Tyrant of Rome by Simon Scarrow

On April 19, 2026 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction1 Comment

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 11 November 2025)

Series: Eagles of the Empire – Book 24

Length: 403 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Prepare for more Roman era carnage as the always impressive Simon Scarrow continues his long-running Eagles of the Empire series with the epic and intriguing novel, Tyrant of Rome.

Long-time readers of this blog will know that I am a major fan of the exceptional Simon Scarrow, who is one of the top current authors of historical fiction, having written an outstanding array of historical novels over the years. I have had a blast with many of Scarrow’s works, including his Berlin Wartime Thriller series (see my reviews for Blackout, Dead of Night and A Death in Berlin). However, his main body of work remains his Eagles of the Empire series. One of the premier Roman historical fiction series, Eagles of the Empire follows two elite Roman officers as they fight their way across multiple wars, provinces and battlefields. I have been a fan of this series from the beginning, and the books within it have been a key part of my yearly review schedule, including The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile, The Honour of Rome, Death to the Emperor, Rebellion and Revenge of Rome. As such, the latest book in the series, Tyrant of Rome, has been a highly anticipated read for me, and I have been very keen to get my hands on it. The 24^th novel in the series, Tyrant of Rome, sees the protagonists forced to face a far more dangerous force than the recent rebellion of Boudica, politics and the howling mob of Rome.

Plot Synopsis:

AD 63. Under the reckless and tumultuous leadership of Emperor Nero, Rome is descending into near-anarchy and conspiracy. The brutal execution of 400 slaves has led to rioting and discontent. Only the strongest soldier could maintain control. And so Nero turns to Prefect Cato to help save his reign from collapse.

Cato has been lying low after a heroic campaign to quash the Boudica uprising. Now he is called upon to serve again. As the new Prefect of the Urban Cohorts in Rome, Cato needs a loyal and proven officer by his side. Centurion Macro is willing to step up.

War and rebellion hold few fears for these seasoned veterans. But the politics and intrigue of Rome make every day as perilous as the battlefield. And the fate of both men, and of the empire, lie in the hands of the most volatile emperor of the age. Death awaits anyone who dares to defy Nero.

Cato and Macro will need to call on all their experience, native cunning and bottomless courage to survive in this epic new adventure of Roman military heroism.

Tyrant of Rome was another incredible read from Scarrow, who presents another fun and deeply exciting historical tale, this time loaded with intrigue, schemes and some fascinating insights into ancient Roman society. An outstanding continuation of one of my favourite series, I powered through Tyrant of Rome in no time at all, while also deeply appreciating its narrative differences from the typical Eagle of the Empire novel.

Scarrow provides a very interesting narrative that partially takes the reader away from the Roman battlefield fans of the series are familiar with. Once again following the duo of Cato and Macro, this novel sees them secretly returned to Rome after surviving Boudica’s rebellion, attempting to avoid the attention of Nero. However, when the emperor discovers that he is back, Cato is once again forced to report for duty to keep his secrets hidden. Unexpectedly assigned to lead Rome’s Urban Cohorts, Cato attempts to impose his military order onto the corrupt and lax soldiers of Rome’s primary defence and urban control regiment. However, Cato’s appointment couldn’t come at a worse time, as Rome is in uproar over Nero’s recent decision to execute hundreds of innocent slaves. At the same time, Cato finds himself trapped at the whims of an increasingly unstable Nero and the dangerous people attempting to control the emperor for their own gain. Desperate for help, Cato calls Macro out of retirement and sets him up as the Urban Cohort’s new drill sergeant and Cato’s backup against its corrupt officers.

Scarrow quickly sets much of the above scene early on in Tyrant of Rome, and the resulting mixture of the protagonist’s usual martial activity is nicely balanced by their personal concerns, and their immersion in the deteriorating politics of Rome. As the protagonists attempt to navigate the city through several deadly events, Cato also finds himself caught up in the middle of a dark conspiracy to unseat Nero. Caught between these conspirators and those manipulating Nero, Cato is forced to choose a side, especially when the city explodes into mob violence focused on the palace. This results in an intense and extended battle sequence leading up to the finale of Tyrant of Rome, as the protagonists attempt to survive against deadly odds. This awesome battle serves to bring together several of the ongoing storylines in Tyrant of Rome, with the big dark conspiracy of the novel resulting in additional carnage. This leads to an interesting, if not surprising, conclusion, as the protagonists get their typical rewards, and Scarrow sets the board for more adventures to come for this long-running duo.

