Eagles of the Empire

 Under the Eagle

Eagles of the Empire #1

by

Simon Scarrow

AD 42, Germany. Tough, brutal and unforgiving. That's how new recruit Cato is finding life in the Roman Second Legion. He may have contacts in high places, but he could really use a friend amongst his fellow soldiers right now.

Cato has been promoted above his comrades at the order of the Emperor and is deeply resented by the other men. But he quickly earns the respect of his Centurion, Macro, a battle-hardened veteran as rough and ready as Cato is quick-witted and well-educated. They are poles apart, but soon realise they have a lot to learn from one another.

On a campaign to Britannia - a land of utter barbarity - an enduring friendship begins. But as they undertake a special mission to thwart a conspiracy against the Emperor they rapidly find themselves in a desperate fight to survive...

Where it all begins: Cato, newly freed from slavery, is thrust into the ranks of the Roman legions. Macro, a battle‑hardened veteran just promoted to centurion, takes the young recruit under his wing. Together they serve in the 2nd Legion under Vespasian.

Cato is only sixteen, barely a man, yet old enough to stand in the Roman shield wall. Macro must shape him into a soldier before they sail for Britain, following in the path Julius Caesar carved almost a century earlier.

From the moment they land, the pace never lets up. The story drives relentlessly toward a brutal climax, with the 2nd Legion forced to fight outnumbered against a fierce enemy defending its homeland.

I first read this book years ago and decided it was time to return to it. Scarrow remains one of the masters of historical military fiction, pulling the reader so deeply into the chaos of battle that you feel the clash of shields, smell the blood in the air, and hear the screams of the dying.

It’s superbly written and impossible to put down.

I’m very glad I revisited it. 5/5