Picture of author.

Simon Scarrow

Author of Under the Eagle

96+ Works 8,153 Members 185 Reviews 24 Favorited

About the Author

Simon Scarrow is a lecturer at City College in Norwich.

Includes the names: Scarrow Simo, Scarrow Simon

Image credit: Picture from his website http://scarrow.co.uk

Series

Works by Simon Scarrow

Under the Eagle (2000) 962 copies
The Eagle's Conquest (2001) 612 copies
When the Eagle Hunts (2002) 542 copies
The Eagle and the Wolves (2003) 484 copies
Centurion (2006) 455 copies
The Eagles Prophecy (2006) 452 copies
The Eagle's Prey (2004) 444 copies
The Eagle in the Sand (2006) 376 copies
The Gladiator (2009) 352 copies
Young Bloods (2006) 350 copies
The Legion (2010) 272 copies
The Generals (2007) 249 copies
Praetorian (2011) 249 copies
Fire and Sword (2009) 203 copies
The Blood Crows (2013) 166 copies
Gladiator: Fight for Freedom (2011) 160 copies
Brothers in Blood (2014) 155 copies
Sword and Scimitar (2012) 155 copies
Britannia (2015) 152 copies
The Fields of Death (2010) 144 copies
Invictus (2016) 136 copies
Blackout (2020) 115 copies
Day of the Caesars (2017) 99 copies
The Blood of Rome (2018) 82 copies
Traitors of the Empire (2019) 72 copies
The Emperor's Exile (2020) 70 copies
Gladiator Rebellion (2013) 63 copies
Gladiator: Street Fighter (2012) 61 copies
Arena (2013) 58 copies
The Honour of Rome (2021) 56 copies
Hearts of Stone (2015) 50 copies
Invader (2016) 44 copies
Gladiator Vengeance (2014) 35 copies
Death to the Emperor (2022) 30 copies
Playing with Death (2017) 18 copies
Pirata (2019) 18 copies
Barbarian (2012) 13 copies
Death Beach (2014) 11 copies
Blood Enemy (2014) 10 copies
Dark Blade (2014) 10 copies
Imperial Agent (2015) 8 copies
Sacrifice (2015) 7 copies
Challenger (2012) 7 copies
Revenge (2013) 5 copies
First Sword (2013) 5 copies
Champion (2013) 4 copies
Brincar com a Morte (2018) 2 copies
Eroi in battaglia (2019) 1 copy

Associated Works

The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits (2003) — Contributor — 127 copies

Tagged

1st century (58) adventure (58) Ancient Rome (263) audiobook (47) Britain (39) Cato (41) ebook (111) England (32) fiction (602) historical (194) historical fiction (956) historical novel (127) history (120) Kindle (64) Legion (28) macro (34) Macro and Cato (123) military (100) military fiction (52) mystery (56) Napoleon (38) novel (86) read (52) Roma (68) Roman (147) Roman Army (40) Roman Britain (74) Roman Empire (96) Roman fiction (40) Roman Historical Fiction (30) Roman History (29) Roman Legion (70) Romans (41) Rome (261) Scarrow (32) series (69) Simon Scarrow (102) to-read (264) war (98) Wellington (32)

Common Knowledge

Birthdate
1962
Gender
male
Nationality
UK
Birthplace
Nigeria
Places of residence
Nigeria
Norfolk, England, UK
Education
University of East Anglia
Occupations
writer
lecturer
Agent
Wendy Suffield
Merric Davidson

