Tag: Roman Empire

Revenge of Rome by Simon Scarrow

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction5 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 23rd 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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Terra Incognita by Simon Turney

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Publisher: Head of Zeus (Ebook – 12 September 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 407 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Simon Turney continues to explore the Roman Empire with his latest novel Terra Incognita, a fantastic read that proves to be one of the top historical fiction adventure novels of 2024.

Simon Turney, who also writes as SJA Turney, is a fantastic author who has been penning various intriguing historical novels for several years now.  I have enjoyed a couple of his books in the past, including the deeply compelling read, Commodus, which was part of his Damned Emperors series.  2024 has proven to be another good year for Turney, as he managed to also to impress me with the first book in his Agricola series, Invader.  Invader was a very fun military novel that followed the early career of a famous Roman general and his potential involvement with Boudica’s rebellion.  I deeply enjoyed Invader, and I am very keen for the sequel, Warrior, which is set for release in early 2025.  However, before Warrior comes out, I was very happy to receive a copy of Turney’s intriguing novel Terra Incognita.  Providing his own take on a truly fascinating adventure hinted at in Roman historical records, Terra Incognita was an awesome read I was excited to check out.

Rome, 61 AD.  Under the rule of Emperor Nero, the Roman Empire is a wealthy and powerful civilisation covering much of Europe and Africa.  However, Nero is eager to expand the range of his control even further and sets his eyes down the River Nile.  Desiring to conquer the mysterious and reportedly rich lands and kingdoms below Egypt, Nero devises an elaborate plan to learn more about the world beyond his borders.

Under the command of an ambitious tribune, Nero sends two centuries of his elite Praetorian Guard into the African wilds with orders to follow the Nile until they find the source of the river.  If they succeed, they are to offer tribute to the river’s spirits, and ensure favourable waters for any subsequent invasion of the lands that follow.  However, reaching these fabled waters alive will prove to be an arduous journey.

Travelling down the Nile, the soldiers of Rome experience great hardships as they make their way to their empire’s borders.  But even greater challenges wait beyond, as the Romans will have to overcome bandits, hostile kingdoms, disease, inhospitable desert, fierce beasts and the madness of their own commander.  Can the Romans make it to their goal alive, or will the insanity of their Emperor and the impossible mission he’s set for them destroy even these elite soldiers?

Terra Incognita was as an outstanding and epic historical read that I honestly could not stop reading.  Presenting a powerful and deeply compelling narrative of trials, tribulations, and the dark side of ambition and duty in the wilds of Africa, Turney expertly grabs the reader in with his elaborate historical adventure tale and refused to let go.

I really loved the fun and distinctive story that Turney sets up in Terra Incognita, which proved to be particularly captivating and gripping to me.  A fictional account of the two Praetorian centuries the historical record indicates Nero reportedly sent to find the source of the River Nile, Terra Incognita is an exciting, entertaining and occasionally grim book, that just keeps loading compelling misadventure after compelling misadventure.  Told from the perspective of the venture’s two centurions, Sempronius Densus and Claudius Faventinus, you witness the full extent of the expedition through their eyes, from its hopeful if apprehensive start, all the way to its grim conclusion, and you will love every single second of it.

The narrative itself starts off as a classic Roman historical adventure, as it follows its protagonists down into Egypt.  This early part of the book is very much focused on introducing the characters and setting the scene for the adventures to come, and the readers get some fun sights of Roman occupied Egypt, while also experiencing the initial hurdles of the expedition.  However, once they leave Egypt and journey into land owned by the Kushites, Rome’s southern neighbour in Africa at the period, things start to unravel for them, as they come under attack, encounter greater setbacks, and are beset by bad omens.

The second half of the book sees the Romans enter unexplored territory and encounter the world beyond their known borders.  The already tired and demoralised soldiers face a lengthy and grim trudge deeper into Africa, with things getting worse for them the further they get away from home.  Trapped in their mission by their stubborn and seemingly unkillable commander, the book takes on a real Heart of Darkness vibe as their commander’s obsession drives them forward no matter the consequences.  Things continue to get more and more desperate for the protagonists as they continue, and you are constantly on the edge of your seat waiting to see what disaster or intriguing new turn of events they are likely to stumble across next.  After an increasingly tense series of events, Turney brings the reader to a deeply interesting and compelling conclusion, which fit the overall themes of obsession, insanity and a desire to survive perfectly.  This ended up being an excellent and well-crafted standalone narrative, and I had such a brilliant time getting through this elaborate adventure.

Turney is probably one of the top current authors of Roman historical fiction, and he clearly had a lot of fun bringing this elaborate novel together through his great writing.  Written as one continuous and compelling historical adventure, readers are really drawn into the epic tale of exploration and insanity that evolves, and Turney does a wonderful job of blending historical inclusions with a deep and powerful narrative.  I think the author had the right elements of action, exploration, history and personal stories in Terra Incognita, and it’s hard not to get drawn into the constant adventure and the interaction with new obstacles and societies.

In addition to the well-written story, I really must highlight the excellent main characters of Terra Incognita, especially as you see the entire disastrous expedition through the eyes of the group’s two centurions, Sempronius Densus and Claudius Faventinus.  Cast as the group’s sensible, disciplined and stubborn hearts, the two centurions doggedly lead their soldiers on, forced to serve as a buffer between the disgruntled Praetorian Guard, and their increasingly unhinged commander.  While there sometimes isn’t a lot to distinguish between the two centurions, you grow attached to them, especially as they are forced into impossible situations time and time again and are compelled by duty to continue.

However, the best character in the book is easily the expedition’s leader, Tribune Lucius Curtius Lupus.  An ambitious and regal figure, the tribune serves as a great foil to the sensible protagonists in the first half of the book, especially as his bluster, unreasonable orders and lack of common sense ensure that the centurions are forced to work against him to continue.  However, once the Romans find themselves in the African wilds, the tribune really turns into a fantastic character.  Due to a mixture of illness, pettiness and fear, the tribune becomes continuously more detached from the reality of the situation they are in and keeps dragging his mutinous soldiers further down into Africa.  Absolutely driven by obsession, Lupus refuses to stop until Nero’s orders are fulfilled, no matter the cost to the troops, and every action forces his centurions to decide whether to support him or kill him.  I loved the constant battle of duty and practicality that emerged, as the two centurion protagonists attempt to find their line in the sand against the tribune, only to allow him to make more bad decisions.  It also proves quite amusing to see the continued tribulations that the tribune survives, so much so that his soldiers become to believe his mission is blessed by the gods.  It’s hard not to both love and hate Tribune Lupus as the book unfolds, and I felt that Turney’s use of him was perfect, especially as there are some interesting parallels between him and a key figure from Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now.

Finally, I need to highlight the excellent historical inclusions featured within Terra Incognita.  Turney does an outstanding job bringing the wild and uncharted territories of Africa to life through his excellent writing, and you are constantly envisioning the elaborate landscapes and intriguing people that the Romans may have encountered on this expedition.  I also really appreciated how Turney utilised and expanded on details from the Roman historical records as well more modern understandings of the period in his story.  The depiction of several different tribes, nations and kingdoms that likely existed along the Nile at that point in history was fascinating.  I also enjoyed seeing how Turney envisioned the Roman’s reactions to the various crazy creatures, obstacles and unusual people they would have encountered, including crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and some of Africa’s more impassable terrain.  These obstacles also led to some interesting solutions, and I particularly appreciated Turney’s idea for a potential malaria treatment/preventative.  Throw in some great depictions of the Roman soldiers themselves, something the author has a lot of experience showcasing, and this was a great historical book with some unique features.

Terra Incognita was an outstanding standalone book from Simon Turney that provides readers with an awesome historical adventure.  Fast-paced, addictive, and loaded with some fantastic intensity, especially around the great characters, Terra Incognita was an epic read that comes very highly recommended.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Warrior by Simon Turney

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday3 Comments

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.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this latest entry to my Waiting on Wednesday series, I look at a cool upcoming historical fiction novel with Warrior by Simon Turney.

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This week I’m still in a massive historical fiction mood, and as I’ve mentioned a few times before, one of my favourite historical settings is the Roman empire.  Due to its popularity and use in various media over the years, Roman historical fiction is one of the most prevalent historical fiction sub-genres, and there are some brilliant authors diving into various periods of Roman rule.  One of my favourites is Simon Turney (who also writes as S. J. A Turney), who has written multiple cool books in this setting over the years, including the deeply compelling novel Commodus.

