s wounds but from the patient’s personality.

Maximus Nero was infamous for his sadism. He made no secret of the pleasure he derived from other people’s pain. It was that pleasure that had motivated him to travel to Britannia to track down Olivia King.

Tom was born in Essex and, at 4 months old, he and his identical twin were adopted into an oyster farming family. Tom now runs the business as generation eight of Haward oyster farmers. He has a fiancée, baby daughter and a cockapoo.

Tom has an MA in Creative Writing and The Path of Chaos (Cinnabar Moth Publishing) is his debut novel, which was released August 2023. The Path of Revenge is the sequel in The Path of Chaos series and will be released August 6th 2024.

Website: https://tomhaward.co.uk/

Twitter: https://x.com/HawardTom

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomhawardauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hawardtom

Giveaway

The author will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

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