Awarded the 2025 American Writers Award for Fiction - Thriller/Adventure, named a 2025 Recommended Read by the Author Shout Awards, and a Literary Global Book Awards - Fiction Debut Finalist, Flight of a Prodigy by Daniel McCallister is emerging as a standout in dark historical fantasy. With a five-star review from Online Book Club and a rave editorial review from Literary Titan, this gripping coming-of-age novel plunges readers into the unforgiving streets and brutal power struggles of ancient Rome.
Set in early ancient Rome, Flight of a Prodigy follows Remy, an eight-year-old homeless boy whose life shatters in a single violent moment. Torn from hiding, forced to witness the death of his only friend, and dragged into slavery, Remy is thrust into an eight-year training regimen designed by ruthless men for ruthless purposes. Only a few hundred children survive to become an elite cadre of living weapons. Remy not only survives. He becomes their prodigy.
McCallister’s Rome is both beautiful and rotten, a city where political ambition, military might, and human cruelty collide. Literary Titan praises the novel for its unflinching portrayal of trauma and survival, noting how the story never looks away from horror while still holding onto slivers of hope. Remy’s emotional journey, from fear and rage to numbness and fragile courage, gives the story a powerful emotional core that keeps readers invested page after page.
When Remy finally escapes with his life at sixteen, freedom proves more complicated than captivity. A lethal fighter but an emotional novice, he is far more comfortable in combat than in civilization. Hiding from those who may be hunting him, he joins a traveling wagon party as a scout. His new companions are three young women, Annabelle, Divina, and Gee, along with their family and household guards. What follows is a fast paced, action filled, and often darkly humorous journey in which Remy discovers friendship, trust, and the possibility of love while battling the psychological scars that threaten to control him.
“I have always been fascinated by how trauma in our formative years shapes who we become,” says McCallister. “With Remy, I wanted to explore what happens when innocence refuses to yield to a world steeped in brutality, and how resilience and hope can grow even in the harshest conditions. Ancient Rome, with its mix of glory and cruelty, offered the perfect backdrop for that journey.”
Blending historical detail with fantasy elements and intense character-driven storytelling, Flight of a Prodigy explores themes of the loss of innocence, identity forged through suffering, and the fragile line between vengeance and redemption. The novel also digs into humanity’s need to explain the unexplainable, inviting readers to decide for themselves whether certain events are fate, faith, or something stranger.
Though the novel delivers large-scale stakes and vivid battles, it shines brightest in its intimate moments: a boy waking in a real bed for the first time, a hardened fighter learning to laugh with friends, a damaged soul daring to imagine a future not defined by violence. For readers of dark historical fantasy, survival stories, and epic tales of transformation, Flight of a Prodigy offers an intense, emotionally charged experience that lingers long after the final page.
Flight of a Prodigy is available now in print and digital formats. Readers can purchase the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble by searching for Flight of a Prodigy by Daniel McCallister and adding this award-winning historical fantasy to their library today.
About the Author
Daniel McCallister is a retired engineer and former US military officer who currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. A lifelong and avid reader, he turned to writing Flight of a Prodigy after struggling to find new historical fiction that satisfied his passion for immersive, character driven storytelling. Drawing on his interests in ancient warfare, the shaping forces of history, and the sacrifices made for a greater common cause, McCallister set out to craft the kind of novel he most wanted to read: richly imagined, emotionally resonant, and complete in its telling. When he is not reading, writing, or following local sports, he enjoys spending time with friends and family. Flight of a Prodigy is his award-winning work of historical fantasy fiction.
Media Contact
Company Name: Literary Titan
Contact Person: Daniel McCallister
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Country: United States
Website: https://amzn.to/3Y1EdLV
