Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans! - Gary Northfield

Written by Gary Northfield
Read by Nick Podehl
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

· Series: Julius Zebra, Book 1
· Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
· Release date: 04-12-16
· Publisher: Candlewick on Brilliance Audio

What happens when you mix the gladiatorial combat of ancient Rome with a fast-talking creature who is DEFINITELY NOT A STRIPY HORSE?

From a smelly water hole on the African savanna, Julius Zebra is captured, along with Milus the scarred lion and Cornelius the clueless warthog. Transported to the ferocious clamor of the Colosseum, Julius Zebra and his motley menagerie of friends must gear up to be . . . gladiators!

The only way they will gain their freedom is if they win the love of the Roman crowds. But do they have what it takes to succeed in a world where only the meanest and toughest survive?

Publishers Weekly…”In this cracked “careful what you wish for” tale, first in the Julius Zebra series, a dim-witted talking zebra inadvertently trades an unhappy existence in the African plains to train in the art of gladiatorial combat. Disgusted by the lake where all the animals bathe, drink, and poop, Julius wanders off, only to be kidnapped by centurions and shipped off to Rome with other wild beasts destined to become fodder for the Colosseum’s gladiators. Northfield, creator of the Derek the Sheep comic strip, introduces some ancient history along the way (in the written text the page numbers are written in Roman numerals), a glossary defines several English and Latin terms, and fellow captive Cornelius the warthog sums up the Romans by saying, “Basically, they want to take over lots of other strange lands—mainly by beating everyone up!”), but the screwball comedy is what will pull readers in. Julius is slightly daft, but he can be cocky, too.”