Tower. Valerio Massimo Manfredi (Revised)

Twenty centuries ago, a ferocious, mysterious force hidden in a solitary tower annihilated a squad of Roman soldiers advancing through the Sahara desert. There was a single survivor: the Etruscan diviner Avile Vipinas, who later described the horror of the creature in the tower, and suggested how this being could be destroyed.
But just what is the dark being that slumbers in the tower? And who are the fierce desert-dwelling Blemmyae observed by ancient travellers: might they truly exist?.
To find the tower and solve its unutterable mystery, three men venture into the heart of the Sahara: an archaeologist following the traces of his father, a colonel from the Foreign Legion thirsting for revenge, and a priest who puts his faith to the ultimate test.
An archaeological thriller and a love story, a philological puzzle and a mystical enigma, The Tower tells the tale of a proud and fearless people who dared to challenge the root of all evil, against the fascinating backdrop of the birth of the ancient Mediterranean civilizations.

Valerio Massimo Manfredi is professor of classical archaeology at Luigi Bocconi University in Milan. He has published nine works of fiction, including the 'Alexander' trilogy, which has been translated into 24 languages in 38 countries. He has written and hosted documentaries on the ancient world and has written screenplays for cinema and television.