The Silver Eagle

Forgotten Legion Chronicles #2

by Ben Kane

The Forgotten Legion fought against almighty odds at the very edge of the known world - and lost.Now Brennus the Gaul, Tarquinius the Etruscan soothsayer and Romulus, bastard son of a Roman nobleman, are prisoners of Parthia. They dream of escape, but in the brutal fighting which lies ahead, only two will survive.Meanwhile, Fabiola, Romulus's twin sister, is caught up in the vicious eddies of Roman politics. Hunted by slave catchers she flees, hoping to find her lover, Brutus, bound for Alexandria with Caesar.Ben Kane's brilliant second novel plunges his characters into a cauldron of war and terror, as Caesar and the Roman Republic hurtle towards their day of reckoning.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Roman, Ebooks, War, Audiobook

492 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 14, 2009

About the author

Ben Kane is a bestselling Roman author and former veterinarian. He was born in Kenya and grew up in Ireland (where his parents are from). He has traveled widely and is a lifelong student of military history in general, and Roman history in particular. He lives in North Somerset, England, with his family.

Reviews

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Read in Spanish] -- [Reseña en español más abajo]

I was really looking forward to reading this book, since it is the second part of the trilogy. I think it was easy to et caught by the book, me=ainly because I read it immediately after the first part, so my mind was "fresh" with the first part. This being said, I was not disappointed at all.
The sequel of the odyssey that the characters have to face: I appreciate the variety of places that are mentioned in the book. The amount of countries, cities and different cultures that Romulus and the others see on the way as well as the amount of "new animals" that appear there.
For me,a nove in which everything is happiness is not that good. Here there was sadness, and a lot! There were a couple of pages that made my heart break in little pieces. Although it's sad, it makes the history to be way more charming and real.
As in the previus book, it's easy to fall in love, or in this case, keep falling in love with the characters, since "Each of us have our own destiny".
Maybe the end was a bit disappointing, but really a bit, so it's nothing important. We'll see what the third and last part brings us, which I'll read right now.
Reommended? Oh, yeah! I hadn't read historical novels for a long time and I forgot how good they are... the ones that are well written and are interesting, of course.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Esperaba mucho leer este libro, ya que es la segunda parte de la trilogía. Creo que fue fácil enganchar con el libro, principalmente porque lo leí inmediatamente después del primero, entonces ya venía "enchufado" con la historia. Dicho esto, no me decepcionó en lo absoluto.
La continuación de la odisea que tienen que enfrentar los protagonistas. Rescato mucho la variedad de lugares que se mencionan y escriben en el libro. La cantidad de países, ciudades y diferentes culturas con la cual Romulus y compañía se encuentran en el camino, también la variedad de "animales nuevos" que aparecen.
Para mí, una novela en la cual todo es felicidad no es totalmente buena. Aquí sí hubo tristeza ¡Y mucha! Hubo un par de páginas que hicieron que mi corazón se destrozara en pedazos. Si bien es triste, hace que la historia sea aún más encantadora.
Tal como en el libro anterior, es fácil enamorarse, o en este caso, seguir enamorándose de los personajes, ya que "cada uno tiene su propio destino".
Quizás el final me dejó con sabor a poco, pero muy poco, así que no es nada importante. Veremos que trae la tercera parte y final, que empezaré a leerla ahora ya.
¿Recomendable? ¡Oh, sí! Hace mucho que no leía novelas históricas y había olvidado qué tan buenas eran, las que están bien escritas y son interesantes, claro.

[William Gwynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the first instalment of this military historical fiction trilogy, where we travel far across and past the borders of the Roman Empire during a time of great change. As we dive into The Silver Eagle, the Senate is crumbling, and individuals such as Caesar are gaining more power by the day. Sides are being drawn, and the conflict is only going to escalate.

Whilst this is unravelling we also follow some of our main figures as they attempt to survive far to the east, with a whole host of different trials and tribulations.

[Javir11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

7,75/10

Una vez más Kane consigue su objetivo de entretener al lector. Esta segunda entrega de la saga continúa con las peripecias de nuestros protagonistas en las lejanas tierras más allá del Imperio Romano.

Tanto la trama como los personajes mantienen el buen nivel de la primera entrega, pero a diferencia de esta, le falta algo de chispa al conjunto. Quiero decir, se lee muy bien y todo esta bastante bien hilvanado, los personajes están bien construidos, pero se nota que es una trama puente, aunque muy bien escrita todo sea dicho.

En cualquier caso, recomendable para todos los que disfruten de novela histórica y en especial de todo lo relacionado con el Imperio Romano.

[Roberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cerrando el año con este excelente libro. Una de las mejores desiciones que he tomado este año es leer a Ben Kane, el mejor escritor de novela histórica en mi opinión, tiene una forma de engancharte y capitulo con capitulo tener al lector atrapado. El primer libro me pareció excelente pero este segundo lo supera por mucho, la historia de Romulo y Fabiola es desgarradora, el final de este libro te deja con ganas de correr a comprar el tercero y ultimo libro de esta saga. Para los amantes de la novela histórica esta saga debe de ser obligatoria. 5 estrellas y si se pudieran 100 se las daba a esta obra de arte.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mantiene el interés, aunque el elemento de novedad del primero haya desaparecido.

Continúan las peripecias de los mismos protagonistas del primer libro en distintas localizaciones.

Tampoco hay mucho que añadir, porque si has leído el primero de esta serie seguro que lees este segundo...y que como yo, al acabarlo te embarcas en el tercero y último de esta trilogía, Camino a Roma.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh well, oh well, oh well...

