“Never boring…the setting is convincingly rendered, and the characters--heroes and villains--are sharply drawn.” — Publishers Weekly

“EMPIRE RISING is a winner from the first page to the last. Highly recommended.” — John Lescroart

“Barone knows his stuff and writes fluently of life, love, and war.” — John Lescroart

“If Bernard Cornwell and Diana Gabaldon decided to collaborate on a novel, the result would be something like this.” — Arizona Republic

“Equal parts history lesson, love story and war saga, Barone’s first historical will have readers turning pages.” — Publishers Weekly

“Beautifully imagined and researched adventure, with terrific action!” — Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“[A] wonderful book! Big, passionate, powerful, epic…sheer story-telling prowess. I couldn’t put it down!” — --John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of THE HUNT CLUB

“[A] compelling first novel… Readers will find it hard to put down this dramatic tale of conflict.” — Library Journal

Sam Barone