Earlier this year I became reacquainted with Turney again when I was lucky enough to receive a copy of his new book, Invader.  The first book in his new Agricola series, Invader focused on the early career of the titular series protagonist, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, a man destined to become one of Rome’s greatest generals.  Invader had a particularly fun narrative behind it which followed Agricola’s earliest exploits in Brittania, amid the start of Boudica’s revolt.  This was an awesome book, and I had a ton of fun getting through it.

Due to how exciting and compelling Invader proved to be, I have been keeping an eye out for additional Agricola books, and I was excited to see that a sequel is coming out in early 2025, with Warrior.  Continuing to follow the burgeoning career of the future general, Warrior sees Agricola forced to compete on a different battlefield of politics and royal influence, as the insanity of Nero works against him, and the Year of the Four Emperors begins.  I love the sound of this cool upcoming book, and I am very curious to see how Turney envisions Agricola’s actions during this turbulent period of Roman history.  I have no doubt Warrior is going to be a particularly impressive read, and I plan to dive into it the moment I get my hands on it.  A fantastic, and highly anticipated upcoming read from an outstanding author.

Plot Synopsis:

The new thrilling Roman historical adventure in a series based around one of the most renowned and intriguing figures of Ancient Rome.

Agricola has won renown in the Roman army for his exploits in Britannia. Now returned to Rome with his new family, he seeks to rise further – but life in the greatest city on earth proves more difficult than he expected. The politics of Rome are on a knife-edge – often literally. The Emperor Nero is unpredictable, the manner of his rule unstable.

Agricola finds himself posted to the troublesome province of Asia Minor. The local governor is ambitious and dangerous… and has close family ties to Nero himself. Falling foul of such a man could mean certain death… and yet a rebellious young warrior like Agricola cannot stay silent for long.

With allies proving few and far between, Agricola experiences personal tragedy and soon seeks revenge. Rome, meanwhile, burns in a great fire… but further tumult is to come in the wake of Nero’s death. Agricola must tread a careful path to stay alive through the Year of the Four Emperors… a year of blood and ruin throughout the empire.

Nero by Conn Iggulden

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction5 Comments

Nero Cover

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 28 May 2024)

Series: Nero – Book One

Length: 396 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of the absolute best authors of historical fiction in the world today, Conn Iggulden, returns with an exciting new series as he examines the life of Rome’s most infamous Emperor, Nero.

Conn Iggulden is a historical fiction author that I have a lot of respect for, especially as consistently presents intense and compelling reads that focus on some of the most interesting people and conflicts of the historical world.  Starting off over 20 years ago with his iconic Emperor series, which covered the complete life of Julius Caesar, Iggulden has moved through various historical periods and locations with his works.  This includes his impressive Conqueror series, which followed the life and legacy of Genghis Khan, his outstanding War of the Roses books, the fantastic standalone novel The Falcon of Sparta, and his clever Athenian series, made up of The Gates of Athens and Protector.  All these series have been really impressive, effectively balancing historical detail with exciting storytelling, and Iggulden is a favourite author of mine as a result.  Due this I have been really excited for his latest novel, Nero, which provides an intriguing look at the events that led to the ascension of the titular Emperor.

Rome, AD 37.  The greatest city in the world is in turmoil.  The decrepit and vengeful Emperor Tiberius has returned to Rome after a lengthy absence, and his first act is to order the strangulation of the man he left in charge.  As a flurry of sanctioned killings and destruction begins to reign down upon Rome, a young boy is born who is destined to burn everything around him.

Born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, the boy is the son of a former champion charioteer of noble lineage, and Agrippina, the great-granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus.  With family ties reaching all the way back to original emperors, Lucius is already considered an eventual claimant to the Roman throne.  However, there are many within Rome who want power and influence for themselves and care little for the hopes and ambitions of a noblewoman and her young son.

With dark clouds on Rome’s horizon, Agrippina soon discovers that the greatest threat comes from closer to home than she realises in the form of her brother, Caligula.  Banished and robbed of everything, including her young son, Agrippina finds herself at the mercy of those around her.  However, Agrippina does not intend to be powerless forever, and when fate intervenes, she finds herself with the opportunity to influence the very heart of Roman politics.  Can Agrippina ensure the rise of her young son, the boy who will eventually be known as Nero, and will Rome ever be the same again?

This was an intriguing and gripping novel from Iggulden, who continues to show why he is one of the most consistent and entertaining authors of historical fiction.  Nero is a fascinating and thrilling read that cleverly examines the early life of the future emperor from those around him and proves very hard to put down.

Nero contains a typical Iggulden narrative, in which he focuses on a historical figure and follows them from birth to their eventual rise to power.  In Nero’s case, this book is clearly the first part of a larger series as it is dedicated to examining the childhood of the future emperor and the many events that lead to him to the throne.  As such, the focus of this novel is more on his parents, and the various other dangerous Roman figures who were around at this time.  Starting in the latter days of Tiberius’s reign, the author parallels Nero’s birth with the start of Tiberius’s purges in Rome, while also showcasing his troubled parents, including his mother Agrippina, who is essentially the main character here.  This proves to be an interesting start to the book, especially as you get a good look at many of the key figures the story is going to focus on, while also showcasing just how crazy stories recounting the history of Rome can get.

The author quickly moves the story along to the reign of Caligula, which drags the protagonists closer into the limelight due to Agrippina being the new emperor’s sister.  Naturally, it doesn’t take long for affairs to devolve into chaos, and there are some major changes that really impact the lives of the principal cast.  The second half of the book features a decent time skip which brings certain figures back into prominence and allows Agrippina to focus on her ambitions.  Iggulden does a great job showcasing Agrippina’s change of heart and new desire for power, and I liked the intrigue, political machinations and manipulations that were at the heart of this second half of Nero.  Everything leads up to an interesting conclusion, as Iggulden adds in some exciting military action, which contrasts nicely to the political and personal struggles of the first half of the plot.  The book ends on a solid note that ensures readers will come back to the series in the future, especially as the story of Nero is only just beginning.  This proved to be a very intriguing story, and I enjoyed how Iggulden showcased the many infamous historical events and wove a great, character-driven story around them.

Nero had a great tone that was a combination of character driven plot, over-the-top Roman antics and intriguing history, which I really enjoyed.  Loaded with a fast-paced and brutal story, you quickly get absorbed into the many political intrigues and dysfunctional relationships that lie at the heart of the plot, and Iggulden did an outstanding job flipping the perspective around a range of compelling historical figures and showcasing their unique views on intriguing events and the future emperor.  The story is constantly sharp and compelling, I liked how intense events got, especially as Iggulden ensured that certain dark moments of history are shown in all their glory.  I deeply enjoyed the author’s depictions of Roman history, and his take on events really stood out compared to some other series I have read set in the same period.  The chaotic nature of the antagonists, the mood of the city, and the general insanity of the times were all very impressive, and they formed a great background to the outrageous plot.  Iggulden has such a knack for displaying Roman history (as evidenced by his first epic series) and he really makes the ancient city, and iconic figures stand out for all readers.  While he does appear to take a few liberties with the historical record for storytelling purposes (honestly, what historical fictions author doesn’t ?), many of the most iconic moments of the time were captured perfectly, and he constantly ensured that the mood of the city was examined in detail.  I deeply enjoyed this fantastic and captivating historical tale, and Nero proved to be a highly addictive book to check out.

I want to also highlight some of the amazing characters featured in Nero, especially as most of them proved to be awesome takes on major historical figures.  As I mentioned before, the character of Nero himself doesn’t get a lot of time as a perspective figure in this first novel, mainly because he is quite young for most of the plot, although he does get a few intriguing moments in the second half of the book.  Instead, most of the book was dedicated to showing the formative events of his youth, as well as how he ended up in the position to eventually become emperor.  I felt that this was a smart decision on Iggulden’s behalf, and I really enjoyed seeing this in-depth examination of Nero’s history, especially as most Roman historical fiction series tend to include him as an overexaggerated villain rather than a product of the crazy times he grew up in.  I look forward to seeing how he evolves in future books, and it will be interesting to see how Iggulden utilises him as a major perspective character.

With Nero growing into the role, the character who probably gets the most focus is Agrippina the Younger, Nero’s mother and future empress.  Due to the way the plot plays out, Iggulden spends a lot of time exploring this controversial figure, and I rather enjoyed seeing the in-depth examination of the events that preceded her marriage to Claudius.  You get a very complex picture of Agrippina here, including the many tragedies surrounding her family, the violent marriage that resulted in Nero, and the terrible treatment by her brother Caligula.  Iggulden does an excellent job showcasing how these events impacted Agrippina’s personality, and you can see how and why she becomes more ruthless and determined to be the one in control.  While she does a lot of despicable things, Iggulden almost makes her a sympathetic character, although certain dark events stop you from ever truly loving her.  I deeply enjoyed the author’s portrayal of Agrippina in Nero, and she proved to be a compelling and intriguing force.

