Eskkar & Trella - The Beginning (645 pages) - is the latest novel in Sam Barone's five part series, a bronze age historical saga in the tradition of Conn Iggulden, Bernard Cornwell and Jean Auel.
In Dawn of Empire, Eskkar the warrior and Trella the keen-witted slave girl come together in a mighty struggle to survive a barbarian invasion and build mankind's first walled city. But Eskkar's story began many years earlier, when his family was brutally murdered in a blood feud. His name and heritage obliterated, young Eskkar flees his clan and the only life he knows. Condemned as an outcast, he learns to survive, hunted by his own kind, and hated and feared by all others.
For fifteen years, Eskkar wanders the Land Between The Rivers, home of his hereditary enemies, fighting to stay alive and to reach manhood. All the while he is learning the skills that will one day make him not only a true warrior, but a leader of men on and off the battlefield.
Trella, too, witnesses her family destroyed in a single night of vengeance, and her life of ease and privilege lost. Captured and sold to a slave trader, she must use her keen mind, extraordinary perception, and perfect memory to regain control of her life. While appearing to serve her masters, Trella learns to manipulate the powerful men who now own her body. Soon she becomes the unseen influence whose knowledge and training guide the way to the founding of an empire.
Eskkar and Trella join together and form a unique bond that enables them to overcome the limits their world has placed upon them. These are the stories of their journeys toward one another and to their shared destiny - an enduring love that changes civilization forever.
Other books by Sam Barone
Dawn of Empire (483 pages) - Eskkar and Trella's rise to power, the building of the great wall to defend against a barbarian invasion, and the first steps on the road to civilization and empire.
Empire Rising (465 pages) - Continues the story of the struggles to save mankind's first walled city. Eskkar's city of Akkad is captured by enemies within the city, and his pregnant wife is forced to kneel at the feet of her new master. Eskkar returns to save his city, new-born son, and his only love.
Quest For Honour (618 pages) - The rise of city states in the Land Between The Rivers brings a new enemy and threat to the city of Akkad. Eskkar and Trella must build the world's first professional army in a desperate effort to save their city from a Sumerian invasion. Available in UK as Conflict of Empires / Quest For Honour.
Battle For Empire - available Summer 2012. More than thirteen years have passed since the war with the Sumerians. Now a vastly more powerful foreign invader threatens the entire Land Between The Rivers. Eskkar, Trella, and the city of Akkad must overcome this new conqueror. At the same time, they must find a way to win back their rebellious son Sargon, whose wild and dangerous behavior threatens his parents' rule and even his future kingdom.
Born and raised in Queens, New York, Sam Barone graduated from Manhattan College with a BS degree. After a hitch in the Marine Corps, he entered the world of technology. In 1999, after thirty years developing software in management, Sam retired from Western Union International, as VP of International Systems. He moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, to take up his second career as a writer. Seven years later, the author's first Eskkar story, Dawn of Empire, was published in the USA and UK. It has since been released worldwide.
History and reading have always been two of Sam's favorite interests, and considers himself more of a storyteller than a writer. "I write stories that I would enjoy reading, and it's a true blessing that others have found these tales interesting, informative, and entertaining." Sam and his wife Linda, and their two cats (Minga and Norton) have recently moved and enjoy a quieter life in Prescott Arizona. His books have been published in nine languages, and he receives correspondence from all over the world. Sam enjoys hearing from his readers, and invites them to visit www.sambarone.com.
