Empire Summ

The book that I read is Empire Rising, by Sam Barone. The book is centered in an ancient Mesopotamian city called Orak, around a former barbarian named Eskar who is getting accustomed to city life. Eskar quickly enrolls in the military, having past combat experience and little other trade skills, and climbs to the 3rd highest rank of the small army.
The book then takes a sharp turn as the commander and his 2nd in command mysteriously disappear, and Eskar is left at the head of an army. “Coincidentally”, there is soon word that a large horde of foreign raiders is fast approaching the Eskars city, the largest for miles around. The peace loving city becomes frantic, with not even a wall to hold anybody out, as previously any idea of a threat would have been considered blasphemous because the surrounding area was largely inhabited with farmers.  
Eskar, knowing everyone is looking toward him for answers, immediately starts employing the cities artisans to build a wall, and is given a slave girl to help from the cities richest family. Eskar soon realizes that his slave girl, Trella, does not posses ordinary intelligence, and she soon starts helping Eskar build a wall. The people of Orak rally behind Eskar as he becomes more popular, and he soon starts to become not only a military leader but leader of the city as well. All the while, a budding romance between him and Trella has started growing and Trella is freed from being as slave.
Eskar decides to take the offensive, and his mounting forces attack the raiders. His action buys them time, and the wall is finished just in time before the opposition arrives. An epic battle ensues, showing Eskars and Trella’s brilliance, and a victor emerges.
I believe that the book is best suited to lovers of historical fiction, strategy, action, and even a tinge of Romance. The book has many colors and shows them all in a brilliant whirling book that would occupy young adults, although the content is a to strong for younger...