Other characters of note include Nero’s father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, a violent drunken former famous charioteer who Iggulden showcases in a manner similar to a modern-day angry failed sports star trying to relive their glory days.  Constantly enraged that the world has left him behind and caught up in events beyond his control, Gnaeus cuts a dark and brooding figure that proves very hard to love.  Despite this, Gnaeus was a very intriguing addition to the plot, and his fraught interactions with Agrippina left a mark that resulted in some intriguing plot points.  I must also mention the great depictions of the three emperors who preceded Nero, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius.  All three of these emperors are notorious, and Iggulden went out of his way to show their many eccentricities and issues, as well as the impacts that they had on the Roman empire.  I always love seeing authors depict the unique events these figures were responsible for, and Iggulden did not disappoint.  As such, they all end up being major and memorable figures in Nero, which proved to be quite important, as their actions and reigns will no doubt be referenced and compared to Nero in the rest of the series.  Throw in a great collection of other fantastic historical figures, and Nero had a great cast that really brought some amazing monsters from history to life.

Conn Iggulden continues to showcase why he is one of the top authors of historical fiction.  Nero was an outstanding book that masterfully showcases the early life of the infamous emperor with a wildly entertaining story.  Exciting, dramatic and very over-the-top, Nero was an incredible read that I deeply enjoyed.  I look forward to seeing how Iggulden brings this series together in the future, and I am already very excited for the inevitable sequel.

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Agricola: Invader by Simon Turney

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Agricola - Invader Cover

Publisher: Head of Zeus (ebook – 14 March 2024)

Series: Agricola – Book One

Length: 352 page

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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I was in the mood for a compelling historical adventure, and the intriguing upcoming novel Invader, the first book in the Agricola series, seemed like the perfect choice, especially with the always impressive Simon Turney at the helm.

Simon Turney, who also writes as SJA Turney, is a well-established historian and historical fiction author who has been producing complex and action-packed reads for years.  Predominantly known for his Roman historical fiction works, including the Marius’ Mules, Tales of the Empire, Praetorian, Roman Adventure and Damned Emperors series, as well as the Knights Templar and Wolves of Odin books, Turney has a substantial catalogue of fantastic books to his name.  I have had some great experiences with Turney in the past, especially as I loved his 2019 novel Commodus, which perfectly captured the life of one of Rome’s most complex Emperors.  I have been meaning to read more from Turney for years and I finally got the chance when I received an early copy of his upcoming book, Invader.  The first book in a new series that will follow the life of famous Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola, a historical figure Turney is very familiar with, Invader was a great read that covered Agricola’s first military command.

58 AD, Rome.  Teenager Gnaeus Julius Agricola is the son of a distinguished Roman family that has languished into poverty since the death of his father.  Determined to bring honour and glory back to his family’s name, Agricola sets out to prove himself to the people or Rome through military service.  Utilising the last favour owed to his family, Agricola secures a posting as Tribune in the province of Britannia.

Determined to make the most of his opportunity, Agricola finds himself assigned to the staff of Roman general Suetonius Paulinus, who is about to launch an ambition campaign to capture more of the island and pacify the resentful tribes.  Marching across Britannia, Agricola begins to show himself a capable leader, especially while be forced to deal with rebelling locals, dangerous rivals, and an incompetent commander.

Soon, the war leads to the ancient stronghold of the druids, where Agricola finds his star on the rise.  However, great disaster awaits the Romans back at the heart of the province.  The warrior queen Boudicca has risen in revolt, determined to wipe out all the Romans in Britannia.  With the fate of the entire colony hanging in the balance, can Agricola help find a way to ensure victory for the Romans, even with the odds firmly stacked against them?

Invader was an epic and compelling piece of historical fiction from Turney, who starts up an awesome new series in a big way.  Loaded with action, intriguing characters, and some great historical detail, Invader was a highly addictive read that I was able to power through in two days.

Turney came up with an excellent story for the first Agricola book that quickly grabbed my attention and ensured I couldn’t stop reading.  Told exclusively from the focus on the new series, historical figure Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Invader serves to both introduce the protagonist, while also highlighting some of his early adventures.  The author starts the book off quick, setting the scene for the protagonist and ensuring you’re invested in his ambitions, before dropping him into a particularly chaotic period of the Roman occupation of Britania.

Thanks to the setting, most of the story focuses on General Paulinus’s massive campaign to conquer more territory and destroy the druids, which is a fascinating historical backdrop, especially considering where it led.  I liked how Turney primarily showed one leg of the invasion as the protagonist accompanied one of the split forces through a lengthy march of suppression, colonisation and negotiation.  This results in several interesting encounters and situations, especially as Agricola is desperate to prove himself against the enemy, while also dealing with internal issues, including a rival Tribune and a drunk commander.  This combination of obstacles helps to create a compelling story, and I enjoyed seeing the characters simultaneously involved with internal politics and external fights.  There are some great battles featured here, and this lengthy march of Agricola’s central force through the miserable British landscape proves to be one of the best parts of the entire book.

The rest of the story only gets better, as the protagonist and the supporting characters find themselves involved in two key conflicts, the Roman invasion of the island of Mona and Boudica’s revolt back in the settled provinces.  These scenes are loaded with more action as Turney does an excellent job of setting the protagonist right into the centre of the conflict, and the resulting chaotic warfare, personal worries and other issues really works to tell an engrossing story.  I was initially a little surprised that Turney chose to condense these two major events into the second half of the book, as you probably could have written a whole second Agricola novel about them.  However, after finishing the story, I think it worked well and honestly wasn’t too rushed.  This entire part of the novel proved to be highly entertaining and exciting, and I honestly couldn’t put it down as I waited to see how everything ended.  Turney also sets everything up nice for a sequel/continuing series, and it will be interesting to see how that turns out, especially now that we have the protagonist’s earliest adventures, a potential long-term rival, and a connection to the province Agricola is most known for.

I loved the historical elements that Turney featured in Invader as he did an outstanding job of capturing the feel of both the wild, unexplored areas of Britania and the conquering Roman legions advancing through it.  I loved the author’s great depictions of the various Roman units featured throughout Invader, and you really get a sense of the order, battle tactics and arrangements of a Roman army.  Turney also expertly portrays the intriguing events surrounding General Paulinus’s massive invasion of inner Britannia and, to a lesser degree, the events that led to Boudica’s uprising.  Many of the key recorded moments of these historical events are showcased in an amazing way in Invader, including some major battles, figures and locations.  I rather enjoyed how we saw these events from the perspective of a Roman soldier on campaign, who had no idea about the upcoming revolt that they would have to fight against, nor the wider political issues that led up to it.  Instead, you see how the army was forced to react and the resulting actions that led them to face off in the final battle against Boudicca.  As such, Invader proved to be a particularly impressive historical read, and I cannot wait to see how Turney portrays other key events that Agricola was involved within in future books of this series.

In addition to showcasing the historical events, Turney also features an intriguing range of characters who make up the story.  Most of this is shown through the eyes of series protagonist Gnaeus Julius Agricola, who serves as the point of view character.  Agricola is a historical figure that Turney is very familiar with, and Turney really does a great job featuring him.  While Agricola is generally strongly covered in historical texts (his son-in-law is one of the few surviving historical sources of the period), only a little is known about Agricola’s first visit to Britannia as a young man.  Turney does a great job of portraying Agricola as a hungry young man looking to prove himself, and I think he presented a great potential story about the character.  Watching Agricola battle against everything holding him back was very entertaining, and I look forward to seeing what happens next in the series.  Naturally, Turney places Agricola in the middle of every major battle or encounter he could find, mainly to flesh out the sparse historical notes, and it was interesting to see the combination of ambition, dedication, tactical ability and pride that the author imagined this figure would have in his youth.  Invader also features a great range of supporting characters, both from history and fictional inclusions, who all add a lot to the story.  Standouts include a frustrating rival for the protagonist, a drunk and unpredictable commander who the protagonist is forced to work around, and a native slave, Luci, with whom the protagonist forms an unusual friendship.  I really enjoyed these characters, and it will be interesting to see how their stories continue in the rest of the series.

