Final instalment of Roman-era Channel Islands trilogy launches next week
- A Torch Afloat, the final novel in Sean McManus's Ebb & Flow Trilogy, launches on 6 November 2025
- The trilogy is set in the Channel Islands around 269-270 CE during the Crisis of the 3rd Century
- The concluding volume features a renegade Roman decurion seeking refuge in Jersey and a climactic battle near Guernsey
- The series follows two young islanders, Unel and Broerec, on their journey from adolescence to adulthood
- The first two volumes, Teeth of the Conger and Pool of Wisdom, were published in November 2024 and October 2025 respectively
The concluding novel in a historical fiction trilogy set in the Channel Islands during the Roman period will be released next week.
A Torch Afloat, the third volume in Sean McManus's Ebb & Flow Trilogy, launches on 6 November 2025. The series is set in the Gateway Islands — the historical name for the Channel Islands — around 269-270 CE, during a turbulent period known to historians as the Crisis of the 3rd Century.
The trilogy follows the journey of two young islanders, Unel and Broerec, from adolescence to adulthood against the backdrop of political upheaval in the fragmenting Gallic Empire, which had broken away from Rome a decade earlier.
The first novel, Teeth of the Conger, launched in November 2024 and introduced readers to the two young heroes. After surviving a shipwreck and an encounter with pirates, they were befriended by the Guardian of the Dead and met Kermac, a mysterious Hibernian envoy.
In the second volume, Pool of Wisdom, published in October 2025, the friends set out to discover why their fathers had been killed in a seaborne attack. Accompanied by an uncle, the boys joined Kermac on his secret mission to Gaul and Armorica (Brittany), where they learned more about themselves and the world beyond their home island.
The final instalment sees a renegade decurion and his men seeking refuge in Andium (Jersey), where the decurion buries his hoard of stolen coins and portable wealth. A rendezvous with a Vagi (pirate) chief turns sour as Roman naval forces arrive on the islands.
The action reaches a climax as a Gallo-Roman merchant vessel — later to be called the Asterix — visiting the Long Island (Guernsey) burns and sinks near what would become St Peter Port Harbour many centuries later. Unel and Broerec join Kermac in a reconnaissance mission to the Plateau Island (Sark) and find themselves uncomfortably close to a battle to decide who will govern the islands.
The novel features a cover design by local artist Steve Harrison and includes maps prepared by Heidi Soulsby. It is published by Blue Ormer and will be available from local bookshops as well as online from blueormer.gg.
Sean McManus grew up in Guernsey and spent most of his career teaching in the island, having previously worked in the UK for ten years and at an international school in Africa.
After leaving teaching, he served as a Deputy in the States of Deliberation. A longstanding representative of local teachers, since retiring he has been President of the Retired States Employees' Association and chaired the local Fairtrade Steering Group for several years. He is also known as a local quizmaster and has published two folklore-based storybooks for younger readers.
Q&A
Q: When will A Torch Afloat be available?
A: The book will be available from 6 November 2025 in local bookshops and online from blueormer.gg.
Q: What time period is the trilogy set in?
A: The Ebb & Flow Trilogy is set in the Channel Islands around 269-270 CE during the Roman period, specifically during the Crisis of the 3rd Century when the Gallic Empire was fragmenting.
Q: Who are the main characters in the series?
A: The trilogy follows two young islanders, Unel and Broerec, on their journey from adolescence to adulthood, along with Kermac, a mysterious Hibernian envoy they befriend.
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