Members

Reviews

Blackout
Simon Scarrow
Publicado: 2021 | 325 páginas
Novela, Policial

Berlín, 1939. Es un invierno especialmente frío, las calles están cubiertas de nieve y hielo, y resuena, en la distancia, el estruendo de la guerra. El Tercer Reich cerca la ciudad, y el pánico y la paranoia aumentan entre la población. Cada noche, durante los constantes apagones nocturnos, Berlín se sumerge en una oscuridad opresiva y sofocante y, entre las sombras, un asesino en serie encuentra vía libre para sus objetivos.La reputación del inspector Horst Schenke está en juego. No ha aceptado unirse al partido nazi y ahora, al hallar el cadáver de una mujer joven brutalmente asesinada, está obligado a resolver el caso con rapidez y eficacia; de lo contrario, las consecuencias podrían ser fatales.Los peores temores de Schenke se confirman cuando aparece una segunda víctima: poco a poco, la investigación lo conduce a los pasillos más profundos y oscuros del régimen. El peligro acecha detrás de cada esquina, y las distintas facciones del Reich, enfrentadas entre sí, pueden ser tan letales como el asesino que acecha en las calles…… (more)
 
Flagged
libreriarofer | 4 other reviews | Feb 19, 2024 |
My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.

OUTSTANDING.

This is the twenty second book of this excellent series, the first came out in 2000, when Cato a raw recruit came under Macro's wing, since then they have been through a lot together, and I have thoroughly enjoyed joining them every step of the way.

OUTSTANDING action characters research and writing make this superb series unputdownable. Atmospheric clever descriptive intelligent storytelling of the highest order, with a real feel for the time and place.

The good news the ending and Authors notes leave little doubt that book twenty three is planned.
The book could be read as a standalone story, but any new reader could become hooked, with the expense that would entail.

OUTSTANDING.
… (more)
 
Flagged
Gudasnu | Jan 19, 2024 |
I rated the previous three books in the series with five stars, but ‘The Eagle and the Wolves’ doesn’t quite equal those other titles. I put this down to the situation, namely that while the first three novels feature numerous settings with the characters moving from here to there, in this story it’s largely set in one place. While this in no way makes it boring, it does limit the scope and variation. It also lacks a love interest for the two main characters, which spiced up the narrative in their earlier adventures.

This is still a Roman adventure, full of action and drama, but the excitement levels are down a notch from Books 1–3.

The characters are vivid. Cato, the main ‘star’, is my favourite. He’s believable and relatable. He’s getting to grips with being a centurion at such a young age. This new rank changes the dynamic between him and fellow centurion Macro to a small extent.

The different ranks take some getting used to if, like me, your knowledge of Roman times is sparse.

The language is contemporary, which makes the narrative flow better than if the author had used archaic turns of phrase. He also uses modern English slang, which some readers won’t like, but at least it’s consistent. I’ve read historical novels where in one scene a character says something like, ‘Keep it in your trousers,’ while in another scene someone else says, ‘Whence came he thus?’

While I admit I would’ve preferred the language to not incorporate modern slang, the characters and third-person narration are engaging enough for this not to make me feel like I’m reading a story set during any period other than the first century AD.

Perhaps my being an Englishman makes the slang words and phrases more palatable. I admit, it did annoy me when, in another historical novel, the author of that book used the odd Americanism – ‘ass’ and ‘butt’, for example – so I can understand why any non-English reader – and certainly non-British – would be distracted by the slang terms.

So, while the slang words and phrases didn’t bother me, three other elements did distract me at times. One being a trait that keeps cropping up in books I’ve read this year by different authors, namely this sort of thing: ‘more loudly’, ‘more closely’, instead of the more concise ‘louder’ and ‘closer’. Don’t use two words if one will do.

Adverbs: the ‘tell’, not ‘show’. In ‘Macro glared angrily,’ the adverb not only ‘tells’, it’s superfluous, as ‘glared’ shows his anger.

The two points above are minor criticisms. The one big gripe I have is the overuse of ‘then’ to state what happens next. This novel is riddled with ‘thens’, at times making the third-person narrative sound like a child’s voice. ‘Then’ is easy to cut when editing, and it’s not hard to drop it altogether. It ends up being a filler word, most notably when using it to start a sentence. The reader knows whatever’s happening is taking place after what’s just happened, so no need to put, ‘Then he …’ and such like.