Overall, Invader was an impressive piece of historical fiction from Simon Turney.  Featuring a great historically important protagonist, Invader served as a brilliant first entry in the new Agricola series, and I really enjoyed the intense and intriguing story that emerged.  Exciting, entertaining, and highly addictive, Invader was an outstanding read that comes highly recommended.  I had an awesome time reading Invader, and I cannot wait to see how Turney captures the rest of Agricola’s complex life throughout this series.

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Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books/Series Set in the Roman Empire

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, List5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was a Thanksgiving themed list that required participants to list the reasons why they are thankful for books.  While this is an interesting topic, I decided against contributing to it, instead I’m skipping ahead to next week’s topic to free up December for my usual end-of-year lists.  As such, my topic for this week involves listing my favourite books set in a specific setting of my choosing, whether that be a country, state, outer space or something else.  This open-ended list left me with quite a few opportunities for potential topics, but I decided to go back to my historical fiction roots and instead focus on books set in the Roman Empire.

I have mentioned before that when I started reviewing books I focussed completely on historical fiction, which was a favourite genre of mine.  While I have expanded my horizons to other genres since then, historical fiction still has a very special place in my heart, and I always like to highlight it on this blog when I get a chance.  As such, I thought I would give this latest list a historical fiction theme and look at books set in the most popular historical fiction setting, the ancient Roman Empire.

Due to the rich history, intriguing people, multiple wars, and iconic nature of ancient Rome, so many historical fiction novels and series are set during this period.  While most of these books are military fiction, there are a ton other stories that can be told during this period, especially as there are so many detailed records about the various Roman Emperors and their reigns.  I have a great deal of love for the Roman Empire in fiction and nearly every major historical fiction author has written a Roman series at some point in their career.  As such, I can think of no better setting to focus this list on than the Roman Empire and its many different battles, plots and unique figures.

To feature on this list, a book needed to be set in some period of Roman history, whether it be the rise of city, the early wars, the height of Empire or its eventual decline.  I decided to allow whole series to be featured as a single entry on this list as this honestly saves me having to choose my favourite novel from some particularly long series.  While I had quite a few good options to feature here, I was eventually able to whittle my list down to ten books/series, with a few honourable mentions thrown in as well.  Each of the below entries are very much worth checking out if you want some fiction set in the Roman Empire, so let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

The Return by Harry Sidebottom

The Return Cover

A dark and gritty standalone novel set shortly after the Roman conquest of Greece, which sees a traumatised former soldier return home only to find himself a suspect in a series of brutal murders.

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Hannibal/The Forgotten Legion series by Ben Kane

Enemy of Rome Cover

Ben Kane has written several great Roman series over the years, and while I have one on the main list, I had to also highlight two of his other series here, including his awesome depiction Hannibal’s battles with Rome in Hannibal and the gripping read about Roman soldiers trapped in the East with The Forgotten Legion.

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The Siege by Nick Brown

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The fun first book in Brown’s Agent of Rome series that sees a young intelligence agent lead the defence of an isolated fort and its disparate soldiers.  High recommended.

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Top Ten List:

Eagles of the Empire series by Simon Scarrow

Death to the Emperor Cover

This list has to start with one of my all-time favourite historical fiction series, the Eagles of the Empire books by Simon Scarrow.  Probably the gold standard of Roman historical fiction, the Eagles of the Empire is a great long-running series that really drew me into the genre when I started reading it years ago.  Currently made up of 21 novels (with the 22nd due to drop any day now), the Eagles of the Empire books follow two Roman officers who bounce from deadly warzone to warzone, trying to survive.  Filled with elaborate battles, great characters, and a cool focus on some of Rome’s most memorable campaigns, the Eagles of the Empire books are so much fun and I cannot recommend them enough (check out my reviews for The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile, The Honour of Rome and Death to the Emperor).

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Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis

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While most Roman series focus on wars and historical figures, one of the best is a fun murder mystery series with the Flavia Albia books by Lindsey Davis.  A sequel to Davis’ original Falco novels (a series I still need to check out), the Flavia Albia books follow a skilled investigator as she tries to solve a series of elaborate crimes and murders while also balancing her hectic personal life.  I have so much love for this series, especially as Davis always seems to get the perfect blend of humour, mystery, and dark intensity into her fantastic narratives.  Some of my favourites in the series include Pandora’s Boy, The Grove of the Caesars (one of my favourite books of 2020), and Desperate Undertaking (one of my favourite books of 2022), and Davis is at her best when she creates particularly elaborate murders and large comedic set pieces.  A must-read series for all fans of Roman historical fiction, especially those looking for something other than wars and politics.

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Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri

Emperor of Rome Cover

Many Roman historical fiction authors choose to centre their books around great figures of history, but few of biographic novels are as entertaining or bold as the Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri.  Focussing on the life of future Roman Emperor Vespasian, Fabbri works to combines the official record of Vespasian’s life with additional adventures that place the character in the middle of the most significant events of the era.  Thanks to Fabbri’s choice to bring every salacious and insane bit of history from the period to life, you get to see the outrageous emperors who preceded Vespasian in all the bloody glory as the protagonist tries to survive the tumultuous wars and politics leading to his ascension.  Deeply entertaining, compelling, and highly shocking, the Vespasian series (check out my reviews for Rome’s Sacred Flame and Emperor of Rome), are well worth checking out.

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Eagles of Rome series by Ben Kane

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As I mentioned above, there are several great Roman historical series written by Ben Kane, but my personal favourite is the Eagles of Rome series.  Set around the infamous massacre of three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest, the first book, Eagles at War, perfectly covers the massacre, while the sequels, Hunting the Eagle and Eagles in the Storm shows the attempts by the Roman characters to get revenge years later.  Eagles at War really sets the tone for this excellent and dark series and I loved this fantastic and brutal portrayal of such an infamous event.

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Warrior of Rome series by Harry Sidebottom

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One of my absolute favourite Roman historical series is the amazing Warrior of Rome books by Harry Sidebottom.  One of the first series I ever had the pleasure of reviewing, the Warrior of Rome novels follow the intriguing character of Ballista, a German hostage turned Roman nobleman who serves as a general and siege expert in the army.  The first book, Fire in the East, saw Ballista take command of a doomed city in one of my favourite siege books, while the sequels show his attempts to save his friend the emperor from threats outside and within with some amazing reads.  This series has remained very fresh and fun over the years, especially the last three novels which have featured an intriguing range of storylines, often laced with compelling thriller elements, such as the 24-inspired The Last Hour, the intense survival novel The Burning Road, and the behind-enemy-lines novel, Falling Sky.  I have a lot of love for this outstanding series and Sidebottom continuously shows himself to be one of the very best authors of Roman historical fiction.

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Commodus by Simon Turney

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A fascinating and addictive read that followed one of the most intriguing Roman Emperors, the infamous and beloved Commodus.  Turney does a wonderful job of showcasing this complex figure in all his glory, strength and insanity, and you really get a feel for both his nobility and his struggles.  One of the most moving and compelling Roman fiction novels I have had the pleasure of reading, this is an outstanding book.

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Empire series by Anthony Riches

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Another Roman historical series I got into years ago is the Empire series by Anthony Riches, which is a classic and impressive collection of books that dive into the comradery of a dedicated regiment.  Starting with Wounds of Honour, this series primarily follows a political fugitive fighting in the legions under an assumed name in several deadly conflicts.  I deeply enjoyed the first several books in the series, and I recently got back into it when I read the fun novel River of Gold.  An awesome and exciting series that proves very easy to read whenever I want a new historical adventure.

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The Throne of Caesar by Steven Saylor

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Another excellent Roman detective series is the Roma Sub Rosa books by Steven Saylor which follow the long running character Gordianus the Finder.  I have only had the pleasure of reading one of Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa books, The Throne of Caesar, but I really loved it.  Set just before the Ides of March, The Throne of Caesar sees Gordianus investigate the conspiracy against Julius Caesar in a clever narrative that gets even more intense the closer the protagonist gets to the assassination.  A brilliant read that I am really glad I got the chance to check out.

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The Sword of Attila by Michael Curtis Ford

The Sword of Attila Cover

Another great standalone Roman fiction book I had to highlight on this list was the invigorating and compelling read, The Sword of Attila by Michael Curtis Ford.  The Sword of Attila is a gripping novel that focussed on two figures from history, Attila the Hun and the Roman general who beat him, Flavius Aetius.  Set towards the end of the Roman Empire, The Sword of the Attila did an excellent job of examining the lives of both fascinating historical figures and the connections they shared.  One of the better character-driven Roman historical fiction novels I have had the pleasure of reading, I deeply enjoyed learning about both these intriguing legends.

