Rebellion (Eagles of Empire 22) (Eagles of the Empire Book 108)

Product Information

The tales follow the life and careers of Centurion Lucius Cornelius Macro and Prefect Quintus Licinius Cato. It’s the year AD60 and both protagonists are once again in Britannia, tasked in maintaining Rome’s tenuous hold of the province. Following on closely from the events of the previous Eagles of Empire book, Death to the Emperor, this novel drops Cato and Macro into a Britannia not only in open rebellion, but in a time when it seems the days of Roman rule may be coming to an end... and it starts very much as it means to go on, with a fierce battle to get the blood pumping!

The story doesn’t let up all the way through as something is always happening leaving you feeling the urgency of the situation. It’s not strong on female characters, though there is one of significance, but as it’s mainly about Roman legions and their barbarian warrior opponents that won’t be a surprise. His passion for writing began at an early age. He spent most of his childhood traveling the world. Before becoming a full-time writer, he pursued his great love of history as a teacher firstly atEast Norfolk Sixth Form College, then atCity College Norwich.

Publication Order of Roman Arena Books

Simon also judges the annual Scarrow Award in the Fiction category held in the school. The family of Simon has one more author in the form of his brother, Alex Scarrow, who has written a number of novels himself. Simon says that his passion for writing had begun at a very young age. Their next campaign will be the invasion of Britannia with the Roman army, until in Britannia they will stumble into a conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor. Note: you can read this book as a stand-alone but I think it’s a sort of follow-up to Death to the Emperor, the previous novel in this long series. Bound together more by their hatred of Rome than anything else, the rebel tribes take brutal and bloody revenge on the Roman settlements they pass through. Whipped up into a religious frenzy by their Druids, their treatment of prisoners is especially cruel and merciless. Those who are squeamish may wish to skip a couple of the scenes. The writing takes you to very heart of the book, the narrative is so descriptive, you can imagine yourself there, you get a terrific sense of place and feel for the locations, the period comes alive, you can sense and breathe in the atmosphere, it’s like going round the Jorvik centre taking in the sights and sounds

The plot isn't groundbreaking but allows for some great action such as the siege in the German village which was excellently done and allowed Cato to really shine and show his potential, especially with his bravery. As ever, the level of historical research is astounding and the pace is frenetic. The ending had me gasping and the twenty-second book cannot come soon enough! The novel is set in AD43 and involves the heroes in our legion attempting to invade Britain. Behind the scenes there's plenty of murky political plotting going on, and Scarrow gets plenty of mileage out of the sinister machinications. Half the game is trying to figure out who bears what hidden allegiance and then seeing if you're right. It all gets rather complicated but not uninteresting.Other than the Eagle Series, Simon has also written a few other notable novel series’ including the Revolution series, which is based on Napoleon and Wellington. Apart from the novel series’, Simon has also penned down a couple of standalone novels. At this point, I am not sure where Scarrow will be going with the next book. We know that Boudica disappears from history; her exact fate was never determined. There is a bombshell revelation which I will not say to avoid spoilers. After Boudica's rebellion, the next crisis to face the Roman Empire was a renewed war with Parthian. Will we see General Corbulo again? Macro and Cato are battle hardened, but have not had an active army life for some time. Whilst they are Romans, they have great respect for Boudica and also realise the power that she holds. When they are asked to stand against her and defend Rome against the rebellious Iceni, they realise the dangerous predicament that they have found themselves in. Whilst Cato is with the legions at Ynys Mon, Macro is with other retired veterans in Camulodunum and their families are in Londinium. The developing events have a devastating affect on all of them. A really great work of fiction set against historical fact. A fab read. The first book starts in 42AD. The books cover the experiences of the two soldiers, initially as an experiencedcenturionand newoption, in battles in Germania and the invasion of Britain byClaudiusas part of theLegio II Augusta. The 6th bookThe Eagle’s Prophecyhas them serving as part of the Imperial Navy east of Italy. The 7th and 8th put them in Rome’s eastern provinces as agents of the emperor’s secretaryTiberius Claudius Narcissus.