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Under the Eagle (Eagles of the Empire 1) Paperback – 7 Aug. 2008
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Simon Scarrow
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UNDER THE EAGLE is the gripping first novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling EAGLES OF THE EMPIRE series. A must read for fans of Bernard Cornwell.
It is AD 42, and Quintus Licinius Cato has just arrived in Germany as a new recruit to the Second Legion, the toughest in the Roman army. If adjusting to the rigours of military life isn't difficult enough for the bookish young man, he also has to contend with the disgust of his colleagues when, because of his imperial connections, he is appointed a rank above them. As second-in-command to Macro, the fearless, battle-scarred centurion who leads them, Cato has more to prove than most in the adventures that lie ahead.
Then the men discover that the army's next campaign will take them to a land of unparalleled barbarity - Britain. After the long march west, Cato and Macro undertake a special mission that will thrust them headlong into a conspiracy that threatens to topple the Emperor himself...
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Print length448 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherHeadline
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Publication date7 Aug. 2008
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Dimensions13 x 2.79 x 19.81 cm
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ISBN-109780755349708
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ISBN-13978-0755349708
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Review
A satisfyingly bloodthirsty, bawdy romp...perfect for Bernard Cornwell addicts who will relish its historical detail and fast-paced action. Storming stuff ― Good Book Guide
Scarrow's [novels] rank with the best ― Independent
Gripping... ferocious and compelling, it is a story of blood, romance and sacrifice ― Daily Express
Rollicking good fun ― Mail on Sunday
[Simon Scarrow] blends together historical facts and characters to create a book that simply cannot be put down... Highly recommended ― Historical Novels Review
Book Description
About the Author
Simon Scarrow is a Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author. His many successful books include his Eagles of the Empire novels featuring Roman soldiers Macro and Cato, most recently BROTHERS IN BLOOD, PRAETORIAN and THE LEGION, as well as HEARTS OF STONE, set in Greece during the Second World War, SWORD AND SCIMITAR, about the 1565 Siege of Malta, and a quartet about Wellington and Napoleon including the No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller THE FIELDS OF DEATH. He is the author with T. J. Andrews of the gladiator novel ARENA and the novellas in the INVADER series.
Find out more at www.simonscarrow.co.uk and on Facebook /officialsimonscarrow and Twitter @SimonScarrow
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Product details
- ASIN : 0755349709
- Publisher : Headline; paperback edition (7 Aug. 2008)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 448 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780755349708
- ISBN-13 : 978-0755349708
- Dimensions : 13 x 2.79 x 19.81 cm
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Best Sellers Rank:
14,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 497 in Historical Thrillers (Books)
- 744 in War Story Fiction
- 1,469 in Adventure Stories & Action
- Customer reviews:
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About the author

Simon Scarrow is a Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author. After a childhood spent travelling the world, he pursued his great love of history as a teacher, before becoming a full-time writer. His Roman soldier heroes Cato and Macro made their debut in 2000 in UNDER THE EAGLE, and have subsequently appeared in many bestsellers in the Eagles of the Empire series, including CENTURION, INVICTUS and DAY OF THE CAESARS.
Simon Scarrow is also the author of a quartet of novels about the lives of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte, YOUNG BLOODS, THE GENERALS, FIRE AND SWORD and THE FIELDS OF DEATH; a novel about the 1565 Siege of Malta, SWORD & SCIMITAR; HEARTS OF STONE, set in Greece during the Second World War; and PLAYING WITH DEATH, a contemporary thriller written with Lee Francis. He also wrote the novels ARENA and INVADER with T. J. Andrews.
For exciting news, extracts and exclusive content from Simon visit www.simonscarrow.co.uk, follow him on Twitter @SimonScarrow or like his author page on Facebook/OfficialSimonScarrow.
Customer reviews
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He gradually develops the main characters, Cato & Macro, extremely well so that you almost feel that you know them and how they will react. He also weaves the stories between real historical events (just as Cornwell does) which gives me a better sense of realism and a small real history lesson too.
Thoroughly recomended.
That aside, it's cheerful, undemanding stuff. The few women are wives or girlfriends, the only gay guy is dead, it's all very old-fashioned, but if you approach the series on that basis you'll have a very entertaining time.
When reading historical fiction sometimes authors will write in the style of the period in which it is set which is understandable, but with this book it is written in a contemporary style with lots of over the top swearing and modern words which made it refreshing to read and also gave it a good pace and no real yawn moments.
The book begins with an excellent prologue and sets the backbone for the story as it’s relevant by the end of the book. Then we move forward and the year is 42 AD and Quintus Licinius Cato has just arrived in Germany as a new recruit to the Second Legion. He has a special note from the Emperor giving him a quick rise through the ranks of the Roman Army and he becomes an Optio and becomes second in command under Centurion Lucius Cornelius Marco, this is where the story takes off and most of the story is built around the relationship of this too. Cato is only 17, merely a boy, and because he has jumped the ranks the others don’t like him and to make matters worse he still has to do the basic training with the other recruits.
The basic training reminded me of the film Full Metal Jacket, as we have a drill instructor called Bestia who makes the recruit’s lives a complete misery and Cato gets the worst of it because of his quick promotion, this makes for some very amusing scenes and extremely colourful language is belted out throughout this segment of the book.
I want to move on now to Marco and Cato’s relationship and this book really sees the two bond well. At the start Marco has no respect for the boy, who has come from a cosy life in Rome and has done nothing but read books but this is important as he has intelligence, but Cato doesn’t cover himself in glory, it has to be said at times he can be a complete imbecile, but as the story progresses Cato’s intelligence proves a winner and he gains the respect of Marco and more importantly the men under him.
One of my favourite parts of the book is Marco teasing Cato over his love sick attitude regarding a servant girl who he wants to make advancements towards. Marco really does wind him up which really made me laugh, but I also enjoyed the fact that Marco and Cato eventually become friends which made this book so worthwhile and definitely helps for the future of the series.
The other characters are all good as well and there is a lot of scheming as you would expect from the Romans; however it made a nice change for me as a reader to not have to read lots of long speeches which can happen and so many historical authors do have a tendency to feel the need to put them in.
The battles against the Germans and the Britons are of a high standard too which is a plus for me but the author didn’t feel the need to give graphic descriptions of people getting mutilated, he just kept it simple which helped the flow a lot.
Overall I really liked the book, it was a character building book for future releases which I will undoubtedly read in the future and with this series spanning sixteen books I think I better get started before the author decides to write anymore.
By R T Twinem on 10 May 2020
Simon Scarrow knows is stuff. I look forward to joining Macro & Cato again soon.
Extended accounts of fights and battles with an invincible hero who always overcomes impossible odds. Simply nonsense and entirely unconvincing!