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Emperor series by Conn Iggulden

The Gates of Rome Cover

The final series I want to feature on this list is one of the best with the Emperor series by iconic historical fiction author Conn Iggulden.  An awesome retelling of the entire life of Julius Caesar, Iggulden imagines all the triumphs and tragedies of this illustrious leader and portrays them in a captivating and intelligent way for the reader.  A deeply impressive series that proves very hard to put down, the Emperor books are some of the best Roman historical fiction novels out there and are a must read for fans of the genre.

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Well that’s my latest list.  As you can see, there are a range of awesome and compelling novels and series set in the Roman Empire that are very much worth checking out.  I am such a huge fun of this setting and all the above books and series come highly recommended.  Let me know in the comments below what your favourite books set in ancient Rome are, as well as some of your favourite settings.

Falling Sky by Harry Sidebottom

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction2 Comments

Falling Sky Cover

Publisher: Zaffre (Trade Paperback – 17 January 2023)

Series: Warrior of Rome – Book Nine

Length: 375 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of the best and most compelling authors of Roman historical fiction, Harry Sidebottom, returns with another outstanding entry in his Warrior of Rome series, Falling Sky.

There are many outstanding authors who specialise in historical fiction set in ancient Rome, however, one of my absolute favourites is the always impressive Harry Sidebottom, who has been dominating the genre for most of my reviewing career.  Sidebottom has written some amazing novels over the years, including his Throne of the Caesars trilogy and some excellent standalone novels, like The Lost Ten and The Return.  However, my favourite series is his Warrior of Rome novels, which follow the Roman general Ballista, a former barbarian hostage turned Roman nobleman.  This series is pretty damn epic and was amongst some of the earlies novels I ever reviewed.  His debut novel, Fire in the East, remains one of the best siege novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and the rest of the series is also very impressive and inventive.  I have really loved some of his more recent Warrior of Rome books, such as The Last Hour and The Burning Road, and I was very happy to see that Sidebottom was continuing this series with Falling Sky.

AD 265, Gaul.  The usurper Postumus has been declared Emperor by his soldiers and has taken control of key territories west of Rome, including Gaul, Germania, Hispania and Britannia.  Setting up his capital within Gaul, Postumus hopes to maintain control of his new empire and peacefully coexist with Emperor Gallienus.  However, Gallienus wants vengeance for the death of his son at Postumus’s hands and has assembled a massive army to cross the Alps, take back Gaul, and kill his rival.

Amongst the Roman troops gathered to attack Gaul is Ballista, one of Gallienus’s most loyal supporters.  Determined to fight one more battle and then retire to Sicily with his family, Ballista finds himself at the forefront of the fight as one of Gallienus’s most able commanders.  However, Ballista has a far more troubling problem to deal with than battle.  His recent actions in Rome exposed a massive conspiracy to kill Gallienus and install a new Emperor.  While he was able to foil the assassination, the leader of the conspiracy remains at large, and Ballista is convinced that it was the Praetorian Prefect Volusianus, the man charged with keeping Gallienus safe.

With no evidence to support his suspicions, all Ballista can do is watch Volusianus and wait for him to slip up.  However, Volusianus is aware of Ballista’s suspicions and is determined to kill him before his machinations can be revealed.  When Ballista is sent on a dangerous mission deep into enemy territory with a column of cavalry, it represents the perfect opportunity for Volusianus to strike using spies and traitors.  However, the greatest threat to Ballista may come from the turning tides of war, as he and his men soon find themselves trapped far behind enemy lines.  Pursued by the enemy and surrounded by traitors, can even the legendary Ballista survive both the war and his friends in Rome?

This was another brilliant and captivating historical read from Sidebottom that perfectly continues the Warrior or Rome series with another exciting adventure.  Falling Sky is a very thrilling read, and it was one that I was able to finish off quite quickly, especially once I got caught up in its fantastic and fun narrative.

Falling Sky has a very fast-paced narrative that sees the forces of the Emperor Gallienus, including Ballista, return to Gaul (France) to end Postumus’s rebellion and restore the Empire.  The initial chapters set the scene brilliantly, as you get reacquainted with Ballista and his recent adventures, as well as some insights into his suspicions around Volusianus’s role in the recent assassination of the emperor.  Featuring some great early battle sequences in the Alps, you soon get a great idea of the war to come, especially when you also see some events through the eyes of Postumus and his forces.  The centre of the book is dominated by a pivotal major battle sequence with both armies clashing in a brutal series of chapters that really leaves an impression.  It also sets the rest of the story up extremely well, as the still suspicious Ballista is sent out on a dangerous mission he isn’t supposed to come back from.  This cavalry focused plot dominates the second half of the book and features a great blend of action, historical logistics, and espionage as Ballista tries to keep his troops alive, while a traitor in his ranks works to bring him down by any means necessary.  This leads to an excellent final third of the book, when Ballista and his troops are forced to retreat through half of Gaul, while traitors and problems from the protagonist’s past wait for him.  This turns into a fantastic chase sequence between enemy regiments, and I really loved how epic and intense it got in places.  The entire story wraps up really well, and I had a wonderful time getting through this awesome read.

Falling Sky turned out to be a pretty awesome book, and I loved how Sidebottom set his latest novel out.  There was an interesting change of style in Falling Sky from some of his previous novels, as Sidebottom had recently been experimenting with blending different thriller genres with historical settings.  Falling Sky, however, represents a more classic historical fiction war novel, with a focus on battles, major recorded events, and the continued growth in Ballista’s character as he becomes more and more disenchanted with Rome.  While I had a ton of fun with Sidebottom’s previous unique formats, I also enjoyed him returning to the style from the previous Warrior of Rome novels, with a compelling focus on historical war.  The author still does maintain some interesting thriller elements, including the fun espionage moments as Volusianus and the hidden traitors work to take out Ballista.  In addition, the thrilling and extensive flight of Ballista and his forces really ratchets up the tension for the end of the novel and I enjoyed how complex and powerful it became, easily resulting in it some of the best parts of the book.

The author’s use of perspective was also pretty effective, especially in the first half of the novel, which sees different chapters told from the point of view of several different key characters, including Ballista, Volusianus, Postumus and Volusianus’s spy in Ballista’s regiment.  Alternating point-of-view characters really helped to produce a more extensive and compelling plot, and I loved seeing the countermoves of Ballista and Volusianus, while also getting insights into Postumus’s rebellion.  This use of perspective changes towards the end of the novel as there is a much greater focus on Ballista as the primary narrator as he leads his troops in their escape.  I appreciated Sidebottom’s decision to mix things up this late in the novel, and it really helped to emphasise just how desperate and compelling this final section of plot truly was.  While Falling Sky is part of the larger Warrior of Rome series, it can be read as a standalone novel, especially for any fans of fun historical adventure and military fiction.  Sidebottom does an excellent job of quickly recapping necessary information and events from the previous novels throughout Falling Sky, and readers can grasp key connections and details to follow along with the plot.  The events of Falling Sky actually fall between the two previous books in the series, The Last Hour and The Burning Road, which was apparently caused by a change in the publishing schedule.  That does mean that if you have read The Burning Road in advance of this novel, the stakes of Falling Sky’s plot are slightly reduced.  However, I still had a ton of fun with this outstanding novel, and I really enjoyed how Sidebottom wrote the story.

I was also deeply impressed by the historical aspects of Falling Sky, which was one of the book’s strongest features.  Sidebottom has always excelled at exploring fantastic aspects of Roman culture and history, and Falling Sky is a pretty good example of this, especially has he closely examined Emperor Gallienus’s second invasion of Gaul in the second half of the 3rd century.  This period of Roman history doesn’t get a lot of love from other historical fiction authors, and as a result, Sidebottom’s books always feel quite unique, and I always have a great time learning more about this point of Roman history.  Sidebottom really does a good job exploring the origins of the war with Postumus’s Gallic Empire, and it was fascinating to see how this part of the Roman Empire splintered off and managed to hold out against the main Roman army for so long.  This results in some deeply intriguing scenes where politics, loyalties and personal ambitions are heavily featured, and a Roman civil war novel always contains some brilliant battles as the two armies utilise similar strategies.  Falling Sky also has some outstanding depictions of Gaul and the Alps during this period, especially as the protagonist ends up spending much of the book traversing the landscape at high speed.  Not only was it really cool to see historical depictions of so many different parts of modern-day France (the map up front was very useful), but many of these locations served as fantastic backdrops for the vicious battles that emerged.

