Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sons of Rome | 2021 | Simon S J A Turney | Buy |
| 2 | Masters of Rome | 2021 | Simon S J A Turney | Buy |
| 3 | Gods of Rome | 2022 | Simon S J A Turney | Buy |
The Rise of Emperors trilogy, co-authored by S.J.A. Turney and Gordon Doherty, charts the rivalry between two of Rome’s most consequential rulers. Constantine and Maxentius grow up together, rise to power separately, and ultimately go to war against each other at the turn of the fourth century AD.
The three books — Sons of Rome, Masters of Rome, and Gods of Rome — trace the arc from childhood through political maneuvering to open military conflict. Turney and Doherty alternate perspectives, each writing one of the two emperors, giving readers both sides of a conflict that reshaped the Roman world and, through Constantine’s conversion, the course of Western history.
The collaboration works because both authors are experienced Roman fiction writers with complementary styles, and the dual-perspective structure gives the rivalry a depth that a single-narrator approach would lack.