I felt that this latest outing from Scarrow was a strong entry in the Eagles of the Empire series, which played up its focus on politics, intrigue and notable historical events. One of the few novels of this series set in Rome, Tyrant of Rome really dove into the chaotic reign of Nero, as well as some of the key figures behind the throne, and it was fascinating to see the soldier protagonists attempting to survive amid the resulting backstabbing and manipulations of an unstable emperor. This is one of the more historically rich novels in this series, and Scarrow throws in some intriguing depictions of significant moments of Roman history, such as the Great Fire of Rome, and I really enjoyed his take on these events, as well as how the protagonists were inserted into them. There were also some excellent depictions of a range of major historical figures, including Nero and other prominent Romans during this reign. Scarrow has a lot of fun portraying Nero’s rule, as well as the role that several of these other figures, such as his wife and the heads of the Praetorian Guard, had during this turbulent period. This focus on history helped to up the dramatic stakes of the plot, and it, alongside the well-written political intrigue and plotting, worked well with the more typical storyline of Cato and Macro whipping Roman soldiers into shape and leading them into battle.

While Tyrant of Rome is the 24^th entry in a long-running series, Scarrow has long ensured that his Eagles of the Empire novels are mostly standalone in nature, with only a few requiring readers to check out earlier entries. Tyrant of Rome in particular works well as an independent read, as it comes just after Scarrow wrapped up a major multi-book arc, and starts setting the series in a new direction in the later years of Nero’s reign and the lead-up to the Year of the Four Emperors. As such, it’s easy to drop into the series here, especially as Scarrow provides excellent recaps of the protagonist’s relationships and past adventures. Thanks to the author’s open writing style, readers with varying knowledge of either history, or the events of the previous Eagles of the Empire books, can easily read and appreciate the cool adventures and intrigues of the characters, although established fans are naturally going to get the most out of seeing Cato and Macro in action again.

Scarrow makes sure to treat these ongoing readers with some interesting movement on the series’ overarching narrative, especially as it starts to establish the protagonists as players in the oncoming civil wars, and you also get to see how these characters continue to develop after all these years. The weariness around Cato and Macro after their multiple adventures, including their last harrowing stint in Britannia, is well showcased by Scarrow. I particularly enjoyed seeing a far more cynical Cato as he attempted to navigate the politics of Rome, and it certainly was a far cry from the more innocent figure we saw at the start of the series. I personally enjoyed seeing the return of a key figure from Cato and Macro’s past, the future emperor Vespasian, and the complex interactions he had with Cato, were very enlightening.

Simon Scarrow continues to showcase why he is one of the very best modern authors of Roman historical fiction with the latest Eagles of the Empire novel, Tyrant of Rome. Combining captivating historical political intrigue with Scarrow’s typically impressive depiction of the Roman military, Tyrant of Rome was a distinctive and powerful entry in this long-running series, that comes very highly recommended. An epic and action-packed read, I honestly couldn’t get enough of Tyrant of Rome, and I really cannot wait to see how Scarrow continues this series going forward, especially as we have a new entry, The Sword of Rome, set for release later this year.

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Revenge of Rome by Simon Scarrow

On December 8, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction6 Comments

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 12 November 2024)

Series: Eagles of the Empire – Book 23

Length: 411 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The action continues in one of my favourite Roman historical fiction series with the outstanding and captivating read, Revenge of Rome by Simon Scarrow.

