The Eagle Series

Bell214: The Eagle Series by Simon Scarrow


Simon Scarrow was born in Africa and lived in a number of countries including Hong Kong and the Bahamas before settling in Britain. He has always been interested in writing and his love of history began at school, in particular when he was being taught about the ancient world by his Latin and History teachers. Since then he has travelled with his wife and children across the world to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Egypt to research his historical novels.
Simon was an enthusiastic teacher for a number of years. He now writes full time, but does intend to return to teaching when he can find the time.

Official Website: http://www.scarrow.co.uk


Simon Scarrow is best known for his Eagle series of Roman military fiction set in the territories of the Roman Empire, covering the second invasion and the subsequent prolonged campaign undertaken by the rump of the Julio–Claudian Dynasty.
Note: He has also begun another series, Revolution, focusing on Wellington and Napoleon: “Young Bloods“ (2006), “The Generals“ (2007), “Fire and Sword“ (2009), “The Fields of Death“ (2010).


Simon has a wonderful feel for the period he writes about and his characters endear themselves to you the reader. These books are well researched and for anyone interested in this period of Britain’s history are a great read. Fact mixed with fiction in the best possible way.

1. Under the Eagle (2000)
2. The Eagle’s Conquest (2001)
3. When the Eagle Hunts (2002),
4. The Eagle and the Wolves (2003)
5. The Eagle’s Prey (2004),
6. The Eagle’s Prophecy (2005),
7. The Eagle in the Sand (2006)
8. Centurion (2007)
9. The Gladiator (2009),
10. The Legion (2010)
11. Praetorian Guard (2011)

Bell214: Under the Eagle (2000)

The book opens with a short prologue set during the first Roman invasion in 55 BCE. A group of legionaries lose the army’s pay chest in a marsh while withdrawing to the ships. The action then shifts to the Rhine frontier in 43 CE, where a new draft of recruits are arriving at the base of the Second Legion. The early part of the book deals with Quintus Lucinius Cato and his fellow recruits receiving basic training, and the attack on a Germanic town. In this attack Macro, a newly appointed Centurion, is seriously wounded whilst fighting off German warriors and is left for dead in the streets. However Cato finds and rescues Macro, which earns him a medal. The character of Vitellius, one of the six tribunes attached to the legion, is introduced and Cato falls in love with a young slave girl called Lavinia.

The second part concentrates on the march of the Second Legion to the coast of Gaul, where a convoy, commanded by Macro, guarding the Imperial Secretary Narcissus, is attacked by a group of mercenaries with the intention to kill Narcissus. The convoy successfully reaches the coast where the other legions are gathering. Rumours of mutiny reaches Narcissus, who rounds up the ringleaders and executes them, then goes on to challenge the legionaries in a fight. The watching legionaries laugh at this and the mutiny is crushed. The invasion is thus free to continue, and several days after the initial landings Macro and Cato land in Britain, somewhere in the Isle of Thanet. There they are ordered to report to the legate of the Second Legion, the future emperor Vespasian, and are sent on a special mission to recover the pay chest Caesar lost one hundred years ago. Pushing ahead of the army into a bleak, misty swamp, the pay chest is successfully recovered, but Vitellius makes his move with a band of mercenaries and attempts to seize it. He is repulsed and on the return to the legate with the chest, Cato and Macro observe the British warlord Togodumnus setting up an ambush along the legion’s line of march. Cato attempts to warn the column, and while the ambush succeeds in killing a great deal of legionaries, it is fought off, Macro killing Togodumnus in single combat as he retreats. Unfortunately, Vitellius turns up and steals the credit for the warning, leaving our heroes with the pay chest and a grudge ...

Bell214: The Eagle’s Conquest (2001)

The Eagles Conquest follows directly on from the first book without breaking stride. Macro, Cato, the rest of the sixth century, second legion and their commander Vespasian are hurled into battles and confrontations both with the sword and with political intrigue. The Britons proove formidable opponents to the might of Rome while the eminently hissable villain Vitellius plots and schemes towards his own ambitious ends. Along the way is murder, deception and even an attempt on the life of the Emperor himself. The book carries off the gritty feel of Roman military life with great aplomb, the established characters are human enough to almost be real, and the story flows effortlessly on both the action and political levels. When most follow up books are mere shadows of the original, this one outshines it’s predecessor. It’s an exciting page turner that you could not put down until the very last page.

Bell214: When the Eagle Hunts (2002)

It is the winter of 44 CE and after a series of bloody battles Camulodunum (modern–day Colchester) has fallen to the invading Roman army.
As General Vespasian, legate (Legatus legionis) of the Second Legion, helps plan their next campaign, General Plautius’ wife and children are shipwrecked in a storm. They fall into the hands of a dark sect of Druids who now demand the return of their brotherhood taken prisoner by the Romans.
Two soldiers (Centurion Macro and Optio Cato) volunteer from the Second Legion of Legate Vespasian to venture deep into hostile territory in an attempt to rescue the prisoners before they are sacrificed to the Druid’s dark gods. Will Cato and Macro discover where the Druids are hiding their hostages? Can they find some way to rescue them before the time runs out?

Bell214: The Eagle and the Wolves (2003)

The year is 44, and as Vespasian and the Second Legion forge ahead in their campaign to seize the southwest, Macro and newly appointed centurion Cato are ordered by Vespasian to provide Verica, aged ruler of the Atrebates, with an army. They must train his tribal levies into a force that can protect him, enforce his rule, and take on the increasingly ambitious raids that the enemy is launching.

