A fragile peace threatens to crumble
Cologne, 87 AD. The bustling Roman city in the north of Germania marks the border between the mighty Empire and the lands of the unruly free barbarian tribes. After a long period of peace, the citizens of Colonia see their comfortable lives shattered when a band of warriors from across the Rhine raid Roman territory. The newly appointed Governor is overwhelmed with the task of dealing with the threat. Thank the gods for Lucretia, the clever daughter of a wealthy merchant, and Quintus, a lawyer and half-Germanic immigrant. The odd couple begin to investigate and soon realize there‘s more to the raids than meets the eye. And before they know it, they find themselves in grave danger…
Guest Post
Welcome to the edge of the Roman Empire, where cultural tensions and personal ambitions collide. When barbarian raids threaten the peace in the province of Germania Inferior, Lucretia Veturius, a sharp-witted young woman, and Quintus Tibur, a lawyer, find themselves caught in the middle. As Quintus becomes embroiled in a court case that tests his integrity and wit, Lucretia defies social norms and seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend’s death instead of searching for a husband. Their paths cross in a city rife with political manoeuvring and social challenges, where the stakes are as high as the tension in the air. They soon realise that the lives of tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Rhine depend on the outcome of their investigation.
Putting a new spin on classic genre
The Roman Empire has accompanied us since childhood. When I, Axel, was seven years old, my grandfather took me to the municipal museum in Mainz, a former Roman city, where I spent hours marvelling at the remains of ancient swords. After that, I read every book on the subject I could get my hands on, while Julia happened to adapt a children’s book set in ancient Rome for the school stage. And starred in it.
So when we decided to try our hand at a period piece a few years ago, we immediately knew what era it had to be set in and that it had to include an element of courtroom drama. After all, many of us live in legal systems based on the ancient Roman model.
And something else became clear very quickly: as “Shadows on Colonia” would follow in the footsteps of such well-known and beloved series like SPQR (John Maddox Roberts) and Didius Falco (Lindsey Davis), we were determined to set ourselves apart from our predecessors and forge our own path. Times had changed a lot since those novels were conceived, and we wanted to create a new Roman-era mystery for the 21st century.
Our first change: the point of view. In the classics of the genre, all the protagonists are men, whereas women only appear as victims, love interests or suspects. That’s how our heroine Lucretia Veturius was born, and since we love odd-couple situations, we decided to pair her with the lawyer Quintus Tibur. Purely platonic, we might add.
But we didn’t stop there. Contrary to what old Hollywood would have us believe, the Roman Empire was very diverse, multicultural and globalised, and we wanted our characters to reflect that. That’s why Lucretia is of mixed Italian and Moroccan descent, her father having come to Germania as a legionary many years ago. Being born in the Empire, however, makes her a true Roman. As the son of a Germanic mother and a Roman father, Quintus has a similar background, but having grown up in the barbarian wilderness and only moved to Colonia as a teenager, he still doesn’t quite feel he belongs – despite his success as a lawyer.
We also wanted a change of scenery. Previous novels in this genre mainly take place in Rome. As magnificent as the ancient city is as a setting, it’s a very unique and limited representation of how people lived in the Roman Empire. We saw an untapped narrative potential in the provinces, which were both victims and beneficiaries of Roman colonialism. Being German ourselves, and having grown up near several former Roman cities, it seemed only natural to set “Shadows on Colonia” in Roman Germania – with the enemy just across the river.
Deep-diving into the Roman history of Germany
For decades TV shows, films and novels have shaped our view of ancient Rome: great battles, bloodthirsty games in the Colosseum, and well-spoken white senators in white togas convening in white marble rooms. While many aspects of the period have been accurately portrayed, others have been altered, tweaked, adjusted to create compelling narratives and visuals. And more often than not, there was a lack of scholarly evidence, leaving creatives to fill in the blanks themselves. Since then, there have been great advances in research, which has spurred us on to try and integrate the latest findings as well as possible and to portray this era as realistically as possible. But not only that. The question was: how do we grasp the inner life of characters who lived 2000 years ago and who are so different from us today?