I have long extolled the ability of Simon Scarrow, who is one of the top current authors of historical fiction, as well as a personal favourite writer of mine. I have had a blast reading and reviewing many Scarrow books over the years, including his Berlin Wartime Thriller series (see my reviews for Blackout and Dead of Night), as well as several great standalone reads. However, his main body of work is the exceptional Eagles of the Empire series. One of the premier Roman historical fiction series, the Eagles of the Empire books follow two elite Roman officers as they fight their way across multiple wars, provinces and battlefields. I have been a fan of this series from the beginning, and the books within it have been a key part of my yearly review schedule, including The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile, The Honour of Rome, Death to the Emperor and Rebellion. As such, the latest book in the series, Revenge of Rome, has been a highly anticipated read for me, and I have been very keen to get my hands on it. The 23^rd novel in the series, Revenge of Rome, follows on immediately after the events of Death to the Emperor and Rebellion, which covered the main events of Boudica’s uprising, and deal with the deadly aftermath of this massive conflict.

Britannia, 61 AD. Following the final stand of the Roman army that broke the massive rebel horde, the uprising against Rome has ended but there is still no peace in Britannia. Boudica, the warrior queen who sparked the rebellion, has escaped and still holds the eagle standard of the defeated Ninth Legion. With the eagle in hand, Boudica and her Iceni tribe are living proof that Rome can be beaten and while she survives the flames of rebellion continue to smoulder.

Desperate to hunt Boudica down and make her pay for her crimes, Rome assigns two veterans to end the threat she poses, Prefect Cato and Centurion Macro. Survivors of countless battles and campaigns Cato and Macro are the perfect soldiers to take down Boudica, especially as they share a long history with her. Determined to do their duty, even with their conflicted feelings, Cato and Macro lead their troops into the lands of the Iceni to either capture or kill Boudica.

However, Boudica is no easy prey to capture. Despite her defeat, she still has many skilled warriors fighting under her banner, each of whom holds great hatred for the Romans. Worse, the war has made Boudica both cruel and cunning, and she soon engages in a brutal war of attrition, determined to break the Romans before they can overwhelm her. To succeed, Cato and Macro will need all their cunning, grit and experience to finally bring Boudica down. But can even these wily Roman officers contend with the wrath of an entire nation and their vengeful queen, or will Britannia rise once more to destroy the Roman invaders?

Revenge of Rome was another excellent and exciting entry in the Eagles of the Empire series that proved to be an absolute blast to get through. A very intense, character driven read that focuses on an interesting period of Roman history, Revenge of Rome was an outstanding book that really drew me in.

Scarrow did an amazing job continuing the intense story from the last two books, and I frankly feel that this has been some of his best writing in years. Starting off with a cool alternate look at the main battle from Rebellion, Revenge of Rome primarily explores the events immediately following the massive uprising and the destruction wrought on the Roman settlements. Once again following Cato and Macro as they are given an impossible task, Scarrow presents a back-to-basics narrative as the two officers train up a new regiment (from the Second Legion, which was a nice callback to the first few books), to lead it into combat against the rebelling tribes. The first half of the book follows Cato’s initial strategy of diplomacy and scouting, as he tries to figure out how to defeat Boudica with limited troops. At the same time, Boudica works to reignite her rebellion, causing chaos amongst the other tribes and scoring some early victories. This proves to be an intriguing first half of the book, especially as it nicely sets up the rest of the narrative, while also examining the aftermath of the rebellion, and the initial attempts of the Romans to regain control.

While the first half of Revenge of Rome was exciting, the best action occurs in the second half as Cato and Macro lead their troops against the Iceni and attempt to find their hideout. There are some great small-scale conflicts the further we get along and Scarrow did an effective job showcasing Boudica as a truly dangerous foe. Everything nicely leads up to the final battle, where the protagonists discover the Iceni’s fortress in the swamps (thanks to an excellent plot line about Cato trying to win back the hearts and minds of the locals) and engage in a deadly siege. The action flies thick and fast here, and there are some awesome fight sequences as both sides initiate some clever tactics. I really got caught up in the final battles and flew through the last 100 pages or so which detailed the siege. While there is a natural focus on the brutal combat, Scarrow also provided some powerful character moments which helped to make Revenge of Rome even more intense and moving. Scarrow ends everything on a final, if hopeful, note and it looks like the Eagles of the Empire series will be entering a new phase. It will be interesting to see where Scarrow goes next, and I look forward to seeing how a certain new character is worked into the plot.

