Customer Reviews

The Silver Eagle (Forgotten Legion Chronicle Series)

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

 

 

After reading and immensely enjoying his first book "The Forgotten Legion", and first installment in this series, I quickly purchased the Silver Eagle. I was not disappointed. Ben Kane has quickly established himself as a master of suspense and I found it hard to put the book down. I feel he is especially skilled at narrating the battle scenes but can also fill in the stuff in between. I do have issues with the graphic and horrific treatment of Fabiola at one point in the book which I will not go into but suffice it to say it is hard to read and not for the faint of heart. Ben Kane does an admirable job of following and weaving in the tail end of Ceasar's campaign in Gaul and his defeat of the Republican forces. Unfortunately, Ceasar is not portrayed very well(but it is a relatively small part of the book). I like Ceasar. I know he is a lovable murderer of innocent Gaulic tribes and he is a genocidal over achiever, but rapist? I think not. Why defame the great general. It's just not supported by the historical record. I know this is fiction but Kane makes it come alive for you. I do hope the third installment will quickly be on the horizon for purchase. I would definitely give this book a thumbs up and highly recommend it. You do not have to read (but it is also a great book) the first book, "The Forgotten Legion", in order to understand and keep up with the "The Silver Eagle", but I would recommend that book also. The 'Eagle' would make a great movie.

The Silver Eagle continues the interwoven stories of Ben Kane's debut novel, The Forgotten Legion. The series is set in the Roman Empire and its outskirts during the time of Julius Caesar, Pompey, Crassus, and Brutus. These historical figures play critical roles in Ben Kane's plots, but the lead protagonists are far from the seat of power. The heroes are largely taken from the conquered peoples and slaves of the Roman Empire.

We encounter the three close friends and legionaries of The Forgotten Legion again. The story continues after Crassus's failed invasion of Partha and these legionaries have been incorporated into the Parthan army. Tarquinius, the Etrucscan haruspex, is under increasing pressure by the Parthian commander Pacorus to read the future and help Parthia smash all opposition. As the Parthian troops face attacks from Scythians, Tarquinius's position becomes increasingly tenuous. Brennus, the famous gladiator and former slave from Gaul, struggles to keep up his spirit but antagonism from the Parthian troops and fellow legionaries constantly weigh him down. Brennus relies upon his friendship with Tarquinius and Romulus to keep him focused and motivated. Romulus, a former slave who proved himself to be a born warrior, dreams of returning to Rome and uniting his family. Romulus, Brennus, and Tarquinius are isolated and in danger - with no one to trust but each other, they must make the journey of thousands of miles.

Meanwhile, Fabiola, Romulus's beautiful twin sister, is established in Brutus's household. She's adapting to her life on her country estate when sudden violence erupts. Fabiola suddenly faces a struggle for her life and must rely on her wits, her beauty and the loyalty of those around her as she prepares to travel to Gaul to find Brutus and safety. I enjoy stories with where determined young people somehow brave all types of treachery and insurmountable odds and still somehow maintain a sense of honor. The key heroes in Ben Kane's The Silver Eagle and The Forgotten Legion have that quality and I find myself constantly rooting for Brennus, Tarquinius, Romulus, and Fabiola. Even Fabiola's Brutus is painted as an engaging and honorable man. The relationship between Fabiola and Brutus is much deeper in The Silver Eagle, which adds another interesting element to the novel.

Like The Forgotten Legion, The Silver Eagle is an engrossing story of loyalty, friendship, betrayal and love during historic and tumultuous times. Ben Kane anchors the story in much historic detail which gives The Silver Eagle an added layer of depth and complexity. I stayed up much of the night reading The Silver Eagle and highly recommend it! The third in the series, The Road to Rome, comes out in August!

ISBN-10: 0312536720 Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (March 16, 2010), 480 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

If your thing is all about getting a look at history from an entertainment value perspective, then this is time well spent reading. Historical fiction has been my favorite genre for a long time now and can never really get enough learning about Ancient Rome. Stories dealing with conflict and perseverance. I am halfway through this book, which is the second of a thus far trilogy (don't know, but hoping a future fourth installment?). Already purchased the next book and enjoy the split action running between Romulus and Fabiola - very romantic figures that should hopefully reunite.

Seemingly like a portal into the main character's intimate thoughts, worries, tragedies and hopefully triumphs (at page 220 right now). The writing is intelligent!

I read the first book: Forgotten Legion, and really enjoyed it. It was a little long, but very interesting. I quickly purchased the second book and dove into it as soon as it had arrived. I found that there was a little too much detail this time. The kinds of details that made the first book good made the second book slow and hard to get lost in. It is a good book, but i couldn't finish it.

Well written, you need the first book "The forgotten Legion", for a better understanding. It's easy for a foreigner no-native English-speaking person.
I'm not sure could be used as book of history, in terms of data and real roman behavior, so clear it is a historical fiction. I truly recommended.

Ben Kane takes historical figures from by-gone eras and blends them into a unicity so the reader feels vicarious with the main characters. I read the first in the series and have recomended it to history buffs and fiction readers alike.

I enjoyed the first novel in The Forgotten Legion series and rushed to buy the second, The Silver Eagle. I found much of the book a splendid read. I like the characters a great deal, especially Brennus and Fabiola. Kane introduced a lot of interesting minor characters who caught my imagination, sometimes more than the major ones. Sadly, Kane has a propensity for killing off some these or letting them drift away from the narrative.

