Kell
31st December 2006, 00:08
Title: The Eagle’s Prophecy
Author: Simon Scarrow
ISBN # 075530117X
Publisher: Headline
First Published: 2005
310 pages
Format: Hardback
Rating: 9/10
Synopsis:
It is spring 45 AD and Centurions Macro and Cato, dismissed from the Second Legion in Britain, are trapped in Rome, waiting for their involvement in the death of a fellow officer to be investigated. It is then that the imperial secretary, the devious Narcissus, makes them an offer they can't refuse; to rescue an imperial agent who has been captured by pirates operating from the Illyrian coast. With him were scrolls vital to the safety of the Emperor and the future of Rome. However, Narcissus also sends Vitellius, an old enemy of the two centurions. The three officers set out from Ravenna with the imperial fleet but the pirates are forewarned and the Romans pay a heavy price. Outnumbered by the enemy, surrounded by rumours of treachery and endangered by Vitellius' desire to redeem himself, Centurions Macro and Cato must find the pirate base to avert a disaster that could destroy the Emperor.
Review:
Simon Scarrow is one of only a very few authors who have never once disappointed me and The Eagle’s Prophecy, sixth in the Eagles series, is no exception. From the very start, there’s excitement, adventure and action, there are also excellent characters, heartily written and full of life, and a realism evident throughout the proceedings that sets one firmly in the thick of things with Centurions Macro and Cato as they embark on another important mission, fraught with danger, at the behest of the Emperor’s right-hand man, Narcissus.
There is character growth, complete with unforeseen revelations that have a major impact on all concerned, and sets things up very nicely for the seventh installment, The Eagle in the Sand, in a way that will have most readers running to the nearest bookshop to buy it as soon as possible. If all historical fiction were this good, I don’t think I’d ever read any other genre!
Author: Simon Scarrow
ISBN # 075530117X
Publisher: Headline
First Published: 2005
310 pages
Format: Hardback
Rating: 9/10
Synopsis:
It is spring 45 AD and Centurions Macro and Cato, dismissed from the Second Legion in Britain, are trapped in Rome, waiting for their involvement in the death of a fellow officer to be investigated. It is then that the imperial secretary, the devious Narcissus, makes them an offer they can't refuse; to rescue an imperial agent who has been captured by pirates operating from the Illyrian coast. With him were scrolls vital to the safety of the Emperor and the future of Rome. However, Narcissus also sends Vitellius, an old enemy of the two centurions. The three officers set out from Ravenna with the imperial fleet but the pirates are forewarned and the Romans pay a heavy price. Outnumbered by the enemy, surrounded by rumours of treachery and endangered by Vitellius' desire to redeem himself, Centurions Macro and Cato must find the pirate base to avert a disaster that could destroy the Emperor.
Review:
Simon Scarrow is one of only a very few authors who have never once disappointed me and The Eagle’s Prophecy, sixth in the Eagles series, is no exception. From the very start, there’s excitement, adventure and action, there are also excellent characters, heartily written and full of life, and a realism evident throughout the proceedings that sets one firmly in the thick of things with Centurions Macro and Cato as they embark on another important mission, fraught with danger, at the behest of the Emperor’s right-hand man, Narcissus.
There is character growth, complete with unforeseen revelations that have a major impact on all concerned, and sets things up very nicely for the seventh installment, The Eagle in the Sand, in a way that will have most readers running to the nearest bookshop to buy it as soon as possible. If all historical fiction were this good, I don’t think I’d ever read any other genre!