In addition to cleverly examining the historical backdrop to the narrative, Sidebottom also ensures that his representations of the Roman soldiers and battles were as detailed as possible.  You can clearly tell that Sidebottom has done a ton of research when it comes to the depictions of the various soldiers, and you can practically see how they would have marched or engaged in battle.  The author’s epic battle scenes are particularly cool to read, and the clashes between the two opposing Roman armies are perfectly showcased, allowing you to fully experience the brutality and carnage.  However, the best historical highlight of Falling Sky revolves around the Roman cavalry, which Ballista commanded for much of the book.  Sidebottom spends much of book diving into and detailing as many aspects and experiences of the classic Roman cavalry as he can, including their practices, strategies, and general experiences.  This comes across extremely well in many scenes of Falling Sky, and it was fascinating to see Ballista get to grips with his new cavalry command and turn them into an effective force.  The sheer detail that accompanies the cavalry into every major fight of Falling Sky is very cool and I loved seeing the author’s depictions of how they would have fought and what strategies a commander like Ballista would have utilised in several different scenarios.  I had such an amazing time seeing these historical details and more get translated across into a thrilling action novel, and Sidebottom clearly has so much love for all things Roman.

Harry Sidebottom remains one of my absolute favourite authors of Roman historical fiction, especially when it comes to his Warrior of Rome novels.  Falling Sky is an outstanding new addition to the series, and I loved its clever war focused plot that saw one of Sidebottom’s best characters leading in compelling circumstances.  Loaded with action, espionage, and impressive historical detail, Falling Sky is an amazing book that I had an incredible time reading.  Highly recommended to all fans of the historical fiction genre.

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Death to the Emperor by Simon Scarrow

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction11 Comments

Death to the Emperor Cover

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 15 November 2022)

Series: Eagles of the Empire – Book 21

Length: 466 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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One of the world’s best historical fiction authors, Simon Scarrow, returns with another epic instalment in his brilliant long-running Eagles of the Empire Roman history series, Death to the Emperor.

I have made no secret of my deep appreciation for the works of Simon Scarrow, who is easily one of my favourite historical fiction authors.  A talented and compelling author, Scarrow has written several great series and standalone reads that cover historical subjects such as the Napolenic wars, World War II and even a cool historical crime fiction novel, Blackout.  However, his most substantial body of work is his Eagles of the Empire series, which is one of the best historical fiction series I have had the pleasure of reading.  Set during the reigns of some of Rome’s most infamous emperors, Eagles of the Emperor follow two Roman soldiers, Prefect Cato and Centurion Marco, who have fought on multiple battlefields across the empire.  I have had a wonderful time reading this series over the years, and it features some outstanding books, including the last four novels, The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile and The Honour of Rome.  Naturally I started reading the latest book in the series (the 21st book overall), Death to the Emperor, pretty much as soon as I got it, and boy did that prove to be a smart decision.

60 AD, Britannia.  After years fighting side by side together, Prefect Cato and Centurion Marco are back in Britannia, the land they helped conquer at the start of their partnership.  Since their first time there, their lives have been transformed in ways they could have never believed.  While Marco is retired, serving a senior administrative role amongst the other retired veterans in Britannia, Cato is hiding out on the island, attempting to avoid Nero’s wrath for rescuing the Emperor’s former mistress from exile.  Determined to make their new lives in Britannia work, Cato and Marco are once again thrust into danger as tensions escalate throughout the island.

While the usual malcontents and druids stir rebellion and conflict against the Romans, tensions are higher than ever, especially as rumours spread that Emperor Nero wishes to pull out of the savage province.  However, Nero is also determined to squeeze the island for every bit of wealth it has, and he dispatches a ruthless and dangerous procurator to do this.  Worried that this move may destabilise an already fragile Britannia, Cato and Marco attempt to help their ally, the recently widowed queen of the Iceni, Boudica, whose tribe has caught the eye of the Emperor and his Procurator.

However, soon duty separates the two old friends again, as Cato is conscripted by Britannia’s ambitious governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, in his latest campaign to destroy the druid stronghold at Mona.  Left alone, Marco can only watch as outrage and disrespect brings the Iceni to the brink of war with Rome, one that he and his forces cannot possibly defeat.  Soon, the fate of Britannia lays in hands of one woman, Boudica, who can bring peace to the lands.  However, when Boudica is pushed too far, will she declare war on Rome, its Emperor, and her old friends Cato and Marco?

Death to the Emperor was an outstanding and fantastic read that once again highlights Scarrow’s impressive ability as a historical fiction writer.  Continuing the long-running story of Cato and Marco, Scarrow expertly dives into a major historical event and brings it to life in a compelling way.  I had a wonderful time reading Death to the Emperor and I felt that it was one of Scarrow’s better novels in recent years.

I loved the incredible story that Scarrow wove around Death to the Emperor, especially as it provides the reader with an excellent blend of action, adventure, character development and a ton of historical detail.  Set shortly after the events of the last book, The Honour of Rome, Scarrow continues several threads from there, with Cato and Marco attempting to settle down in their old stomping ground of Britannia and find some peace.  However, the death of Boudica’s husband soon leads to chaos as the disgruntled locals start to push back against the increasing control and greed of Rome.  After a good introduction, which sets much of the scene for the rest of the book, the protagonists are split up, with Cato forced to accompany Governor Paulinus on his campaign to eradicate the druids, while Marco remains behind to attempt to keep the peace.  This results in a great split of storylines, and both of their exciting character arcs really paid off.  Cato’s story arc is a pretty typical Scarrow narrative, as Cato takes control of a new regiment and leads them into several battles as part of his campaign.  This results in several impressive action sequences, including a great and highly exciting extended siege sequence at the druid stronghold of Mona, which was one of the best battle scenes in the entire book.  At the same time, Marco bears witness to all the key events that lead up to Boudica’s rebellion, as the villainous Catus Decianus antagonises the tribes, despite Marco’s best efforts to stop him.  Marco’s storyline is a lot more intense and emotionally rich as the protagonist attempts to save all his friends against heavy odds.  However, despite his best efforts, Marco and his fellow veterans find themselves forced to fight Boudica’s army, which results in a pretty memorable ending.

I deeply enjoyed how this compelling narrative came together, and Scarrow was on excellent form as he provided the reader with everything they needed.  While the start of the book is a little slower, it sets the scene perfectly, before all the action and deadly developments ensue at a faster and more intense pace.  The author really built up the tension throughout the narrative, and you really knew that everything was going to go wrong, and boy did it.  The resulting battles, which includes several very fun sieges, were well worth the wait, and Scarrow did a wonderful job of showcasing all the carnage of these fights.  Separating the main characters created a much more complex and wider narrative, and I liked the excellent contrasts between the battles, as Cato’s successes with his forces are mirrored by Marco’s desperate fights with the small band of retired fighters under his command.  The intensity of the plot got even more pronounced as the narrative continued, and the reader really gets drawn in as a result.  I personally powered through the second half of the book in very short order as I wanted to see how everything would unfold.  The desperate and bloody conclusion to the narrative was pretty shocking, especially as there are some major series moments featured here.  The resulting cliff hanger finisher was just perfect, and you are left wanting more.  I am not entirely sure I’ll be able to wait a whole year to see how this series continues, but I am sure that the reader is for even more excitement and shocks when Scarrow brings out his next book.

One of things that really impressed me about Death to the Emperor was the level of historical detail that Scarrow put into it as he covers some of the early events of Boudica’s uprising.  The author does a remarkable job showcasing all the events that lead up to the rebellion, and he paints a compelling and unique picture around it.  Many events are discussed or shown in intriguing detail, including the general oppression of the local tribes, the attempts to embezzle money from the Iceni, the capture and humiliation of Boudica, and the disregard that Nero had for Britannia and his rumoured plans to abandon the province.  All these events, eventually lead up to the rebellion and it was fascinating to see them come about, especially through the eyes of a common soldier character like Marco.  The subsequent early battles of this rebellion, including the fight at Camulodunum, are very dark and brutal, and I deeply appreciated how Scarrow put his protagonists in the centre of these bloody conflicts, as they really raise up the intensity of the narrative.  At the same time, Scarrow also spends a good part of the book highlighting Governor Paulinus’s invasion of the druid stronghold of Mona.  This compelling campaign is often overshadowed by Boudica in history books, but it was an important part of the events at that time, especially as it left the rest of the province undermanned.  Scarrow covers this campaign extremely well through the book, especially as Cato is the officer usually at the front of the fighting, and it became quite a key part of the book.  I loved seeing this blend of historical events throughout Death to the Emperor, especially as Scarrow brings his usual flair for showcasing the Roman war machine throughout this book, highlighting the strategies and martial techniques of the Romans in exquisite detail.  I can’t wait to see the rest of Boudica’s rebellion in the next Eagles of the Empire book, as it is going to be epic.

