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The Eagle's Conquest (2001)

by Simon Scarrow

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Eagles of the Empire (2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6121538,017 (3.76)10
When Centurion Macro arrives on the shores of Britain to take part in the Emperor Claudius's invasion in the summer of AD 43, he knows he will be facing one of the toughest campaigns of his battle-scarred career. But nothing could have prepared him for the brutality and bravery of the British warriors. In a series of bloody battles, Macro and his young subordinate, Optio Cato, and the desperately outnumbered Roman army, must find and defeat the enemy before he can grow strong enough to overwhelm the legions. But the Britons are not the only foe facing Macro and Cato. A sinister organisation opposed to the Emperor is secretly betraying the brave men of the legions. And when rumours of an assassination attempt coincide with the Emperor's arrival on British soil, the soldiers realise they are up against a force more ruthless than their acknowledged enemy, and that time is running out if they are to prevent Claudius's glorious victory turning to disaster.… (more)
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English (9)  Spanish (4)  Swedish (1)  All languages (14)
Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)
I didn’t think ‘The Eagle’s Conquest’ was as good as ‘Under the Eagle’ but it’s still a five-star read.

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

Although it’s fast paced, it’s not all hell and no notion. The plot is solid and is engaging from start to end.

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 previous 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.

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 Cato ‘clenched his fists angrily’ the adverb not only ‘tells’, it’s superfluous, as ‘clenched’, in this context, ‘shows’ Cato’s 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’s Conquest’ is such a great 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’s Conquest’ to the extent it deserves, so, in a nutshell, I’ll state this: it’s one heck of a great read. ( )
  PhilSyphe | Nov 6, 2023 |
Good book which was both well written and interesting. ( )
  MJWebb | Sep 22, 2022 |
Simon Scarrow’s Eagle of the Empire series is a superb read on at least 2 levels. The battle scenes are very realistic, and give the reader a sense of the hardships and dangers faced by foot soldiers, the legionaries, the backbone of the Roman army. Soldering was a 25 year posting, and if by some miracle you survived then peaceful retirement was your reward. Equally Scarrow’s books offer a fantastic insight into the mindset behind the Roman empire. Their ability to organise, to build, to construct, to invent, and their unswerving belief in the Romanization of the rest of the known world bringing education and peace to the masses, taxation and servitude in exchange for citizenship…”Civis Romanus sum” the ticket to a better world.

A Cato and Macro novel, and our 2 heroes are with the second legion as they attempt to push North their goal Camulodunum ( Colchester) Blocking their path is tribal chief Caratacus, his fanatical followers, all bound together by their hate of the Romans……”Vespasian felt a grudging respect for the Britons’ leader, Caratacus, chief of the Catuvellauni. That man had more tricks up his sleeve yet, and the Roman army of General Aulus Plautius had better treat the enemy with more respect than had been the case so far”......Yet amongst all this carnage and bloodshed Scarrow introduces at intervals some light descriptive humour…….”One particular warrior had proved extremely aggravating for the Roman artillery crews. He was a huge man, with a winged helmet over his blond hair and he stood naked at the water’s edge, shouting abuse at the Roman warships as he defiantly waved a double-headed axe. Every so often he would turn round and thrust his backside towards the enemy, defying them to do their worst”......

We cannot help but applaud at times the ingenuity of the invaders, their masterful fighting skills and in particular the “testudo” in literal translation, the tortoise…the best chance of Legionaries surviving a frontal assault was by quickly forming a wall and roof of protecting shields. As the campaign proceeds Emperor Claudius departs Rome to lead the final assault against Caratacus. Claudius is splendidly portrayed as a weak narcissist, his stammer only adding to his pitiful image. What better way for such an important leader to make a spectacular entrance atop a mighty elephant….”The elephant driver halted the Emperor’s beast and urged it down with a set sequence of kicks and orders. The front knees gracefully buckled and the Emperor, still waving nonchalantly to his cheering troops, was almost pitched out of his throne and only avoided the indignity by throwing himself backward and grabbing the arms. Even so the imperial wreath was dislodged. It bounced down the flank of the elephant and would have landed on the ground had not Narcissus leaped forward and fielded with a neat one-handed catch. The beast lowered its rear and the Emperor pulled a hidden lever to release the side of the throne, which folded out to provide a nicely angled series of steps down to the ground”......

