The Honour of Rome (Eagles of the Empire 20)

Enjoyable as it is I started skimming towards the end as it was all so predictable. Dimwit Macro “retires” to Britannia, has a skirmish with pirates, falls fowl of a criminal gang, takes part in a punitive raid, gets beaten senseless by said gang and then Cato blows into town, well, Camulodunum. Within hours Cato has a cunning plan and so it is back to Londinium to defeat the gang which they do bloodily and at some length, another cunning plan or two are hatched. In the end Cato and Macro are co-opted to fight in the next campaign against the druids in Mona - Anglesey - so that is the next book sorted! and probably the next couple as Boudicca is set to rebel shortly in this time line. Obviously will read them!

While still very readable and enjoyable, Book Number 20 suffers because of Cato''s absence for the first half of the book. Consequently Macro gets a good kicking from a bunch of thugs. Cato then turns up to save the day. Also what happened to the darker side of Cato's nature hinted at by Macro in the book 18 in the Series. But on the whole, well worth reading and I will look forward to number 21 when the Iceni revolt. Whose side will Cato and Macro be on?

This very eventful Roman historical adventure is the 20th volume of the amazing "Eagle of the Empire" series, featuring Cato & Macro.At the beginning of the book you'll find two well-drawn maps of South-East Britannia and of Londinium in AD 59, as well as a Chain of Command, and not to forget a Cast List, with figures featuring in this great tale.Storytelling is as ever of a superb quality, its a fast-paced Roman adventure in Britannia, and where all characters come vividly to life to capture the reader from start to finish.This tale starts off in full action in January AD 59, with Macro and his wife, Petronella, arriving in Londinium, to join Macro's mother, Portia, at the Dog and Deer inn.While just newly settled there, Macro and his family will be threatened and molested by rival gangleaders, Malvinus and Cinna, and to save Portia and the inn for the moment Macro and Petronella will flee to Camulodunum (Colchester) and settle there.In Camulodunum Macro will meet other veterans under the leadership of Magistrate Ramirus, and they will have a severe battle against the Trinovantes tribe, where they are left to their own devices by a coward of a procurator called, Decianus Catus, and where they have to fight for their lives to reach their stronghold again, while not much later on Cato will make his appearance in Camulodunum with his son, Julius, and his woman, Claudia Acte, the supposed dead ex-mistress of Emperor Nero, and right from the start Cato is making plans to set things right for Macro and his family in Londinium.What is to follow is an action-packed fight in Londinium, and all that for Family and Honour of Rome, against the ruthless gangleaders, Malvinus and Cinna, that will go right to the wire, and that in the end will result for our friends, with also spy Apollonius at their side, a victory of some sorts but one with an aftertaste in that they are recruited again for the army by Governor Paulinus for his next campaign against the tribes and Druids on the Island of Mona.Highly recommended, for this is another tremendous addition to this brilliant series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Sublime Roman Family Honour"!

I have followed Simon Scarrow right from his very first Macro and Cato novel and not once have l been let down. The storylines are tight and full of action and the research into Roman times immaculate. To pick up one of his novels is to not be able to put it down until complete. Each page leaves you wondering if our two heroes will live through to the next. There are only three authors of Roman novels that l would consider reading and Simon Scarrow is at the very top.

This is the 20th novel in the ongoing adventures of Macro and Cato. In this case Cato doesn`t make an appearance until a couple of hundred pages in. The plot is pretty formulaic, Macro is immediately in a series of scrapes and although retired is called up as a reservist for an expedition to punish a village who had refused to pay their taxes, naturally things go wrong.Then there are ongoing battles in London between two rival crime gangs with Macro and his mothers Inn in the middle of it. Cato, when he turns up, hatches a cunning plan to play them off against each other, Claudia in tow and given that she is supposed to be in hiding isn`t seemingly concealing herself all that well.The ending sets up the next book unashamedly. All in all it`s a rather silly romp, the plot hurtles along at a brisk pace and fans of the series will lap it up, just overlook the hole is the plot. I mean one of the crime bosses sends a gang up to the veterans colony to bump off Macro then never twigs they haven`t come back and fails to see a connection between veterans turning up in London and that, as a bit of escapism this novel is fine, great literature it isn`t

Macro's "retirement" had worried fans of the series, but the adventures of the veteran couple of the Legions continue together. Here the first part of the book is focused precisely on the figure of the centurion who arrived in Britain with his beloved hopes to find peace and serenity and instead ... The book loses a star because there are no legions, or real military campaigns, limiting the action to skirmishes between a handful of retired legionaries who find themselves fighting first with the local rebels and then with the gangs of criminals who reigned over London at the time, albeit with mixed fortunes. Until two thirds of the book comes Cato to resolve the issue. The plot, however, is inherently weak and a tad illogical, but so be it. Fans of the series will also enjoy this "minor" adventure hoping for a much more substantial next episode probably dedicated to the military campaign against the rebel tribes.