…“If anyone gives you any trouble in here you tell me, I’ll
take care of it.” Lucius said as he opened the door.

We walked out of the moldering darkness of the Subura
into another world.

Pompey’s mouth was agape as he beheld the sight.

Torches and lamps lit up the great gilded and marble hall, as
thinly veiled beauties went to and fro serving wine food and flesh to the many
patrons as they reclined in complete luxury.

There was a pool in the center with floating candles
illuminating naked beauties frolicking with euphoric delight.

The air was filled with music and the aromas of incense and various
smoking mixtures imported from the east.

There were gladiators, wealthy merchants, senator’s sons,
priests, war heroes and other prominent citizens.

“Name it my friend, you’ll find it here.” I said to Pompey.

“Wine, I’ll have some wine and a woman to start off with,
then some food.” Pompey said wandering off.

“Caesar!”

I turned to find Sergius Cataline, a fellow patrician,
walking over. He was very much like an older brother to me. “What are you doing
here?” He said.

“I’m here with a friend from the country.” I responded.

“Do you mean the blond fellow carrying a girl and a flagon of
wine toward the back rooms?” he inquired laughing.

“Yes, that’s him. That’s my friend Gnaeus Pompey.”

“Yes, of course, Strabo’s son. His father’s army has seen a
lot of fighting.” Catiline said.

“Pompey commands the first cohort.” I said.

“Impressive.”

“Come this way.” Catiline said making his way through the
maze of couches and people. He led me to an alcove separated by a sheer curtain
from the rest of the room. Behind the curtain were a number of shadowy figures.

Catiline held the curtain open as I passed into the shadows.

“Gaius Julius? Join us young man.”

My eyes adjusted to the darkness….

Imperator (Victorious General) is
the story of Julius Caesar’s youth before he appears in the historical record.
The reader witnesses the collapse of the four centuries old Roman Republic that
ruled the World but could not govern its self, through the eyes of young
Caesar. It’s a young adult, action/adventure/ political intrigue story where
the reader is intimately introduced to the personalities that shaped the modern
world we live in. The great events are recreated and great personalities are
reborn as flesh and blood people struggling with the day to day decisions that
would resonate through the millennia. Imperator details the political
struggles, the lust for power and the ideological fight to preserve Rome by a
small group of pragmatic reformers that would result in Civil War on an epic
scale time and time again.

Imperator gives the reader a fresh
perspective on the life story of the man that would rise from the streets
of Rome to the pinnacle of power and world domination. Witness the youth and
adventures of a man whose very name would come to symbolize unrivaled
power and become the coveted title every Roman Emperor to follow would assume,
a man whose policy of Clemency toward his enemies would seal his fate on the
“Ides of March”.

Meet the Caesar you never knew! IMPERATOR.

Imperator,
by Philip Katz, Copyright 2011.

ISBN-10: 0-9832800-0-2

ISBN-13: 978-0-9832800-0-2

Publisher: Copperhill Media