I first heard about this book by laying in bed with my dad when I was young, and he would tell me a fantastic story about this incredible man that faced struggles trying to assist the Britons in fighting the Romans in 55AD. Well, when I got older, he told me that the stories had come from a book he had read, and in high school (late '60s) I read the book. It is a real page turner. Unfortunately, the book that can now be found is also out of print, but is a paperback of just the first portion of the book. So, try to find the hard cover complete book, it is remarkable writing and should be on every collector's shelf after they have enjoyed the saga. Good hunting, it is not at Amazon, skip the paperbacks, it is better to go looking for the hardback!

One of the great regets about this wonderful book is that very recently I had the chance to introduce it to a very well read young man but could only give him the 2nd installment of the triogly (the Tros I read was a 3 book set) as I have over the years lent the others to people who have never returned them! As the books are now out-of -print I realize that a great character may never have the chance to be re-discovered!If you have not read the Tros books and can find them hang on! The brawn and derring do of Conan,the guile of a career diplomat,there are few characters in the genre with the scope of Tros.Enjoy!

Tros of Samothrace is an epic tale of adventure. It is historical fiction. And it is my all-time favorite. Many people on the Internet who are aware of Talbot Mundy agree that "Om, the Secret of the Arbor Valley" is his masterpiece. But "Tros" is my favorite. The complete novel is in excess of 1000 pages, so take your time. The book offers lots of what I call "kitchen wisdom", but I think best of all is Mundy's revisionist portrayal of ancient Rome. For that reason alone it is a must-read for anyone in touch with the ancient world. PS: Talbot Mundy writes excellent prose.

I couldn't agree more with the earlier reviewer. Mundy is one of my favorite 'adventure' novelists, and this is one of his better works. He's almost forgotten today, but as a pulp writer he kept many on the edge of their seats 60 years ago. If you like E.R. Burroughs, Sax Rohmer or Robert E. Howard, this is one you shouldn't miss (Howard based one of his characters, 'Francis X Gordon on Mundy's King) If you liked R. Kiplings 'Kim'...imagine Kim grown up. Exotic love interest, intrique,a keen eye for native customs of 100 years ago, swords and blazing pistols, charging lancers on a path 6 feet wide, with death inches away over the edge 3000 feet to the canyon below...'King, of the Khyber Rifles' is about a British officer involved in the 'mysticism' of then-forbidden Tibet, includes frequent skirmishes with skulking mountain warriors, the old 'keeping the Khyber pass open' ploy, oh just read it. Mix up a peg of whiskey-soda, and escape the mundane last years of the 20th century. You can't go wrong with Talbot Mundy.

Imagine Kipling writing about India... now imagine the same stories as rewrittten by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but an ERB that actually sounds as if he's been in the places he's writing about. And all the detail of a George Macdonald Fraser novel... Then you throw in some mystic stuff that makes William S. Burroughs sound illiterate, add a pinch of "Boys Own Stories" or "Biggles" or whatever then light a match... this is one amazing novel, it really is.

Read this book and remember how your life is a path full of testing and initiations. We are all led by higher goals, if we so choose. This book will make you feel a part of something grand.

It will also make you laugh and feel alive.

An English Secret Service agent stationed in mysterious India wants to find his long-lost sister. He has little to go on but he stretches his talents to the breaking point to find her.

Little does know that he is not actually the pursuer, but the pursued. He is being secretly led by his guru with an inner love and wisdom that is matched by a personality that puts the lie to the stereotypical image of the reticent, desiccated spiritual high and mighty swami. This guru-lama will keep you panting for more of his sublimely practical wisdom as he liberally sprinkles his tongue-in-cheek aphorisms throughout the book. I have photo-copied all of these and enjoy reading them often to keep my spiritual quest from degenerating into a brittle formulaic procedure or trailing off into a wispy yearning for an other worldly never-never-land.

