Customer Reviews

Eagle and the Wolves (Roman Series)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Scarrow's fourth adventure of our two heroes, Macro and Cato, has the two stepping out of the recovery ward in Calleva (Cato grumbling about his terrible rib injury that might end his career - though, suspiciously all pain seems to be forgotten by page hundred or so, making Scarrow's consistency questionable) and being ordered by Vespasian to raise two auxiliary cohorts to defend the Atrebatan capital. The situation is extremely tricky, widespread food shortages, constant raids by the Durotriges, and Plautius chasing of Caratacus' army deep into the territory of the Silures.
With the aging client-king Verica trying to secure his people the bext possible vantage as subjects of the Roman whilst ensuring annexation does not occur and the hotheaded idealistic younger celtic men (spearheaded by Tincommius) fomenting discord, we're on a rollercoaster of a ride.
Both the newly centurionated Cato and Macro take charge, drilling and educating the Britons in the true mettle of the Roman II Augusta and having several necessary arguments along the way until they eventually proudly blood them in a skirmish against the Durotriges who are attacking one of the supply columns. A sense of unity is created with the creation of the Eagles and the Wolves but discord threatens when first the standard bearer, Bedriacus, is murdered, then Artax is killed by Cato apparently attempting to take Verica's life.
Eventually Plautius realises he's been chasing shadows and Caratcus' army has travelled south of the Tamesis to aid the Durotrigans who have now attacked Calleva with the help of several of the Atrebatans. What follows is a defense of heroic proportions as both centurions, a handful of legionaries and the auxiliaries defend the compound, royal enclosure and Verica's life before first Vespasian with a couple of cohorts, then Plautius arrive. Mixed in is a scheming tribune Quntilius (a poor replacement for the effervescent Vitellius) who wants to be the first procurator of the client kingdom of the Atrebates (he does achieve his aim but his poor management and cowardice are noted).
The latest installment adds more weight to Scarrow's resume, and the adventures of Cato and Macro are a refreshing breeze through the Roman historical genre. It is not designed for the historical purist and to pick holes in for inaccuracy of place, time and context misses the point of these novels. Long may they continue.

Simon Scarrow's The Eagle & The Wolves is an enjoyable light read, worth reading to the end but not worth rereading. It is what it is.

Scarrow's series of Roman military history has been well received, as more people develop an interest in the time period. It helps in the case of this book that Scarrow, a British teacher and writer, bases the action in Britain during the time of Caractacus' uprising, meaning English readers in particular may be more drawn to the topic. Besides the historical character of Caractacus, here spelled alternatively `Caratacus', who did in fact lead a guerrilla campaign against the Romans after the Claudian conquest of 43 AD, there is also Vespasian, who will go on to become Emperor himself (the final victor during the civil wars in the Year of the Four Emperors, 69 AD. The main protagonists are Cato and Macro, who are tasked with training a small allied local tribe, and have to wend their way through tribal politics, successions, murder, guerrilla attack, and the like.

Scarrow is best in describing camp and village life on the micro scale, topics not often brought up in books on the time. I liked the training regimen, learning to handle the weaponry, and teaching some typical legionary tactics. The author displays his depth of knowledge for his subject without writing condescendingly, and I thought this was the best of the work. Also nicely done is the sense of the action taking place in a very dangerous and uncertain part of the world, far from Rome, with inadequate communications and constant danger outside the walls. Less well done were the internal politics of the village, the conclusion of which seemed pretty predictable and not especially deep or complicated. The book is not strong on plotting. It's okay, it's just not Scarrow's strong suit. Finally, what to me was least interesting was the dialogue. Writing good dialogue can be very difficult; when one is replicating dialogue from almost 2000 years ago one has to decide just how modern or contemporary to write. Scarrow's choice has been to write as though his characters were speaking to one another in British English, especially slang, about 15 minutes ago. The story line is clear, he gets his point across, but for this reader anyhow it detracted from the period feel he is trying to get from the rest of his narrative. "Bloody" this, and "f-ing" that; no doubt the Roman legionaries had their phrases to describe precisely this kind of thought. But it just seems a little bumpy.

The book makes for enjoyable reading. When it was done I was ready to move on to something a little deeper.

The Roman Legions are now well entrenched in Britain, but are still finding dogged resistance from the fearsome natives. Macro and Cato find themselves standing between victory and bloody defeat.

Cato is newly appointed to the rank of Centurion and it falls to him and Macro to provide an army of untrained recruits for the aged ruler Verica.

With an army of raw recruits can they halt the progress of a cunning opponent and plotters who are eager not only to destroy Macro and Cato but the whole of the Roman army.

Simon Scarrow has a wonderful feel for the period he writes about and his characters endear themselves to you the reader. These books are well researched and for anyone interested in this period of Britain's history are a great read. Fact mixed with fiction in the best possible way.

Well researched view of Roman army life and conditions in first century Britain. The characters are interesting and the plot moves quickly. I would recommend it to students of Roman history and to those who just like a good story.

Scarrow's books are great reads. They may not be great literature, but they are very entertaining. He does a fine job of bringing the reader into the action and into the relationship between the more experienced Macro and the bright Cato. I have read all his books so far and plan to continue - great entertainment.

Mr. Scarrow's Under the Eagle: A Tale of Military Adventure and Reckless Heroism with the Roman Legions series has been a real joy to me; action and adventure blended nicely into Roman times, told ala the Sharpes Rifles series. Anyway, The Eagle and the Wolves finds our heroes Macro and Cato having recovered from their wounds and ready for further assignments with the 2nd Legion; in this case, training local Celts to function as auxila to protect the 2nd Legions supply lines and their homes.

The Eagle and the Wolves was a nice pickup from When Eagles Hunt. We see more of Macro and Cato blending this time. Cato maintains his youthfulness but we're starting to see him gain some wisdom about people and the legion. Macro on the other hand is starting to come out of his shell somewhat, while still a legionnaire about how he handles things, he's showing more perception about people and the environment around him; a nice thing because it shows maturity in the writer because the charters are changing some. These changes in character are more apparent than they were in the earlier books because Cato and Macro are interacting directly with the Celts by training a cohort of "friendlies" to protect the 2nd Legions supply lines and base camp. Because of this close interaction of training their native cohort and dealing with their nobility, we see more of them and their own internal churnings of working with the Romans or to rebel before the Romans settle in. As with all of the books in this series that I've read, the action is quick and realistic feeling. While Mr. Scarrow doesn't describe every sword cut or bloody killing, he does a great job describing the Cato's and Macro's view of the battle and what their feelings are. Because of the independent nature of this book (the battles were smaller pieces and Cato and Macro had more direct control over events) and lively action this was a 4.5 star book for me that I'll round up to 5 for whole star purposes. Call it a good read with lots of enjoyment.

A continuation of this light and easy reading series. Some historical insights but mostly just a good light read

Great book. Really good read. If you like roman historical fiction I also HIGHLY recommend Jack Whyte Camulod series.

Based upon historical fact and written from the perspective of a couple of legionaries, the author grips you and keeps you hooked with realistic escapades and full throttle battle scenes. The entire series is an excellent read.

This is another great book in the Roman army series by Simon Scarrow. Scarrow knows the life of the Roman soldiers and makes you feel like you are there. Well worth your money.