Literature / Eagle Series

Under The Eagle's cover

The Eagle Series is a series of historical novels by Simon Scarrow that take place in The Roman Empire, to be exact in the times of Emperor Claudius. Its main characters are legionaries Lucius Cornelius Macro and Quintus Lucinius Cato, who become involved in a great number of conspiracies that only affect them because they are either the Right Men In The Wrong Place or because they are ordered to fulfill a certain mission.

To date, there are twenty-three volumes in the series:

1. Under The Eagle (2000): Cato arrives to the Second Legion, posted in Germania, and meets veteran centurion Macro. After some fighting against barbarian troops, the Second Legion is sent to Britain, where Macro and Cato will have to find a coffer lost during Julius Caesar's earlier invasion of Britain...
2. The Eagle's Conquest (2001): the conquest of Britain continues. The Britons under Caractacus have fortified the city of Camulodunum, and it is the task of the Legions to trap and defeat the Britons. Vespasianus, the Second Legion legatus, has to deal with his wife's links to a group that wants to restore the Republic, while Cato has to deal with his first love, and a conspiracy is readying itself to kill Emperor Claudius, who is coming to visit Britain in order to lead the victory over the natives...
3. When the Eagle Hunts (2002): the Roman army general Plautius' family are shipwrecked in a storm as they came to Britain, and are captured by a brutal sect of Druids that demands the hand-over of several members of their brotherhood that have been imprisoned. Macro and Cato present themselves voluntaries for the task of rescuing the family, but the constant war and reluctance of most natives to collaborate makes it a race against time before they are sacrificed...
4. The Eagle and the Wolves (2003): as the campaign in Britain continues, Macro and Cato are tasked with training an army formed by people of the allied Atrebate kingdom, so that they can help protect the supply trains that feed General Plautius' army. However, rebellion seems near among the Atrebates, as its king is old, and a conspiracy looks forward to his death in order to cease the Atrebate's collaboration with Rome...
5. The Eagle's Prey (2004): during what was expected to be the last fight of the invasion of Britain, a tactical mistake by Macro and Cato's commander provokes a near catastrophe that allows Caractacus to escape alive. Their cohort is then forced to carry out the horrible punishment of decimation, where one out of ten men is killed by his own partners. When Cato is chosen by luck to be killed, Macro decides to give him a chance of survival by freeing him and the other to-be-killed men, and soon Cato finds a way to cast away the death sentence that hangs over him...
6. The Eagle's Prophecy (2005): a pirate lord assaults a ship that carries several important documents, so important that he feels he can blackmail Narcissus (Emperor Claudius' most trusted man) himself over the content of the documents. The imperial secretary decides to send Macro and Cato, the two best men he can count with, to recover those documents and imprison the pirates. On the while, they must deal with a traitor that manages to send word to the pirates of the navy's every move, and with other potential clients to the documents, which are far more important than what Macro and Cato know...
7. The Eagle in the Sand (2006): the governor of Syria is suspect of conspiring to become Emperor, so Cato and Macro are sent to the province of Judea to prevent a revolt that might give the governor the resources he needs to start such an attack. Sent to Fort Bushir, they have to deal with obstructing, corrupt officers, apathetic soldiers and a potential revolt led by Bannus, a former follower of a prophet called Yehoshuah that now proclaims to be the Mas-schiah...
8. Centurion (2008): fresh from their victory against Bannus, Cato and Macro are finally destined to Syria in order to directly deal with Longinus, governor of Syria, and his suspicious movements, as he is still planning to take the Imperial purple. Their rest, however, becomes short after long-time enemy Parthia starts to makes moves towards the Kingdom of Palmyra, an ally of Rome, and one of its king's sons starts a revolt, supported by the Parthians. Macro and Cato will have to travel to Palmyra and work to prevent the current king from losing power, but unexpected events will happen that will change their lives forever...
9. The Gladiator (2009): Macro, Cato, Sempronius and the latter's daughter, Julia, leave Syria for Rome to give an account of what happened in the two former's last job, and for Cato's marriage with Julia. An earthquake hits Crete just as their ship travels near, and the wave forces them to set anchors on Crete's nearest harbor. Once there, the four start helping to restore order and civilization to the nearly destroyed cities of southern Crete. However, the earthquake has given all slaves in the southern half of the island the chance to run away and recover their freedom, and amongst them there is an old enemy of Macro and Cato that has sworn to bring about the death of Rome and of the two men that got him sold to slavery...
10. The Legion (2010): Macro and Cato continue their pursuit of Ajax and his rebel slaves as they flee to Egypt.
11. Praetorian (2011): Macro and Cato are sent undercover to the Praetorian Guard to act as pawns in the games being played between the two factions of Freedmen in the Imperial Court - those who support Britannicus as Claudius' heir and those who favour his adopted son, Nero. They will have to fight thugs, gladiators and traitors within the Guard itself who seek to go as far as killing the Emperor in the name of ambition.
12. The Blood Crows (2013): Macro and the newly minted Prefect Cato are sent once more to Britannia to command a fort of Legionaries and Auxiliaries beyond the frontier in the Welsh Mountains where Caratacus is once more rallying those who would fight Rome to his banner. Before they can take the fight to the enemy Cato must first wrest control of the fort from Centurion Quertes, A Thracian Auxiliary who seeks to wage his own private war of brutality against the Silurian tribe.
13. Brothers in Blood (2015): Macro and Cato are with the army tasked with running Caratacus to ground and ending the war for good, but are unaware of a secret plot to open a second front against the Roman invaders.
14. Britannia (2016): A wounded Macro remains behind in charge of the fort, while Cato spearheads the effort to finally capture Caratacus.
15. Invictus (2017): Recalled to Rome, Macro and Cato are attached to a Praetorian Guard unit sent to the famously unconquerable province of Hispania.
16. Day of the Caesars (2018): In the aftermath of Emperor Claudius's death, Cato and Macro are caught between the rival factions in the ensuing power struggle.
17. The Blood of Rome (2018): Cato and Macro, now the leaders of an elite unit of Praetorians, are sent to Armenia to help General Corbulo throw back the Parthian invasion and restore King Rhadamistus to his throne.
18. Traitors of Rome (2019): Posted to the Empire's eastern border, Cato and Macro must keep one eye on the hostile Parthians and the other on a potential traitor in their own ranks.
19. The Emperor's Exile (2020): Recalled to Rome in disgrace, Cato is assigned the humiliating task of escorting Emperor Nero's recently-denounced mistress to Sardinia, where he faces a potential revolt.
20. The Honour of Rome (2022): Retired from the Army, Macro is given a grant of land in Britannia, and intends to settle for a simple life with his elderly mother. But organized crime is reaching its talons into the province, and Macro knows he can't trust the local authorities.
21. Death to the Emperor (2023): Macro and Cato are reunited in Britannia just in time for the Iceni Revolt to kick off.
22. Rebellion (2023): After Camulodunum is sacked, Cato rushes towards Londinium with Governor Suetonius's army, but is devastated to learn that Macro is among those unaccounted for.
23. Revenge of Rome (2024): Macro and Cato face off with Boudica for the last time.

And one short story:

• Blood Debt (2009, short story): takes place between The Legion and Praetorian.

This Literature series contains examples of:

• Abusive Parents: Macro's father is a drunkard who hit him many times.
• Agent Provocateur: At the end of Praetorian, Cato deduces that Narcissus secretly founded "the Liberators", the secret group conspiring to depose Claudius and (ostensibly) restore the republic. This group was never intended to succeed, but only to be Narcisssus's Too Clever by Half means of keeping tabs on malcontents and potential conspirators. Unfortunately, this bit him on the ass, hard, when the group took on a life of its own and grew beyond his ability to control or monitor. Cato points out that the Emperor is unlikely to be pleased with Narcissus if this comes to light, which means that, for once, the Imperial Secretary has to comply with Cato and Macro's wishes, rather than the reverse.
• Arch-Enemy: Vitellius is this to Macro and Cato, who manage to thwart his plots and conspiracies many times but are never unable to stop him from getting away with his crimes.
• Blackmail: how Narcissus manages to get Cato and Macro to work for him after The Eagle's Prophecy. It is also what the pirate Telemaco does when he gets the rolls.
• Blood Knight: Quertes and by the extension all of his Thracian cavalry in the Blood Crows — his favoured tactic is to massacre every Briton they find and impale those who allow themselves to be captured.
• Censored Child Death: While they do not appear in battles (at least, not always), there are mentions of children being killed in different circumstances.
• Chekhov's Boomerang: Cato's education as the son of a freedman in the Imperial palace becomes useful several times. He initially becomes useful for Macro thanks to his knowledge of reading and writing, as well as his ability for mathematics (important when it comes to calculating salaries and such), but later his ability for rethoric and diplomacy gets used in conversations with other opposing leaders.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Ayax, the son of the pirate in The Eagle's Prophecy, is the main enemy in The Gladiator.
• Contrived Coincidence: the ship carrying Macro, Cato, ambassador Sempronius and the latter's daughter (and Cato's bethroded) Julia just happens to be near Crete when the island is struck by a brutal earthquake that breaks civilization in the island.
• Despair Event Horizon: Cato passes it several times, once when Lavinia is killed and several times when he thinks Macro is dead.
• Determinator: how Cato perseveres through everything destiny throws at him.
• Dressing as the Enemy: in When The Eagle Hunts, Cato and several Roman soldiers disguise themselves as druids to save a general's wife and son.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Truth in Television. The centurions could be very unforgiving people. Beast, Cato's trainer, is one of them.
• Driven to Suicide: many times, Cato joins what appears to be a suicide mission when he passes the Despair Event Horizon.
• Freudian Excuse: during The Eagle's Prophecy, Macro reveals he hates the marine soldiers because his mother left him and his father for a marine soldier.
• The Fundamentalist: the Dark Moon Druids, who believe that Cruach, a god of death, will rise soon to destroy the world, and carry out human sacrifices to him.
• Karma Houdini: Vitellus. He has been planning to kill or depose Claudius for a lot of time, and yet he manages to look like a hero by dropping his plans at the last second, with only Macro, Cato and Vespasianus knowing the truth.
• Lampshade Hanging: as the books advance, Cato and Macro (mostly the latter) comment on the fact that it always seem to be them that get embroiled in the crisis de jour.
• Last Girl Wins: Julia, whom Cato meets in Centurion, becomes his lover and bethrothed, after Lavinia's death in The Eagle's Conquest.
• Long-Running Book Series: The first volume was published in 2000, and the latest to date was published in 2023.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Macro discovers that the man that had betrayed the Romans to the pirates, and the man his mother had left him and his father for, is actually his biological father. This is after Macro forced the man to jump to his death after discovering his treason.
• The Mentor: Macro becomes this for Cato in the beginning of the series.
• The Mole: in several instances, there is one person working for the enemy, and Macro and Cato are told to find that person.
• Never Learned to Read: Macro, due to his background. During Under The Eagle, he asks Cato to teach him to read, as it is necessary for his job as centurion.
• Noble Bigot: part of the Romans' education is that Rome is the best, and that is apparent even with Macro and Cato. However, both are able to collaborate with natives and appreciate them for their abilities, paying little attention to their origins.
• Nothing Is Scarier: during a battle that takes place in a moor covered with high plants, the legionaries mention that it is worse than a normal battle, because they can't see where the enemies are.
• Parental Abandonment: Macro's mother left him and his father for a marine soldier. Both of Cato's parents are dead: his mother died giving birth to him, and his father's death is what sparks his joining the legion, as it was part of the man's last will.
• Parental Substitute: Cato looks up to Macro as the most similar thing he has to a father after the death of his biological one.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Macro is the Red to Cato's Blue, although both have some characteristics from the other side (Macro is a By-the-Book Cop, while Cato tends to be quite more emotional).
• Running Gag: by the later books, Macro comments that he is sure his (and Cato's) luck will soon end while trying to carry out their next plan. There is also a Running Gag about Macro mocking Cato's palatial background.
• Scenery Gorn: Justified, as the books portray many times the horrors of a battle from the point of view of a legionary.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: in The Eagle's Prey, Macro decides to free the men that have been condemned to death (amongst them Cato) in the dark of the night, knowing they are suffering because of the mistakes of their commander.
• Shown Their Work: the author portrays very well the life of a Roman soldier or officer.
• Side Bet: the series is full of them. One of the first is held between the Centurions of the Second Legion, about how much Cato will be able to resist the training.
• Suffer the Slings: many times, a battle is joined by slingers. The story doesn't shy away from showing what happens when you get hit by their rocks.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: Vitellus engages in this when he sees his plans are about to crash and burn, always making himself look better in the eyes of Emperor Claudius.
• Young Future Famous People: Vespasianus (who became Emperor some time after Claudius) appears in several books; his son Titus (who became Emperor after Vespasianus), Vespasianus' son, appears in the first two books; Vitellus (the Emperor Vespasianus toppled) is both Macro and Cato's Arch-Enemy and Vespasianus' rival; Boudicca is an Iceni woman Macro has a relationship with...