This is wonderful storytelling with treachery and death a constant companion. The limited known facts of the period are woven into the narrative expertly complimented with some intuitive historical observations…..”They are just men, Cato. Ordinary men with all their vices and virtues. But where other men live their lives with death as a side issue, we live ours with death as a constant companion. We have to accept death”.......”To fighting men on campaign, any opportunity to rest represented a luxury to be savoured, and the men of the Second Legion dozed happily in the sunlight”........”.....Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Alexander, Xerxes or any of them...It’s men like that who make wars not the rest of us. We’re too busy worrying about the next crop, how to guarantee the town’s water supplies, whether our wives are being faithful, whether our children will survive into adulthood. That’s what concerns the small people all over the empire. War does not serve our ends. We’re forced into it”......
Insightful, thrilling, well written, and oh so highly recommended! ( )
  runner56 | Jan 30, 2021 |
"The Eagle's Conquest" carries straight on from "Under The Eagle" and doesn't vary much from the first book. We continue to follow the Second Legion as it plays a part in the conquest of Britain on behalf of Emperor Claudius.

The story is told mainly through the eyes of Cato, the (very) young Optio, with occasional dips into the heads of Vespasian, Legate of the Second and exemplary Roman officer, willing to do whatever it takes to serve Rome with honour and win the respect of his men and Vitellius, First Tribune of the Second and exemplary ruthless schemer, willing to betray and kill anyone to further his own ends.

As a total immersion into life in a Roman Legion at war, "The Eagle's Conquest" is engrossing. The battles and the individual conflicts are brought to life vividly and with enough realism to avoid any romantic glorification of the bloody work involved in hacking your way through the enemy. I also enjoyed the picture of the impact of the leadership of the hapless but supremely powerful Emperor Claudius on the effectiveness of the Legion.

The relationship between Cato, bright and fierce but too introspective to be a natural soldier and Macro, his larger than life, "C'mon lads, let's do the bastards" leading-from-the-front Centurion, enlivens the story and allows a little character development.

The conceit of an intrigue, executed by Vitellius, which can only be thwarted by Cato and Macro, ran a little thin for me. I hope the next book moves away from this into something less repetitive.

For me, this series is developing into a reliable, if unchallenging source of entertainment but not something that makes me want to stay up for another couple of hours to see what happens next.
( )
  MikeFinnFiction | May 16, 2020 |
Another exciting read on the Roman invasion of Britain. I'm starting to really enjoy the characters in this series. Scarrow is an excellent story teller. ( )
  KatiaMDavis | Dec 19, 2017 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Simon Scarrowprimary authorall editionscalculated
Wall, AnnaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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For Carolyn, who makes it all possible
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'I don't think I fancy the odds on the tall one,' muttered Centurion Macro.
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When Centurion Macro arrives on the shores of Britain to take part in the Emperor Claudius's invasion in the summer of AD 43, he knows he will be facing one of the toughest campaigns of his battle-scarred career. But nothing could have prepared him for the brutality and bravery of the British warriors. In a series of bloody battles, Macro and his young subordinate, Optio Cato, and the desperately outnumbered Roman army, must find and defeat the enemy before he can grow strong enough to overwhelm the legions. But the Britons are not the only foe facing Macro and Cato. A sinister organisation opposed to the Emperor is secretly betraying the brave men of the legions. And when rumours of an assassination attempt coincide with the Emperor's arrival on British soil, the soldiers realise they are up against a force more ruthless than their acknowledged enemy, and that time is running out if they are to prevent Claudius's glorious victory turning to disaster.

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