I thought that the links between the Romulus and Fabiola sections worked better in this novel than in the first. I had to flip back to catch up with events far fewer times.

The best parts of the novel are where Kane focuses on the harsher aspects of life. He magics us to the cruelty and squalor that must have been everyday experiences for the Roman soldiers; shows the fragile hold that slaves had upon their own lives and illustrates well what Tom Holland says in Rubicon: the Romans were often very different from ourselves. Best of all are his battle scenes which are well researched and described with great skill and command of the narrative.

I thought he was poorly served by his editor. It could do with a little trimming over all. There are also careless errors in the text. Secundus, a one-armed veteran, was lucky enough to be able to raise his arms above his head for example. (Unless he carried the severed limb with him as a talisman this was surely beyond even the skills of the best healers.) On other occasions there are times when a word cut would have helped. 'Romulus looked over himself,' might have been better without the final word. Also, on occasion, modern idiom sneaks in when it shouldn't.

I know that we can be too picky about words but I am surprised that Kane uses accurate Roman ones, pilum and scutum for example, which can sometimes slow the dialogue. Yet, at the same time, he is happy calling ancient pirates Corsairs which conjures up the eighteenth century rather than the first century BC. I don't know if the names Ahmed and Mustafa were current two thousand years ago (especially for a Nubian) but again, they make me think of Moslem culture rather than Roman. Kane's takes his research about Roman life very seriously so I was surprised to be brought up by these things which slowed my reading.

My biggest problem with the book is all the mystic foretelling of the future. However, this may be just about my personal choice so I won't harp on about it. I am sure that the people of this time were superstitious and would be able to read into events some explanation derived from a piece of liver or a bird flying backwards a few pages previously. On occasions, however, we are led to believe that the prophecies are really accurate. I also found Tarquinius became more and more omniscient, soothsayer, military strategist and even a tour guide to Alexandria. I hope he calms down in the next novel.

Despite these criticisms I thought the book was a good read. The concept is a great one, the characters interesting and his ability to let us walk in Roman shoes invariably successful. I like how he interweaves historical narrative with the personal story. His historical characters act in a believable manner and, in particular, he gives us a great insight into Brutus in particular.

The Lost King: Resistance
Wasteland (The Lost King)
For King and Country

I have taken a long while to get round to this, it's been in my reading pile for a couple of years. I very much enjoyed the first one but for some reason this kept being pushed to the back of the pile, along with the follow up which is also in there. Well that was my mistake, because this is good stuff.

Following on from The Forgotten Legion (captured Legionaries being forced to fight for the Parthians) we find the soldiers far out to the East protecting the Parthian borders against the likes of the Scythians (nomadic tribesmen). The focus is on Romulus a Roman, Brennus a massive Gaul and Tarquinius a soothsayer. Mistrusted by their Parthian masters and some of their fellow Legionaries, the trio are desperate to get home and hope that Tarquinius visions will keep them alive and help them realise their destinies.

Back in Rome, Romulus's sister Fabiola is the lover of Brutus who is away in Gaul with Caesar at a time where violent gangs are running wild in Rome and the Roman empire itself is on the edge of anarchy.

The best historical fiction does not just place characters in an era, but involves them in significant events of the time and has peripheral characters we will recognise. Ben Kane has done the research to provide a real and vibrant background to his story. The balance of the battles out in the East and the politics of Rome is an interesting one and although on one or two occasions the author does build up an interest in characters, only to then discard them, the story remains interesting and unpredictable.

This is a good follow up to The Forgotten Legion and Ben Kane continues to be an author to watch.

In 53 BC the Parthian army defeated General Crassus and his invading Roman legion. Their leader dead, thousands of the invaders are captured and either killed or forced to join their triumphant enemy. Three friends form the losing side (Tarquinius the Etruscan haruspex, former slave Brennus the gladiator from Gaul and Romulus also a former slave turned warrior) are forced to join the winning enemy.

Parthian Commander Pacorus orders Tarquinius to read the future using animal entrails or whatever as his army prepares for battle. However, the trio has problems as the Parthian soldiers resent how close their still enemy Tarquinius seems to be with their commander. They help each other stay focused and alive as they plan their escape, which means trekking from the Asian state across thousands of kilometers through hostile savage territory in order to return to Rome.

At the same, Romulus's twin sister Fabiola joins the seemingly serene household of Brutus, but savagery leaves her struggling for her life with no protection. Her only hope is to travel to Gaul to find Brutus.

The sequel to The Forgotten Legion, The Silver Eagle is a great ancient historical thriller in which the only way the three BFFs make it back to Rome is having each other's back; in spite of their diverse background the trio are a sort of Three Musketeers but in Roman times. The Fabiola subplot augments a powerful vivid (some chapters should have a warning label: don't read on a full stomach) look at friendship as the forgotten legionnaires struggle to survive in a world filled with deadly peril.

Harriet Klausner

After reading the Forgotten Legion, I flew through this book. Since the majority of backstory and character development took place in the first book, it opened The Silver Eagle up. One of my complaints about the first had to do with the time frame and breadth of backstory that needed to be covered and the skipping of numerous years between chapters. This book has none of those shortcomings and is exciting, dramatic and wonderfully written. The characters are wonderfully concieved and the story stretches across most of the known world in just several hundred pages....if you got any enjoyment out of the Forgotten Legion, you will love The Silver Eagle....