Hello everyone!
Since this week is all about going back to basics, it's back to the usual 'Tome Thursday' blog posts as well, now that all the finales have been accounted for and pretty much nicely shelved under the roof. I've been reading a lot of different books at this time as well, bouncing back and forth between authors and, with the added luxury of an electronic book reader, being able to honestly read more than one book at a time without the need to pick it up in physical form. At the moment, I'm sort of going through a throwback phase, however, reading Rick Riordan and his Greek and Roman gods series, though I definitely am rediscovering just why I don't like the second one as much as the first. This phase is probably subconscious preparation for his new series, coming this summer, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and I mean, you KNOW it will be good if you have Thor and Odin running around.
That being said, while I'm surfing through Greek mythology again, I've also gone back and done some other reading, too. Currently in the works is Conn Iggulden's 'Trinity', a continuation to 'Stormbird', but another series I started is from author Simon Scarrow. And if you've been following any kind of historical book updates, you'll know he writes a series about Romans.
The Eagle Series is basically centered around two main protagonists, Lucius Cornelius Macro and Quintus Licinius Cato (I had to double-check the spelling on these names; still not sure I got it right!). There are currently thirteen books in the series, with a fourteenth one slated for an October release this year, and from what I've seen in the first one, it's DEFINITELY worth a read.
'Under the Eagle' begins with a short prologue about the first Roman invasion of Britain by Caesar in 55 BC, when they had to leave the island in a hurry (as in, leave or be killed, in a hurry), and they left behind a chest of gold, which they sunk in a bog. This is pretty much meaningless to the reader if you don't immediately grasp it's probably going to be a treasure somewhere along the way of the treasure hunt.
The action then shifts to AD 43 on the Rhine frontier as Cato joins the Second Legion with a personal letter from the court in Rome, which raises him to the rank of optio, and this in turn fuels resentment among other recruits. Ranks in the legion are generally acquired through training, experience, and hardships, not given out like money. Cato is assigned to help Macro, also a newly-minted centurion although he has about fifteen years of fighting experience with the legion. In the beginning part of the book, we go through the different stages of training for a legionaire, which is followed by an attack on a Germanic town. This was supposed to be a routine tax collection, but the Germans turned it into a bloodbath, locking the cohort which had been sent (Macro and Cato with them) in the town under siege, waiting for reinforcements (this brings about writing gems from the author as Vespasian, the legate in charge of the legion, sees flames flickering in the distance from his window at base, and decides he might as well go see what's going on, because, if I remember it right, he doubts that Vitellius, commander of the Third Cohort during this attack, managed to cause a large bonfire like that just for fun and likely ran into trouble). These arrive just as things seem to go from bad to worse, though we do get to see Cato and Macro fighting for survival (and mucking about through pig stalls, that too). Macro is hurt by a javelin during this, and asks Cato to teach him how to read and write (both tasks necessary for a centurion) while he recovers.
Some side plots of the first half of the book also include the suspect of spies in the ranks, the impending move of the Second Legion to a new battlefield, and Cato falling in love with a slave girl, Lavinia.
The second half opens with emperor Claudius' order for his army to invade Britain, which moves the Second Legion to the island as well, though not before Macro and Cato escort Narcissus (the most powerful freedman in the empire) to the base of operations, getting attacked along the way. In Britain, Macro is singled out by Vespasian to go look for the sunken chest, while the legions move towards the Britons and engage, which he successfully manages, although Vitellius by this point comes out of hiding as a spy and tries taking it for himself. Being unsuccessful, he flees, and the Second Legion is hammered down in a stretch of woodland, almost seeing its end before reinforcements arrive in the nick of time. These being brought by Vitellius, Macro and Cato can't really do much about the scheming man, even if Vespasian does believe them. And Vespasian? Well, the other spy in the ranks was his wife, Flavia, which Vitellius knows, so it's a stalemate.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book, even if some people might have found it tedious with all the tactics and explanations and whatnot. The language was quite down to earth, however, and entertaining, plus the two main characters, Cato and Macro, are hilarious when thrown into a situation together. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series, and I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to read about this time period in history.
xx
*image not mine
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