Crossroads Brotherhood Books in Order
Part ofRobert Fabbri Books in OrderBrowse the Crossroads Brotherhood novellas by Robert Fabbri in order, with quick summaries and guidance on how these Magnus stories tie into the Vespasian novels.
Last updated: December 25, 2025
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Publication Order
5 books
The Imperial Triumph
by Robert Fabbri
2017
Back in Rome after years campaigning in Britannia, Marcus Salvius Magnus finds his quarter under pressure from ruthless landlords, rival gangs and an unpaid debt to Vespasia Polla. To stay on top, he must bend Rome's underworld to a risky political scheme.
The Alexandrian Embassy
by Robert Fabbri
2015
Rome, AD 39. Magnus buys a shipment of illegal weapons that should cement his grip on the streets, only to see the deal collapse and a rival brotherhood move in. To save his business and his life, he must outwit enemies, officials and his own patron.
The Dreams of Morpheus
by Robert Fabbri
2014
During the Ides of October festival, Magnus scours Rome for a rare drug that will settle a powerful woman's debt. When a street celebration erupts into a riot, he has to steer a furious crowd and protect his interests before the city turns on itself.
The Racing Factions
by Robert Fabbri
2013
A bookmaker at the Circus Maximus cheats Magnus out of a large win, drawing the wrath of the South Quirinal Crossroads Brotherhood. As he plots revenge, Magnus is asked to fix a chariot race to win a violent consul's support for a crucial election.
The Crossroads Brotherhood
by Robert Fabbri
2011
Magnus, patron of the Crossroads Brotherhood, faces two problems at once: a brothel under his protection has been raided and a senator's ally demands an inventive killing. To keep his reputation and territory, he plans one audacious move to settle both scores.
Series background & context
The Crossroads Brotherhood stories follow Marcus Salvius Magnus, a streetwise gang leader who rules the South Quirinal district of Rome. First introduced as Vespasian's ally, Magnus steps into the spotlight here as patron of a network of taverns, brothels and protection rackets.
Set between the reigns of Tiberius and Nero, the novellas explore Rome from ground level. Instead of marching with legions, readers prowl back alleys and tenements, where small decisions about debts, favours and territory can spill over into murder and riots.
Each tale starts with a problem that looks manageable and quickly grows teeth. In The Crossroads Brotherhood a rival gang raids one of Magnus's brothels at the same time as a senator demands a very particular assassination. The Racing Factions plunges him into the world of chariot racing when a bookmaker at the Circus Maximus tries to cheat him.
In The Dreams of Morpheus an errand to find an exotic drug linked to Lady Antonia collides with a festival that turns ugly. The Alexandrian Embassy sends Magnus after a shipment of illegal weapons that could secure his grip on the streets, while The Imperial Triumph and The Succession drag him into property scams, war loot and a lethal mystery around a murdered astrologer.
Running through all of these plots is Magnus's uneasy relationship with high politics. He owes loyalty to Senator Gaius Vespasius Pollo, father of the future emperor, and sometimes to Antonia, the emperor's formidable sister in law. Their requests pull him into schemes that could topple men like Sejanus or shift fortunes in the imperial court.
Magnus survives by treating Rome itself as a board, moving debtors, gladiators, pimps and crossroad shrines like pieces in a long game.
The tone is fast, sharp and often darkly funny. Fabbri uses Magnus to show how the city really runs, from fixed races to rigged elections, and how violence and favour sit side by side. The novellas can be read on their own or alongside the main Vespasian sequence, where Magnus appears whenever Rome needs something done that the law cannot touch.
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