But in this fourth installment of Simon Scarrow’s epic series, open revolt is brewing. Despite the Atrebates’ official allegiance to Rome, many are wary of the legions and want to resist the Roman invaders. Macro and Cato must first win the loyalty of the disgruntled levies before tackling the enemy. But can they succeed while surviving a deadly plot to destroy both them and their comrades serving with the eagles? In the midst of this highly volatile situation, Macro and Cato face the greatest test in their army careers. Theirs is a brazen tale of military adventure, political intrigue, and heroism, as only they stand between the destiny of Rome and bloody defeat.

Bell214: The Eagle’s Prey (2004)

It is over a year since the mighty Roman army landed on the shores of Britain, anticipating little resistance. Yet the savage hordes led by the barbarian Caratacus continue to torment the legions. Now, though, the Emperor Claudius needs victory in Britain to make his position safe, and the time has come to silence the enemy permanently.
As the Roman troops gather on the eve of battle, centurions Macro and Cato are confident that their long stay in this distant outpost is close to an end. Tomorrow a final, decisive blow will surely eliminate Caratacus.
But the battle does not follow the expected course. Inevitably the blame passes down the line. And the most ruthless army in the known world prepares to inflict dreadful punishment on the very men who could bring the long campaign in Britain to a triumphant conclusion.

Bell214: The Eagle’s Prophecy (2005)

It is 45 CE, and centurions Macro and Cato, formerly of the mighty Roman Army, find themselves trapped in Rome. As they wait for their involvement in a fellow officer’s death to be investigated, their fate seems uncertain. But it is not just their future that hangs in the balance ...
Ruthless pirates, operating from the Illyrian coast, have captured three scrolls vital to the Emperor’s safety and the future of Rome. The scrolls must be found without delay, and hte pirates destroyed. Knowing that Macro and Cato have the courage and ingenuity to undertake such a commission, the devious Imperial Secretary, Narcissus, makes them an offer they can’t refuse. They won’t be working alone, however, as much to their disgust an old enemy, Vitellius, is to Prefect in Command. The three officers quickly set sail from Ravenna with the Imperial fleet, but the pirates have been forewarned and the Romans pay a heavy price.
Outnumbered by the enemy and endangered by Vitellius’ desire for glory, Macro and Cato begin to fear that retrieving the scrolls is an impossible task. But amidst all the chaos one thing is certain: if their mission ends in failure, the Empire will fall.

Bell214: The Eagle in the Sand (2006)

Trouble is brewing in Syria, on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire. With the troops in a deplorable state, centurious Macro and Cato are despatched to restore the competence of the cohort. But another challenge faces them as, Bannus, a local tribesman, is brewing up trouble and preaching violent opposition to Rome. As the local revolt grows in scale, Macro and Cato must stamp out corruption in the cohort and restore it to fighting fitness to quash Bannus ― before the eastern provinces are lost to the Empire forever ...

Bell214: Centurion (2007)

In the first century CE the Roman Empire faces a new threat from its long–standing enemy Parthia. Parthia is vying with Rome for control of Palmyra an officially neutral kingdom. Palmyras royal household is on the brink of open revolt, and so a task force under the command of experienced soldiers Macro and Cato is dispatched to defend its king and guard its borders. When Parthia hears of the Roman armys presence, it starts amassing its troops for war. Macro's cohort must march against the enemy, deep into treacherous territory. If Palmyra is not to fall into the clutches of Parthia, they will have to defeat superior numbers in a desperate siege. The quest for a lasting peace has never been more challenging, nor more critical for the future of the empire ...

Bell214: The Gladiator (2009)

While centurions Macro and Cato are returning to Rome from a harrowing campaign against the Parthians, their transport ship is almost capsized by a tidal wave. They barely make it to the port of Matala in Crete where they are stunned to find a devastated town.
An earthquake has struck the island, destroying its cities and killing thousands. In the chaotic aftermath, large bands of the island's slaves begin to revolt and the local bandits, taking advantage of the slave rebellion, urge the Cretans to overthrow the Roman administration. When the local governor of the province hears that Macro and Cato have arrived on the island, he summons them at once. With many of the island's troops either killed or wounded during the earthquake, the governor calls on these experienced Roman officers for help. Can Macro and Cato move swiftly enough to counter the rebellion before it sweeps the Romans from the island?

Bell214: The Legion (2010)

Trouble is brewing in Egypt. Rebel gladiator Ajax and his men have been posing as Roman soldiers and attacking naval bases, merchant vessels and villages. Prefect Cato and Centurion Macro have been charged with the task of tracking down the renegade warrior before the problem gets out of control. Joining forces with Legion III, they hope to destroy their enemy on the battlefield. But the cunning gladiator has other ideas...

Bell214: Praetorian Guard (2011)

Note: Not available yet. The original title for the book was PRAETORIAN, but the publishers would like to call it PRAETORIAN GUARD to make the message clearer.

Emperor Claudius is in danger. His personal guard, the Praetorian Guard, has been infiltrated by traitors. Summoned to Rome by Narcissus, Macro and Cato are furnished with new identities and placed, undercover, in the Guard. With each test of their loyalty they are given greater access to the conspirators' plot but are faced with the danger of detection and a race against time to save the Emperor. As they move ever closer to the mastermind, they realise that all is not as it seems...