REvolt 

Synopsis

Oliver is a young lad, just beginning his teen years. His family includes siblings; a twin brother, and a grandfather to whom he is very close. During the long days of summer, Oliver is set upon by his brother and he falls backward. He struggles to free himself only to realise he is not at home. The figure on top of him is not his brother, but a young Celt called Aiden, who is to become the best friend of the accidental time travelling hero. This relationship is just one of the many threads that interweave to create a picture of one of the first great historical events in the story of Britain.

Suetonius, the psychotic Roman governor, makes every effort to eliminate all those who oppose Roman rule, particularly the Druids. They seemed to hold the key to conquering the land, as they were law makers, medical practitioners, and religious priests who connected the gods with the people. Destroy them and the tribes would fall.
The British tribes were to face the toughest and most battle-hardened soldiers of them all – the Ninth Legion. Military professionals such as Marcus and his seven close companions who made up the contubernium. Most had families in Britain who would be slaughtered at the hands of enraged local tribes. The anger and revulsion at the merciless attack on Camulodunum would see them take their revenge on all who opposed them.

Rome had one of the largest empires the world had ever seen, but the administration was almost impossible to manage without help. They needed the cooperation of the local tribes. Rome simply nominated each tribal leader as king, a puppet king of Rome. The king paid taxes and in return could trade freely, come under the protection of the Roman army, and could live a life of comparable luxury. In fact, they became Romanised, and Rome was enriched by the arrangement, if these kings kept having sons to maintain their bloodline.

The next thread tells how Boudicca falls foul of this very law. When Prasutagus died, he did not leave any sons, only a wife, Boudicca, and two daughters. The Romans instructed her to leave, but she refused, as her husband had left half the land to her and half to Rome in his last will. The Romans sent a task force to teach the upstart a lesson. What happened was an
horrific way to treat a well-respected Queen. Incensed, she vowed to take revenge. Oliver and Aiden join with the tribes as the support for Boudicca grows. News of the successful sacking of various Roman cities spreads quickly and the anti-Roman feeling intensifies. Each rebel is determined to rid their lands of every Roman.

Suetonius and the Roman Legions are enraged. Many of the men under his command have had wives and children callously murdered by these pagan mobs and each death must be avenged. All the threads start to tie together as we find Oliver witnessing the final showdown between the baying mob and a vastly outnumbered professional army. The violence is so devastating and the fighting so intense that even Oliver becomes directly involved as a blow to his head sends him flying. He sees a Roman dressed in shining armour bear down on him and closes his eyes tightly, only to realise that he is back in the present day. The person holding him down is his own brother. A prized possession gifted to him shoots from his hand – a sgian dagger, evidence that he really had been with Aiden. Shocked and confused, Oliver makes his way to the one person he can tell … his Grandad.