We went to work and read volumes and volumes, but we felt this wasn’t enough. After all, historical facts alone don’t tell us how the past felt, smelled, sounded and tasted. Fortunately, we have excellent conditions for in-depth research in our country. Not only are there numerous museums documenting the history of Roman Germania, but there are also places that really bring the past to life.
One such place is the Xanten Archaeological Park on the Lower Rhine, a partially reconstructed Roman town on its original site. You can visit homes, workshops and a tavern to get a good idea of how people lived and worked, ate and drank back then. Similarly, a visit to Villa Borg, a fully reconstructed country villa in south-west Germany, truly was like stepping into a time machine. At the Museum of Ancient Seafaring in Mainz, we saw Roman warships, and soldiers’ pay slips and letters home to understand the life of a sailor.
Most impressive, however, were the re-enactment events we were able to attend. For two days in summer, for example, re-enactors from all over Europe gather at the Roman Museum in Haltern. They set up camp in the partially reconstructed military base and explain how the Roman soldiers lived and worked. On top of that, their infantry and cavalry demonstrate formation exercises to an enthusiastic audience. We took the opportunity to try not only Roman food but also Roman clothes. We learned how jewellery, pottery and weapons were made and listened to a group of musicians playing ancient Roman tunes. On another occasion, we attended a gladiator boot camp at the Saalburg, a fully restored Roman cavalry fort north of Frankfurt, where we tried out the weapons and put on the (very heavy) helmets.
It won’t come as a surprise that we took thousands of photos and videos during our travels, many of which have already found their way onto social media, and many of which are already waiting to be shared.
The past and the future collide
Looking back, stepping into the shoes of ancient Romans, even if only for a few days, gave us a visceral understanding of the way of life 2000 years ago that we hadn’t expected when we set out on our research. And the most surprising realisation was how similar the people back then were to us. Even though they inhabited a different system with different technology, their inner lives, their thoughts, emotions, hopes, dreams, fears and quirks seem all too familiar.
The Romans travelled the world as tourists and left reviews, often in the form of graffiti. They told jokes, both good and bad, and tried to cheat at gambling. They loved small dogs as pets and took pride in their possessions and appearance. You could say they were obsessed with their public image – they would have been fanatical Instagram users if the technology had existed back then. Add to this a certain penchant for militarism and a masterful use of political propaganda – two issues that have become frighteningly relevant around the world in recent times – and it almost seems as if we are looking into a mirror. And into our own future, if we remember the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.
All in all, these similarities presented us with a great opportunity: to tell stories that are relatable and relevant to us today, but through the lens of another era. And we’d be delighted if you joined us on our journey back in time.
“Shadows on Colonia” is the first instalment of our “Colonia Crimes” series. The second volume “Blood and Games in Colonia” (working title) is set to be published in German in autumn 2025.
Amazon USA: https://a.co/d/jgbbpsO
Amazon UK: https://amzn.eu/d/ilOsNen
Amazon Canada: https://a.co/d/7DbKt3V
Meet Axel Melzener & Julia Nika Neviandt
Axel Melzener and Julia Nika Neviandt were both born on the territory of the Germanic Sugambri tribe and now live in Colonia. They met 16 years ago at a film school party, became friends and decided to work together as screenwriters. Since then, they have written numerous TV movies and series episodes – both national and international – across various genres such as drama, crime, horror, fantasy and science fiction. Julia also works as an actress in England and Germany, and Axel writes non-fiction books about film and teaches visual storytelling at various film schools. Their first novel, “Schatten über Colonia”, was published by the prestigious S. Fischer Verlag in Germany in 2023, and the publisher generously allowed them to self-publish an English-language version of the book. As of May 1, 2025, “Shadows on Colonia” is available exclusively on Amazon, and readers in the United States and the rest of the world can get to know Lucretia Veturius and Quintus Tibur.
Connect with Axel and Julia
Axel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/axelmelzener.autor/
Julia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julianikaneviandt/
Bluesky: @axelmelzener.bsky.social
E-Mail: coloniacrimes@gmail.com
