Atilus the Lanista: The Saga of Atilus, Book Three

By E.C. Tubb

As a young boy Atilus Cindras had been taken from Britain to Rome as a slave, and trained in the gruesome arts of the gladiators. Fueled by his hatred for Rome, he'd risen to the top of his killing trade with his fierce and deadly skill, and won the coveted Rudis, the wooden sword that gave him his freedom. But he wants more from Rome than this, and gambles all of his money on a commercial venture that fails. Now deeply in debt, he's pulled into a partnership with wealthy patricians who want to use his knowledge as a lanista--a manager of gladiators--to make them all rich. When one of his backers betrays him, and when Rome erupts in fire in the summer heat, Atilus must use every skill, every bit of knowledge, to save himself and his new British wife from the all-engulfing flames, and then somehow find a way to return to his native land. The stunning, action-filled conclusion to the Atilus Trilogy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wildside Press
• Release date: Sep 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781434443212

E.C. Tubb

The author of "Lucifer" — the inspiration for the film "57 Seconds" starring Josh Hutcherson and Morgan Freeman — is best-known for his long-running "Dumarest of Terra" series, featuring a hapless, wandering protagonist searching for his home, the third planet from the sun. His is also known for his adaptations of the "Space 1999" TV-series, and his “Cap Kennedy” novels (writing as Gregory Kern.)In a sixty-year writing career he published over 120 novels, and 200 science fiction short stories in such magazines as Astounding/Analog, Authentic, Galaxy, Nebula, New Worlds, Science Fantasy, and Vision of Tomorrow.His first science fiction short story was published in New Worlds in 1951, and his first novel quickly followed the same year. His earliest novels were written under several pseudonyms (most notably Charles Grey) and were exciting adventure stories, written in the prevailing fashion of the early 1950s. Yet from his very first novel, his work was characterized by a sense of plausibility, logic, and human insight. These qualities were especially evident in his short stories, which were frequently anthologized, most notably by Judith Merrill and Don Wollheim in their World’s Best SF annual compilations. In 1970, Tubb was Guest of Honour at the 28th World Science Fiction Convention in Heidelberg, West Germany.‘Lucifer!’ received a Special Award for Best Short Story at the first Eurocon in 1972. The motion picture 57 Seconds, based upon "Lucifer," debuts in theaters in 2023 from Curmudgeon Films.His output included historical adventure, detective, and westerns, but he remained best known for his numerous science fiction novels, of which Alien Dust (1955) and The Space Born (1956) were acknowledged classics.Tubb continued to write dynamic new science fiction novels right up to his death; his final novel, "Fires of Satan," was published by Gollancz in 2013. New editions of his novels and collections of his best short stories continue to be published posthumously, and all of his books have remained constantly in print.

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