Your everyday life IS the Path and this twinkly-eyed lama will not let you forget it. Indeed, if you think your life is tough as a student aspirant, by the end of the book, you will realize how ever-so-much-harder is the teacher's lot. You will be brought to a summit of poignant insight that leaves you with naught but a desire to throw your arms around this forthright, insightful, stern lama. You will want to comingle your love with this man who has blended his heart flame into an elixir that will, if you truly quaff it, forevermore lift you onto a new Summit. You will find a new definition of spiritual responsibility--alive, vibrant and free--in a dedicaton to service heretofore unknown.

I have read this book three times now--and two of those times I read it aloud to friends whom I loved enough to want to share with them its rare mixture of wisdom, spiritual yearning, humor, businesslike can-do spirit, mystery, adventure and hope.

I gave my last copy to a couple, whom I instantly recognized as soul mates when I met them. Now I am buying it again and look forward to meeting more people I love enough to give it to. Maybe my having another copy will invoke another such joyous reunion. And if you buy it and read it, I'm sure you, too, will be some measure closer to the union of hearts that all spiritual seekers on this planet are aiming for.

Thirty years ago, this was one of the "Classics Illustrated" comics, and it made a big impression on me as a kid. Now, having visited India and studied its history, returning to the story in book form resonated on several levels. Mundy is a piercing observer of human nature as manifested in the diverse peoples of India and their British imperialist masters. He is also a master of graphic description. This swashbuckling tale of fantasy and adventure lets him be Edgar Rice Burroughs and Rudyard Kipling at the same time. It's exhilirating, thought-provoking, and a great memoir of the not-so-distant days when fantasy worlds could still be postulated for this planet. Read it, and then read "The Nine Unknown", by the same author

A captain beyond compare, a second mate whose loyalty is beyond reproach, a love interest who is the exiled sister of Cleopatra, and a ship, "Liafail", that carries them all toward the ends of the Roman world.

I'm sorry, I don't want to review this book, I just want you to get the title right. The title is: "The Purple Pirate", not "Purple Pirates". The title refers both to Tros' genealogy-he is a "prince" of Samothrace and to his penchant for wearing a purple cape. Purple is the traditional color of royalty and, 2000 years ago, was a very expensive and rare dye.

A sprawling, apocalyptic novel about three groups of people converging to help save the world from a madman. Nuclear explosions, worldwide panic, and a scientist whose found a cure for...DEATH? It sounds a little hokey but Rodgers does an excellent job telling a smart story while using a down to earth voice throughout.

A great book, I've read it four times since I bought it in 1992. A chilling horror book with an equally chilling message. A must-have for fans of "The Stand" and other apocalyptic-type novels

Alan Rodgers masterpiece! Rivals that of Steven King's "The Stand" and Robert McCammon's "Swan Song". Run, don't walk, to your nearest used book store and search for this gem. You won't be sorry!

If you've never read any of Talbot Mundy's Asian books, he is a lot like some sort of Rudyard Kipling on steroids. There is the same grand sense of adventure, the belief in the individual, the same belief that there is more to the East than meets the eye, the same impatience with officialdom. On the other hand, Mundy's writing is less humourous and there's a lot of "pulp" elements thrown in. If you've never read Kipling, think of Talbot Mundy as a vague cross between "Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom" and "Gunga Din"

This is pretty standard Talbot Mundy fare, really, using characters out of King of the Khyber Rifles (a much better novel, in my opinion)

Some of the ideas in "King" are repeated to fairly good effect: the dancing girls that hypnotize the unwary, and the imminent awakening of the East are good examples. There is also the same fascination with Caves and underground temples (was this guy afraid of wide open spaces?)

Unfortunately, this book feels like it was meant to be part of a much bigger book. An inordinate amount of time (several chapters actually) is spent on the actual "caves of terror", which are described in minute detail and yet are only meant to be a test of courage before the characters embark on a much bigger mission (in America, of all places)

The detail is fascinating, but I found that the book finished all too quickly leaving me somewhat disappointed.