When the Eagle Hunts [Hardcover]

Simon Scarrow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2004

In the bitter winter of AD 44, the Roman troops in Britain are impatiently awaiting the arrival of spring so that the campaign to conquer the island can be renewed. But the native Britons are growing more cunning in their resistance, constantly snapping at the heels of the mighty Roman forces.

When the most brutal of the native tribesmen, the Druids of the Dark Moon, capture the shipwrecked wife and children of General Plautius, quick action is called for. Two volunteers from the crack Second Legion must venture deep into hostile territory in a desperate attempt to rescue the prisoners.

Centurion Macro and his optio, Cato, find themselves slipping out of camp in the dead of night to reach the General's family before they are sacrificed to the Druids' dark gods. They know they are heading towards an almost certain death, and their only hope is that, with sheer courage and ingenuity, they can outwit the most ruthless foes they've ever faced.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Scarrow's third historical (Under the Eagle; The Eagle's Conquest) continues to chart the first-century Roman invasion of ancient Britain, as it records—skirmish by skirmish—the exploits of Centurion Macro, who commands the Sixth Century of the Fourth Cohort of the Second Roman Legion, and his optio (junior officer), Cato. In the early winter of A.D. 44, a supply vessel carrying the wife and two children of General Plautius is shipwrecked off the British coast. The general's family—with Prefect Valerius Maxentius, their official escort—is taken prisoner by the bloodthirsty Druids of the Dark Moon. A short time later, Maxentius, accompanied by a Druid warrior, approaches the Roman encampment and delivers an ultimatum: unless the Romans release five Druid prisoners, the general's family will be burned alive. In case anyone doubted his seriousness, the Druid summarily beheads Maxentius. Following the Fourth Cohort's great losses fighting its way through a horde of Britons, Plautius dispatches Macro and Cato to rescue his family. Macro and Cato's difficult undertaking is further complicated when their two captive guides turn out to be Macro's former girlfriend and her fiance, a fearsome Druid magician. Despite Scarrow's attempt to invest his characters with personality, they come across as cardboard cutouts, and their anachronistic dialogue is off-putting. But his settings are well described and, however predictable, the plotting is strong, with much of the action reminiscent of Bernard Cornwell's. Albeit a bit slight and sporadic, Scarrow's novel demonstrates improvement in crafting, which bodes well for the expected sequel.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The Roman conquest of Britain continues as seasoned Centurion Lucius Cornelius Macro and young Optio Quintus Licinius Cato, an educated former slave, embark upon their most dangerous mission yet. During the harsh winter of 44 CE, the wife and young children of General Plautius are held hostage by a tribe of primitive Druids. In addition to the enemy, the Romans must battle against the brutal weather conditions demoralizing their troops. Threatening to burn their prisoners alive if their own captured comrades are not released, the Druids of the Dark Moon give the Romans 30 days to make the exchange. Unwilling to let the Druids dictate terms to Rome, Plautius prepares the Second Legion to advance on the Britons. Racing against time, Macro and Cato scramble to find Lady Pomponia and her children before they are offered as human sacrifices to the Druid gods. This authentic evocation of the mighty Roman Army is cloaked in action, suspense, and history, producing a darn good yarn that will appeal to a variety of readers. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312305354
• ISBN-13: 978-0312305352
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Eagle is firmly established, July 21, 2003

By 

ilmk "ilmk" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Eagle Hunts (Hardcover)

Scarrow's third installment of Cato and Macro in `When the Eagle Hunts' drops us into Camulodunum (after a quick account of the shipwreck of Valerius Maxientius with unknown female plus children in the Channel) where our familiar heroes are frequenting a seedy tavern as Macro continues his `courtship' of the forthright Iceni warrior, Boudica. Given the previous two novels this unashamed and blatant use of another venerated historical figure comes as no surprise, even less so the parodied caricature of her as a lustful, forthright and general adventurer.
Still, with good humour we follow them into the tavern and then meet Boudica's mentor and husband-to-be, Prasutagas whose characterisation as a huge warrior with little intellectual capacity is entirely at odds with actual history. Scarrow introduces a minor love triangle with the usually dour Macro falling for the lively Boudica though he refuses to admit it.
The action of the third novel takes off with the Augusta II being sent to Calleva (near the modern town of Silchester) in order to scout the Britons' next move. Whilst down there the sixth cohort under Hortensius is ambushed in a town that has previously been raided by the Durotriges and they fight a rearguard action all the way back to the legion. It is at this point we learn of a shadowy order of Druids who have captured General Plautius wife, Pomponia, and children, Julia and Aelius, and are holding them to ransom in return for the legion's own prisoners.
Macro and Cato are sent undercover deep into the Durotriges territory to attempt a rescue of the prisoners. Their guides are Boudica and Prasutagas - neatly providing us with some amusing asides as each learns to live with the other. We move from farmhouse to secret villages as the four delve ever deeper into southern Britain until they finally catch up with them at a formidable hillfort. Cato attempts a risky rescue via the drains (having previously saved one of the children, Julia) after Macro is felled with a sword blow to the head and in the process of the legion's storming the fort receives a near fatal wound from the sickle of the head Druid. However all ends well and finally Cato gets what he deserves - promotion to centurion and both he and Macro end up in their own personal sickward for a month to cap it all off.
Mr Cornwell doesn't have `too much to fear' (as he professes on the front covers) but Scarrow's books are an enormously refreshing in the historical genre. The purist can pick multiple holes in their historical accuracy and probably several characterisations that are more parodies, but it simply does not matter.
For Scarrow historical accuracy is not all-important. What is important and where he succeeds admirably is in providing a ripping yarn that has action, adventure, characters you can delight in, and plot lines that are gripping.
I hope the adventures of Cato and Macro continue for a very long time and eagerly await the next installment.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read, April 10, 2005

By 

Dan "Longsword" (USA, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Eagle Hunts (Hardcover)

Probably the most exciting adventure for Macro and Cato so far in the series (admittedly that's three books - but if Scarrow can keep improving then fans of historical novels are in for a rare treat).
After the Roman governor of Britain loses his family to some wild druids Macro and Cato are called in to search for them and if possible rescue them. A tall task to ask of anyone, but as ever the lads are game and get stuck into the enemy as only they know how. But this time they have the help of one Prasutagus and his fiery bride to be Boudica.
The adventureis gripping and literally page turning, and hte characrters play off each other like seasoned Quentin Tarantino pros. The dialogueis crisp and credible, and the languageis exactly what you would expect from soldiers. Thisis no prissy Cornwell novel, these guys are three-dimensional with all the failings of real people. That's why the seriesis so successful; despite the fact that we know Macro and Cato are going to get out of whatever hot water they are in, their escapeis never signposted and the readeris kept on tenterhooks right up until whatever qualified victory they achieve at the end.
Frankly, a military adventure series doesn't get any better than this and when you compare it to the swathe of poor quality fiction set in Rome that finds its way into bookshops, Scarrow's books shine out like a jewel in a middle of the midden (to coin a phrase).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When The Eagle Hunts, January 29, 2011

By 

Rosina Mason ""historical maiden"" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When the Eagle Hunts (Paperback)

This book really kept my interest!! Nice addition to the series. It seems that Macro and Cato always risk their lives and never really get any monetary reward. Of course, they get the grass crown etc. but what they really need is money! Centurions were so underpaid. I really do like most of Scarrow's books but I find that other author's are much more historically accurate. The best series was written by Colleen McCullough. So many more historical characters are put into play in her Roman series.