Roman centurion Marcus Flavius Aquila has his first command, and, at his request, it’s in Roman Britain. Marcus’s father was part of the lost Ninth Legion, which disappeared after marching north beyond Hadrian’s wall. Not long after Marcus takes command, his men must defend the fort against a British uprising. Marcus’s uncle has retired in Britain, and Marcus goes there to heal from the battle wound that has left him lame for life. Just as Marcus begins to contemplate his future, he gets the opportunity to head into the north country to see if he can find out what happened to the lost legion and recover their eagle.

This story seems like capture the flag on steroids. Finding the missing eagle is only half the battle. If Marcus is successful in locating it, he’ll still need to get it back to the safety of Roman occupied territory. The desperate flight south through Scotland had me thinking of Richard Hannay’s flight across the same landscape almost two millennia later. It’s an exhilarating read! ( )

Reason read: TIOLI and BAC
This is the first book in a series in the Roman Britain Trilogy. It's an adventure story than could be appropriate for youth and adults. A new to me author. A series that I could read more but not sure that I will. ( )

The Eagle of the Ninth is part of the reason I like at least browsing the LT challenges even if I am not willing to commit completely. I don't think Rosemary Sutcliff's tale of Roman Britain would even have crossed my path were it not for the British Author Challenge. And what a tale it was: Marcus Flavius Aquila has taken up soldiering in Britain where his own father disappeared twelve years before as part of the Ninth Legion that marched north to put down rebellion and was never heard from again. Sutcliff is a masterful writer, able to balance setting, character and action in a way that draws you into the time and space of the story. I read this for the BAC challenge and have the other two in the series ready to go. We follow Marcus as he heads into the north region to find the lost Eagle standard of the legion. ( )

good

I picked up the Eagle of the Ninth when I was in Year 12 at High School. Its then cover featured depictions from the film version and I shrugged my shoulders and asked myself, "why not?"

Imagine my surprise when I flipped over the book and read it was first written in 1954. My mind went "vintage" and I assumed it to be 50's trash. Nonetheless, curious circumstances compelled me to read it and I was enthralled from the very first page. An imperfect Roman military officer Marcus Falvius Aquila, his love interest and a freed ex-slave Esca are the protagonists. Aquila and Esca set off on a quest while the former is recovering from an injury (good men of the olden days) to discover what happened to Marcus's father and his beloved Ninth Legion decades prior. They rediscover a history in which the Northern tribes of Britain besieged a demoralized Ninth and compelled it to make a valorous last stand.

Far from being choke full of antique militarism, this book retains quite a distinctive modern flavor and it's narrative is fast paced. An excellent read which I savor to this day. ( )