Empire of Dragons by Valerio Massimo Manfredi
“A rugged Roman Gladiator road-trip with a Chinese twist”
The story follows Roman Emperor Licinius Valerianus and his twelve guards who are dragged away to work as prisoners in a solitary Persian turquoise mine. They escape and thus begins the adventures of the Romans as they journey to China. There they will discover that they aren't the first of their kind to arrive in China: they were preceded centuries before by the survivors of the 'lost legion'.
I read this on planes, trains, taxis, and busses while traveling through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. This book was epic, and reminded me a lot of “The Physician” by Noah Gordon. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it was full of action, forbidden love, and both a physical and personal journey. Books like this are just a fun read and easy to get lost in. So if you’ve been reading a bit too much dystopian stuff, this was a nice change of pace.