In most cases, I deduct a star if a book is riddled with ‘thens’ or swamped with adverbs. As someone who appreciates good writing style, these things drive me to distraction. Yet, ‘The Eagle and the Wolves’ is such an engaging story it overrode these niggling points.
… (more)
 
Flagged
PhilSyphe | 14 other reviews | Dec 5, 2023 |
‘The Eagle Hunts’ gripped me from start to finish. I rated the previous two books in the series with five stars, but this one is a notch above both those titles.

This is a Roman adventure, full of action and drama, along with a little humour and a touch of romance. If you like dull moments, don’t expect to find any here.

Although it’s fast paced, it’s not all hell and no notion. The exciting plot is solid and is engaging from start to end. A daring rescue operation is the highlight for me.

The characters are vivid. Cato, the main ‘star’, in my favourite. He’s believable and relatable. He’s getting to grips with being part of the Roman army having been thrown in at the deep end in the first novel. The youth holds a position of responsibility as an optio, which is a centurion’s second-in-command.

The different ranks take some getting used to if, like me, your knowledge of Roman times is sparse.

What’s interesting is the inclusion of the legendary warrior queen Boudicca about twenty years before she made history. Her interaction with Cato and Macro (the second-main character) is top quality.

The language is contemporary, which makes the narrative flow better than if the author had used archaic turns of phrase. He also uses modern English slang, which some readers won’t like, but at least it’s consistent. I’ve read historical novels where in one scene a character says something like, ‘Keep it in your trousers,’ while in another scene someone else says, ‘Whence came he thus?’

While I admit I would’ve preferred the language to not incorporate modern slang, the characters and third-person narration are engaging enough for this not to make me feel like I’m reading a story set during any period other than the first century AD.

Perhaps my being an Englishman makes the slang words and phrases more palatable. I admit, it did annoy me when, in another historical novel, the author of that book used the odd Americanism – ‘ass’ and ‘butt’, for example – so I can understand why any non-English reader – and certainly non-British – would be distracted by the slang terms.

So, while the slang words and phrases didn’t bother me, three other elements did distract me at times. One being a trait that keeps cropping up in books I’ve read this year by different authors, namely this sort of thing: ‘more loudly’, ‘more closely’, instead of the more concise ‘louder’ and ‘closer’. Don’t use two words if one will do.

Adverbs: the ‘tell’, not ‘show’. In ‘Macro glared angrily,’ the adverb not only tells, it’s superfluous, as ‘glared’ shows his anger.

The two points above are minor criticisms. The one big gripe I have is the overuse of ‘then’ to state what happens next. This novel is riddled with ‘thens’, at times making the third-person narrative sound like a child’s voice. ‘Then’ is easy to cut when editing, and it’s not hard to drop it altogether. It ends up being a filler word, notably when using it to start a sentence. The reader knows whatever’s happening is taking place after what’s just happened, so no need to put, ‘Then he …’ and such like.

In most cases, I deduct a star if a book is riddled with ‘thens’ or swamped with adverbs. As someone who appreciates good writing style, these things drive me to distraction. Yet, as mentioned, ‘The Eagle Hunts’ is such a cracking story it overrode these niggling points.

It’s easier to go on and on criticising a book than it is to praise it over and over, and I’ve doubtless not expressed how impressed I am with ‘The Eagle Hunts’ to the extent it deserves, so, in a nutshell, I’ll state this: it’s one heck of a great read.
… (more)
 
Flagged
PhilSyphe | 13 other reviews | Nov 9, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Barbara Ostrop Translator, Übersetzer
Anna Wall Translator
Edward Tse Cover designer
Tim Byrne Cover designer
Stephen Mulcahey Cover artist
Torsten Wahlund Translator
Fred. Kinzel Translator

Statistics

Works
96
Also by
1
Members
8,153
Popularity
#2,967
Rating
3.9
Reviews
185
ISBNs
744
Languages
17
Favorited
24

Charts & Graphs