Scarrow does another awesome job with the characters in Death to the Emperor, as he tells some intriguing character arcs that really helped to shape the narrative.  The primary focus as always is one of the series’ main protagonists, Prefect Cato and Centurion Marco.  Both have some intriguing character moments in this book which I had a great time with here.  Cato’s arc is pretty typical for much of the series, with the prefect forced back into combat, this time leading an auxiliary cohort on the campaign to Mona.  Cato’s arc is filled with a huge amount of action and intense battles as he fights from one end of Britain and back again.  It is always fun to see Cato in action, especially as he takes his units into some bloody battles, using a range of unique tactics to win.  While Cato is fun, the most intense character moments is focused on Macro, who remains behind and watches over the province while the army is gone.  Marco, who is mostly retired at this point, finds himself in a unique leadership position, and must work his force of reservists into a coherent force.  At the same time, he also finds himself greatly conflicted as he finds his loyalty to Rome tested due to his friendship with Boudica.  Forced to take military action against them, Marco tries to protect Boudica and her family, however, his orders and his slimy commander make that impossible, and he must decide whether he should continue to blindly follow Rome or do what is right.  His decision will have huge impacts on the story, and it places him in some dark situations.

Aside from Cato and Marco, who tend to be the primary point-of-view characters, Death to the Emperor has an awesome cast of supporting characters who really add a lot to the overall narrative.  This includes Boudica, who serves as Rome’s main antagonist in this arc of the series.  Boudica has actually been a friendly supporting character for many of her previous appearances, having formed a relationship with the two protagonists.  However, this book sees all that change as she is pushed too far, becoming the warrior queen we all know.  Scarrow handled her transformation from friend to deadly enemy extremely well, and it was fascinating to see her interact with Marco, especially as he keeps trying, but failing, to help her.  Aside from Boudica, I also liked seeing more of the fun supporting character, Apollonius.  Apollonius has been an interesting figure for the last few books, serving as Cato’s spy and advisor, and generally being a good secondary protagonist.  He has a very interesting time in Death to the Emperor as he remains behind to help Marco.  I loved seeing the continued relationship between the two, as Marco generally disapproves of Apollonius, and it was also quite intriguing to get some insights into why Apollonius chooses to stay and help Cato.  The final character I need to point out is Catus Decianus, the Roman Procurator who is generally considered responsible for Boudica’s rebellion.  Scarrow does an amazing job with Decianus, a real historical figure, and he turns him into a very despicable villain in Death to the Emperor.  The author paints him as an arrogant, greedy fellow, whose arrogance and general dislike of the Britannia locals, leads to the resulting war.  You really cannot help but hate Decianus, especially as he really is the main villain of this story.  These great characters, and more, turn out to be an amazing cast, and I had a wonderful time seeing the outstanding and dramatic narrative Scarrow wove around them.

Simon Scarrow continues to showcase why he is one of the best historical fiction authors in the world with the latest entry in his exceptional Eagles of the Empire series, Death to the Emperor.  Expertly showcasing the brutal events of Boudica’s rebellion with his long-running protagonists right in the middle, Scarrow tells a powerful and action-packed story that takes his characters into some dark direction.  Captivating, exciting and oh so bloody, Death to the Emperor will keep you relentlessly entertained and ensure you come back for more books in this epic series.  Highly recommended!

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Quick Review – The Return by Harry Sidebottom

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, Quick Review6 Comments

The Return Cover

Publisher: Zaffre (Trade Paperback – 11 June 2020)

Series: Standalone

Length: 307 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

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Bestselling historical fiction author Harry Sidebottom takes you on a dark and compelling adventure into the mind of a haunted Roman soldier as he returns home only to find more death waiting for him with, The Return.

Harry Sidebottom is an impressive author specialising in exciting and detailed Roman historical fiction novels, whose work I have been enjoying for years.  Sidebottom has so far written two amazing series, the Warrior of Rome series, which followed a barbarian turned Roman general, Ballista, as he attempts to survive the machinations and wars of the Empire, and The Throne of the Caesar’s novels that examined some of the more obscure and chaotic Roman Emperors.  In recent years Sidebottom has started experimenting with some compelling standalone novels.  The first of these, The Last Hour, brought back Ballista and set him on a fast-paced adventure through Rome in a manner reminiscent of the television series 24.  His next novel The Lost Ten, featured a group of 10 mis-matched Roman soldiers who are sent on an infiltration mission into enemy territory to break a high value target out of prison.  His third standalone novel was The Return, which came out last year.  I read it a little while ago and failed to provide a timely review for it.  However, as Sidebottom’s latest novel, The Burning Road, has just been released, I thought I would take this opportunity to quickly review The Return so I have a clean slate when I get my hands on a copy of his latest book.

Synopsis:

He came home a hero.
But death isn’t finished with him yet . . .

145BC – CALABRIA, ANCIENT ROME. After years of spilling blood for Rome, Gaius Furius Paullus has returned home to spend his remaining days working quietly on the family farm.

But it seems death has stalked Paullus from the battlefield. Just days after his arrival, bodies start appearing – murdered and mutilated. And as the deaths stack up, and panic spreads, the war hero becomes the prime suspect. After all, Paullus has killed countless enemies on the battlefield – could he have brought his habit home with him?

With the psychological effects of combat clouding every thought, Paullus must use all his soldier’s instincts to hunt the real killer. Because if they are not brought to justice soon, he may become the next victim.

The Return was an intriguing and compelling novel that contains a brilliant and dark historical murder mystery.  Like some of his previous novels, Sidebottom has blended some unique crime fiction/thriller elements with his traditional historical settings and storylines.  As such, The Return reads like an interesting combination of historical fiction and a darker crime novel, specifically Scandi noir.  This results in a clever and compelling character driven narrative that follows a dark and conflicted Roman protagonist who is forced to investigate a series of murders in his grim and forbidding village.  The author does a wonderful job of blending his historical elements with the compelling crime fiction storyline, and the reader is soon treated to a harrowing and exciting murder investigation.  There is some brilliant use of a darker location, including a forbidding forest, as well as a lot of focus on his haunted protagonist, especially through a series of flashbacks.  All this comes together into an excellent narrative, and it was fascinating to see Sidebottom’s damaged protagonist dive head long into danger while trying to solve the murder and prove his own innocence.  While I did think that the solution to the mystery and the culprits behind the murder was a little obvious, this ended up being an excellent and impressive novel.  Sidebottom really takes the readers on a harrowing and enjoyable ride here, and I ended up getting through it in a few short days.

I was deeply impressed with the dark and guilt-ridden protagonist who Sidebottom set this great story around.  Paullus is a recently returned soldier who received much acclaim during Rome’s war with ancient Greece, but he is also haunted by his actions there, particularly around the fates of two of his comrades.  Thanks to his guilt he constantly sees the Furies, the Roman goddesses of vengeance and retribution, who remind him of the wrongs he commits.  To avoid seeing them Paullus dives headfirst into danger, as the threat of death is the only thing that alleviates his guilt.  This helps turns Paullus into a fascinating and deeply complex figure who has some interesting interactions with his own emotions and the people from his pre-war life who don’t understand what he is going through.  Sidebottom utilises a series of flashbacks to showcase Paullus’ military career and you slowly get the entire story of the protagonist’s heroic past, as well as the event that led to his intense guilt and heartache.  While I did think that Sidebottom might have been a tad heavy-handed with the flashbacks (it makes up nearly half the novel), I did really appreciate the sheer amount of work he put into his great protagonist.  The author did an impressive job of simulating the guilt, fear and anger of a war veteran attempting to re-enter society and it was really compelling to see.  I also deeply appreciated the author’s trick of personifying this guilt into visions of the supernatural Furies, especially as it is never fully established whether they are there or just figments of his damaged mind.  The use of Paullus as the central protagonist really enhanced The Return’s excellent story and he was an outstanding investigator for this fantastic murder mystery.

