The Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell is a 2016 historical fantasy novel by Michael Livingston. The sequel to The Shards of Heaven, it explores the aftermath of the fall of Alexandria to Octavian, and the continued struggles of Juba and Cleopatra Selene. Plot Alexandria has fallen to Octavian, now known as Augustus, and both Mark Antony and Cleopatra are dead. A conquered Cleopatra Selene and her husband Juba are compelled to serve Augustus while secretly seeking their vengeance against the Roman Empire using the powerful artifacts known as the Shards of Heaven. While Caesarion has spirited the Ark of the Covenant out of Alexandria for its protection, and Octavian possesses the Trident of Poseidon that only Juba can control, Juba has also acquired the Aegis of Zeus from the Alexandrian tomb of Alexander the Great, and Selene steals the Palladium of Troy from the Temple of the Vestals in Rome. Octavian and Juba are soon alerted to the existence of a fifth Shard, the Lance of Olyndicus, wielded by the Cantabrian bandit Corocotta. Characters Juba, son and heir to the king of Numidia, adopted by Julius Caesar after his conquest of Numidia Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony and now Juba's wife Augustus, Caesar's adopted son and heir Caesarion, son of Caesar and Cleopatra Hannah, Caesarion's Jewish wife Lucius Vorenus, a Roman centurion loyal to Caesarion Writing and publication Livingston, a historian and professor of medieval literature, said in 2015 about his choice of setting: