Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I look at an awesome upcoming historical fiction novel from one of my favourite authors with Revenge of Rome by Simon Scarrow.

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Readers of this blog will no doubt be very familiar with my constant praise of Simon Scarrow and his exceptional historical fiction novels.  An author who I have been a massive fan of for a very long time, Scarrow has written some amazing and varied pieces of historical fiction over the years, and I have made a real effort to read them all.  His most iconic books are part of his long-running Eagles of the Empire series, which follow two veteran Roman soldiers through every major battlefield and conflict of their historical period.  I have had a wonderful time with this series over the years, and readers can find reviews for several of the more recent entries, such as The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile, The Honour of Rome, Death to the Emperor and Rebellion, on this blog.

While The Eagles of the Empire series is always very good, Scarrow has been on a particularly strong roll lately as he portrays the events of Boudica’s rebellion in exquisite and heartbreaking detail, covering all the evils done by both sides during the conflict.  With his protagonists firmly in the middle of the action, books like Death to the Emperor and Rebellion have been some of the best entries in the series, and I loved the compelling and powerful narrative that Scarrow wove around these iconic events.  However, the story of the rebellion and Boudica still isn’t over, and Scarrow looks to bring it to an intense end with the next novel in the series, Revenge of Rome.

Revenge of Rome will be the 23^rd book in the Eagles of the Empire series and will be set in the immediate aftermath of the big climatic battle that shattered Boudica’s army.  This upcoming book will see protagonists Cato and Macro forced to chase after Boudica to get Rome’s revenge for the destruction the rebelling Britons wrought.

Plot Synopsis:

ROME AND BOUDICA. A DUEL TO THE DEATH.

AD 61. Britannia is divided.

The rebel horde has been defeated. But the leader, Boudica, and her remaining warriors are still at large. With them is the eagle standard of the Ninth Legion, taken in ambush, flaunted as proof that Rome can yet be beaten.

As Macro’s heart burns for revenge, he and his comrade-in-arms Prefect Cato are tasked with hunting down the remnants of the enemy army. There can be no peace until the queen is captured or killed. And Roman honour will only be restored when the eagle standard has been recovered.

I have been very much looking forward to this new Eagles of the Empire book ever since I read the last gripping page of the preceding novel Rebellion, especially as Scarrow left several powerful storylines unfinished.  It looks like many of these plot points are going to be resolved in Revenge of Rome, as Cato and Macro try to hunt down Boudica and either capture or kill her.  I love the idea of this story concept for the new book, especially as it likely to result in a lot of epic moments.  Not only will be get some more intense action as the remaining Roman units attempt to bring the remaining rebels to heel, but it also looks like we are going to get a powerful look at the traumatic aftermath of the destruction caused by the latest conflict.

This will no doubt lead to some dark and captivating character moments, especially for the character of Macro, who lost his mother, friends and hope of a quiet retirement due to the rebellion he unintentionally helped start.  I cannot wait to see how Macro’s character arc unfolds in Revenge of Rome, especially as Scarrow has built up so many different connections to Boudica in recent books.  I have no doubt the inevitable confrontation between Macro and Boudica is going to be something extremely dramatic, as there is plenty of enmity and guilt on both sides, and it will be very interesting to see how certain issues between the two are decided.  I think that these character elements will make Revenge of Rome one of the most emotionally charged novels in the entire Eagles of the Empire series and I cannot wait to see it all unfold.

Revenge of Rome was always going to be very high on my to-read list, as this any Scarrow novel is an instant get more me.  However, I am very invested in seeing how the current Eagles of the Empire storyline continues in Revenge of Rome, especially some of the compelling character elements that Scarrow has been cleverly building up in the last couple of books.  Sure to feature a ton of conflict, personal trauma, and dramatic interactions, Revenge of Rome is going to be an awesome read, and it is already one of my most anticipated novels for the second half of 2024.