As a child, I was infatuated with historical tales and larger-than-life figures. Gazing at portraits of figures like Julius Caesar or Queen Elizabeth I, I’d fall into daydreams imagining myself crossing the Rubicon or navigating the intrigues of Tudor life.

Historical fiction was an outlet to further those dreams. Yet as I scoured the library I found few selections on the life and struggles of my favorite figure of all – Flavius Belisarius. The Last of the Romans is my humble attempt to capture the lives of Belisarius and dozens of other leading figures in Justinian’s Empire, whose legacy still shapes much of Western life today.

By day I am a research scientist studying complex systems and the drivers of systemic shock. If there’s one thing I’ve discovered in writing these novels – many of the problems that modern societies face today are near-identical to those borne by our forebears (who admittedly may have had it much worse!).