I also really enjoyed the cool historical fiction elements contained within this novel.  The Return takes place in 145BC, which is one of the earliest times that Sidebottom has explored in his historical fiction novels.  I deeply enjoyed the exploration of this time, especially as Sidebottom features more obscure conquests and locations.  The central location of the story, Calabria in Southern Italy, proved to be a fantastic and interesting setting, especially as this region of Italy contained two distinctive social groups, the Roman settlers and the original inhabitants.  Due to their historical support of Hannibal during the Punic Wars which saw them forced to give up their lands, the locals are treated as second-class citizens by the Romans, who use them as slave labour.  This adds some extra drama and intrigue to the story as these local tribes get caught up in the paranoia and despair around the hunt for the murderer.  I also really appreciated Sidebottom’s examination of the Roman invasion of Greece that the protagonist fought in.  This is one of the more obscure conflicts from Roman history and the author provides a detailed account of the causes, battles, and eventual consequences of the conflict.  I deeply enjoyed exploring this period in the flashback chapters, as there were some detailed and powerful battle sequences which featured some distinctive clashes between Greek and Roman military styles.  Throw in some Greek and Roman mythology as a potential cause for the murders or the protagonists’ actions, and you have quite a brilliant historical tale.  These grim and bloody historical elements blended perfect with the darker story that Sidebottom was telling and it was absolutely fascinating to see how they were incorporated into The Return’s compelling, multi-genre style.

Overall, The Return was an epic and complex novel that continued to showcase Harry Sidebottom’s amazing talent as a writer.  This fantastic novel ended up being one of the more unique historical fiction books I have ever read and I deeply enjoyed the cool combination of classic Roman history and darker crime fiction elements, especially when shown through the eyes of an extremely damaged protagonist.  This book comes highly recommended, and I cannot wait to get my hands on Sidebottom’s latest novel, The Burning Road.

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The Honour of Rome by Simon Scarrow

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction15 Comments

The Honour of Rome Cover

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 9 November 2021)

Series: Eagles of the Empire – Book 20

Length: 431 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of the best authors of Roman historical fiction, Simon Scarrow, returns with another exceptional adventure back in time with The Honour of Rome.

2021 has been a particularly good year for Simon Scarrow readers, as this acclaimed historical fiction author has released two fantastic novels.  The first of these, Blackout, was a clever historical murder mystery novel set in pre-war Nazi Germany, which contained a fantastic and impressive story.  While I deeply enjoyed Blackout, I was a little more excited for the next awesome entry in Scarrow’s long-running Eagles of the Empire series.  The Eagles of the Empire books follow two officers in the Roman army, Centurion Marco and Prefect Cato, as they fight in multiple battle fields across the Roman Empire.  I have been a major fan of this series for years and have had the pleasure of reading every prior entry in it, while also reviewing some of the latest entries, including The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome and The Emperor’s Exile.  As such, I was very excited when I received the latest entry in this series, The Honour of Rome, a couple of days ago, and instantly started reading it.  The Honour of Rome is the 20th novel in this series and takes its great protagonists on another intense adventure.

Britannia, 59 AD.  After retiring from the Roman Legions, former Centurion Marco has travelled back to Britannia 15 years after he helped conquer it.  Now a married man, Marco is hoping for a quiet life, enjoying the fruits of the successful inn in Londinium that he half-owns with his mother.  However, not everything is as calm as he hoped.  There are rumours about the tribes being restless once again, and the streets of Londinium are alive with criminal gangs.

Upon arriving at his mother’s inn, Marco discovers that she is being extorted for protection money by a ruthless gang.  Determined to stop this, Marco attempts to resist the gangsters, only to find himself outmatched and a potential pawn into the middle of a vicious gang war.  At the same time, Marco finds himself drawn into the defence of the colony, especially when one of the local tribes refuses to pay any more taxes.

After a bloody punitive raid with a group of veteran reserve soldiers, Marco returns to Londinium, only to face the consequences for his defiance.  Beaten and bloodied, Marco is unsure how to fight back until his old friend Cato appears.  Cato, who has left Rome without leave to hide Nero’s exiled mistress, is always willing to back Marco up in any sort of fight, and he has an ambitious plan to end the gang problem once and for all.  Will the team of Marco, Cato, and their veteran allies be enough to overcome the city’s vicious gangs, or have these proud war heroes finally met their match?

This was another awesome novel from Scarrow, who has once again produced an exciting and fast-paced historical fiction read that perfectly envisions the landscape of Roman-occupied England.  The Honour of Rome is a great read, and I loved the cool combination of historical and crime fiction elements throughout it.  I ended up reading this book in only a few short days and loved every second of it.

Scarrow has come up with another amazing and entertaining story for this compelling book, which takes his long-running protagonists on another intense and bloody adventure.  One of the things that I have always enjoyed about the Eagles of the Empire series is the range of different subgenres that can be blended with its historical fiction elements.  The Honour of Rome is a great example of this as Scarrow utilises a crime fiction based storyline that blends with the overarching historical elements extremely well.  The protagonist is swiftly drawn into a vicious confrontation with two warring gangs of criminals upon his arrival in Londinium, which proves to be an outstanding basis for the main storyline.  At the same time, he once again becomes involved in the Roman garrison’s ongoing conflicts with the local Britons.  This combination of crime and military elements is very effective throughout the novel, and I liked seeing the conflicts with both gangsters and rebellious natives.  This also allows Scarrow to bring in several solider characters into the main crime-fiction storyline as backup as the story progresses, and it was pretty fun to see a bunch of retired soldiers taking on the antagonists.  The author really sets up everything extremely well in this book, and there isn’t a moment of calm or quiet throughout the entire novel, as the protagonist gets involved in several intense and well-written fights and battle sequences.  I found the last third of the novel to be particularly exciting, especially as the protagonists attempt an ambitious and risky strategy.  This results in the predictable satisfying, if bloody, conclusion, and Scarrow has made sure to set up some cool new storylines that will no doubt be the basis for the next few books.  An enjoyable and action-packed thrill-ride from start to finish, I had a fantastic time reading this latest historical adventure.

One of the more interesting things about The Honour of Rome was the noticeable change in character focus that helped set it apart from the other Eagles of the Empire books, namely that it spent most of the narrative focusing on only one of the series’ protagonists.  This is not too surprising, especially as the previous book in the series, The Emperor’s Exile, focused on Cato to such a degree that I kind of assumed that Scarrow was planning to permanently retire Marco.  However, I’m pleased to say I was wrong about this, as two-thirds of this latest book is exclusively told from Marco’s perspective.  I had a great time following Marco in this novel, and it is always a lot of fun to see the gruff and hard-headed Centurion in action.  There are some great moments surrounding Marco in this novel, from being out of his depth when it comes to combating criminals rather than enemy soldiers, to his great camaraderie with the fellow veterans in the colony.  You also have to love the fun interactions that occur around him as he finds himself stuck between his strong-willed wife and his equally strong-willed mother.  This ended up being a really good Marco novel, and I deeply enjoyed it.  Of course, Cato does show up towards the end of the book, and the novel is soon back to its typical dynamic, with Cato taking tactical lead.  There are also some interesting long-term storylines surrounding Cato, especially as he has fled from Rome with the Emperor’s exiled mistress.  It was great to see this team in action once again, especially as they enact another madcap scheme, and I had another fun time following them.

I also rather enjoyed the cool historical setting featured within this great novel, as the protagonists once again return to Britannia.  Historical Britannia is a well-utilised setting in the Eagles of the Empire books, having been the location of several of the earlier novels, including the first five entries in the series.  It made me a little nostalgic to see this damp and gloomy setting once again, especially as it proves to be just as chaotic and violent as ever.  This book makes full use of its clever move from the more traditional battlefields of Britannia to the city of Londinium, and I loved the inclusion of a crime-ridden, early London, especially as Scarrow tries his best to show it in all its dark and rapidly expanding glory.  I also enjoyed the inclusion of the veterans’ colony that was a major secondary setting for much of the book.  It proved to be fascinating to follow these characters who have chosen to settle in this harsh country and spending time conquering it, and I liked their inclusion in the novel.  It was pretty cool to see these retired soldiers in reserve taking on enemies, both on a proper battlefield and against the criminal element, and I thought it was a fun and compelling inclusion to the story.  I also appreciated that, after several books, we finally get a continuation of the Boudica storylines that were set up in some of the earlier novels.  Scarrow is also clearly setting up Boudica’s rebellion for later in the series, and I cannot wait to see how our protagonists, with their established history with Boudica and her people, will fit into it.

With this awesome 20th entry in his amazing Eagles of the Empire series, Simon Scarrow continues to highlight why he is one of the absolute best authors of historical fiction in the world today.  The Honour of Rome has a brilliant and compelling story that perfectly blends historical and crime fiction elements together into one thrilling tale.  I had a wonderful time reading this great book, and I deeply appreciated the way in which Scarrow continues the adventures of his compelling characters by once again returning them to the familiar setting of occupied Britannia.  The Honour of Rome is another highly recommended historical read, and I cannot wait to see what happens next in this series.

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