Scarrow always utilises a great and consistent style with the Eagle of the Empire books, which allows for some fantastic and exciting stories. Revenge of Rome is no different, as we are presented with a compelling tale that sees the Romans taking on the local tribes of Britannia in a deadly game of cat and mouse. I felt that Scarrow did a great job amping up the character emotions in Revenge of Rome, especially as we get some great alternate views of the main antagonist, Boudica, and her vengeful crusade. The resulting carnage is well-written and intense, and Scarrow is very effective at portraying historical combat through his writing. I really love the detail in which Scarrow showcases both the Romans and the Britannia tribes, and the compelling action sequences make for some brilliant reading. The historical period featured within Revenge of Rome also proved to be very interesting, as Scarrow dives into the aftermath of Boudica’s rebellion and the state of Britannia at the time. I really appreciated this fascinating focus; especially as most historical fiction authors tend to only portray the main rebellion and leave it at that. I felt that Scarrow also did an outstanding job capturing the emotions of both the Roman soldiers and the surviving tribes throughout the book, and it was really intriguing to see some of the politics and logistics involved in the aftermath of the deadly occurrences of the previous novels. Like most books in the series, Revenge of Rome can easily be read as a standalone novel, as Scarrow writes an inclusive narrative that cycles back to key events of previous books when necessary. However, to get the full emotional impact of Revenge of Rome I would recommend first reading the prior two novels, Death to the Emperor and Rebellion, as their stories are extremely well linked. However, even if you only read Revenge of Rome, you are in for a great historical adventure with some intriguing features.

I also felt that Revenge of Rome had some very strong character work in it as Scarrow brings back his classic protagonists alongside a few intriguing additions. After 23 books, Cato and Macro are still the same characters we’ve come to know and love, although Scarrow does find ways to keep them fresh. While Cato is his usual tactical and empathetic self, especially when it comes to finding ways to defeat the enemy, Macro is in his full-on non-commissioned officer mode, serving as the hard-boiled soldier’s soldier. Thanks to some over-the-top drill sergeant scenes, Macro quickly steals focus, and he is the more entertaining of the two protagonists. Scarrow also throws in some especially emotional sequences for Macro, as he deals with the continued conflict against his former love interest, Boudica, his guilt for the damage she caused, and the secrets she revealed to him in the previous novel. One of these secrets comes to fruition nicely in the final part of the book, and it will be interesting to see how the evolves going forward.

Aside from Cato and Macro, there is a great array of additional interesting characters scattered throughout the novel who have their moment to shine. This includes multiple Roman figures, many of whom previously appeared in previous novels. Of these, I particularly enjoyed Scarrow’s portrayal of a young Tribune Agricola. Agricola, a real historical figure destined to become a famous general, is shown here as a brash young officer eager for command. His ongoing storyline of learning the ropes under Cato and Macro proves to be a lot of fun, and I liked the inference that Agricola’s later success can be attributed to the harsh early tutorage of the protagonists. However, out of the all the supporting characters, I felt that Scarrow did his best work with Boudica. Boudica, who has appeared in several earlier Eagles of the Empire books, has one of her best outings in Revenge of Rome. Despite losing in Rebellion, Boudica is still a determined revolutionary, turned vengeful from the Romans treatment of her and her daughters. As such, she is unrecognisable compared to her previous appearances as an ally to Cato and Macro, and she proves to be one of their most dangerous enemies. I felt that Scarrow really captured her revenge-darkened heart in Revenge of Rome, and there are some great scenes where she continues to take her war up another notch. It was honestly really moving to see her in this final showdown against the protagonists, and I appreciated how effectively Scarrow focused on this iconic historical figure in this latest book.

Simon Scarrow once again deeply impressed me with an Eagles of the Empire novel as Revenge of Rome was another captivating and exciting novel, loaded with awesome historical action. An excellent addition to the series that provides an outstanding wrap-up of one of Scarrow’s best storylines, Revenge of Rome comes very highly recommended, and I look forward to seeing where the author takes the series next. In the meantime, we have A Death of Berlin to look forward to from Scarrow early next year, which should be another dark and complex Berlin Wartime Thriller.

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