How disappointed I was back in October 2011 when I first began reading 'The Silver Eagle'. I felt It had retained none of what had captivated me in 'The Forgotten Legion'.

Then however I determined I would restart the book and after another couple of months procrastinating, I grudgingly picked it up again. Obviously, back in October I was suffering from some kind of bowl loosening brain malady to have thought how I had! I fell straight back into the story as if it had been days and not months.

If you've read and liked the first installment, then you'll love this next one. Ben Kane really does write a good tale, equally as enjoyable as the first can't wait for the third.

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2013, and its the marvellous 2nd volume of the tremendous "Forgotten Legion" series.

In this book we find our three soldiers, Brennus, Romulus and Tarquinius, within the Forgotten Legion defeated and demoralised, and ten thousand of them are being marched away to Margiana, and they will be tormented not only from the Parthians but also from within there's danger lurking.

When all seems lost and their for Rome rekindled, they must find the resolve to overcome that treachery from within and must somehow seem to survive their dire circumstances and test their character to their very limits.

In Rome itself Fabiola's life is in danger, so much so that she must flee to Gaul to find her lover, who's Caesar's right hand man, and seek him out, in order to put things right.

At this same time there's the tribal rebellion lead by Vercingetorix, and that revolt will not only threaten Caesar's route to power, but also his life and all who support him, but in the end that score will be settled in a most accomplished fashion by Julius Caesar.

What is to follow is an intriguing and thrilling historical Roman adventure, in which the author describes the lives and tribulations of the three men in the East and Fabiola in Rome and later in Gaul in a most spectacular and believable fashion.

Highly recommended, for this is another fabulous addition to this magnificent series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Superb Forgotten Legion Sequel"!

[Laura Tenfingers · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF@57%

I'm bored and annoyed so I'm pulling the plug.

The female PoV is painful to read. She is an empty shell full of contradictions: she was born a slave, was sold into prostitution but was resourceful enough to get her manumission and is now living a pretty cush life, but in this book she does one ridonculous thing after another with this annoying inner monologue of "oh I really shouldn't do this, it's so very foolish, but I just must, it just can't be helped, by Jupiter". Her only purpose really is so Kane can show us what is happening in Rome, but there has to be a better way.

The male PoV is much more interesting, with adventure, violence and descriptions of life as a Roman soldier, but the only way Kane gets the plot moving forward is through everybody having visions! Like full Technicolor visions, that describe monumentous life events which happen to be right around the corner. I'm cool with having a soothsayer who has some insights, but here we've got a soothsayer and our male and female PoV all having the Shine. It's a really weak way to push the plot along and I just couldn't stop eyerolling.

I really enjoyed Eagles at War so I think I'll go back to that trilogy and stick to his later books.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A follow up to THE FORGOTTEN LEGION, and the second part of a trilogy. I wanted to like THE SILVER EAGLE, because I really enjoyed the first outing, but I have to admit that I struggled with this one. I get the impression that the author was struggling with "second book syndrome" at the time and that this one was a real chore to write. Sometimes it's a real chore to read.

The problems with the story are numerous. For instance, the female character, Fabiola, is exceptionally weak and merely exists to allow Kane to have eyes and ears around the major historical characters of Brutus and Caesar. The long chapters featuring her as a protagonist are pretty dull, it has to be said. Thankfully, the battle stuff with Romulus, Tarquinius and Brennus is much better, and packed with all of the violent death and well-described fight scenes that you could hope for.

One thing I did notice is that Kane relies far too much on signs and symbols, on portents, and on precognition to build foreboding and suspense in his story. This allows him to build up to major events that the characters would otherwise have no knowledge of. It does feel a bit weak and I would have preferred a straightforward and realistic narrative without all this stuff. Still, despite all of these detractions, this is still a readable novel and the Roman period comes sparkling to life. In places the narrative flies along particularly when the years start skipping by. I expect to finish the final book in the trilogy, THE ROAD TO ROME, although I hope it's more like the first book than this one.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn’t a bad book but unfortunately I have to give it 2 stars. The immersion into Ancient Rome and the eye for historic detail is excellent and this is what has kept me going through the series so far. It has a map, a helpful glossary of Latin words and some well written action. All good things.

However, the characters just really bring it down. I’ve come to dislike Romulus more and more, I don’t care about Tarquinius, Brennus is ok and Fabiola is meh. I wasn’t bothered for the story because I didn’t like the characters. Over the course of the book it weighed me down more and so I enjoyed the book less and less and the last couple hundred pages were a bit of a drag.

I don’t think these problems will change in book 3 so I doubt I’ll be carrying on with it. I am looking forward to trying some more Ben Kane though.

[Yossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mithris help me this book is a boring read. The writing style is never changing and after a while you can anticipate the next sentence (his heart sank, her heart rose). The story relies too much on "the gods" and too many coincidences. The characters are too perfect to be real - beautiful, smart, never failing. No real fun. I will probably finish the trilogy just from completeness sake, but Jupiter knows where I'll get the energy for that.

[Liss VC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Segunda entrega de la trilogía, mucho más lenta que la primera, me ha costado acabarla. El autor abusa un poco de las “predicciones”. Soy consciente que el libro se desarrolla en una época en la que se guiaban mucho por los presagios y ritos de adivinación, buscando interpretar la voluntad de los dioses ante cualquier tipo de empresa importante. Hasta aquí bien. Que uno de los personajes principales sea un arúspice, bien, pero que otros personajes comiencen a tener visiones como si eso fuese “normal”, ya me parece un poco exagerado y en mi opinión le resta un poco a la obra, de hecho se me hizo un poco aburrido.
No obstante, leeré la última entrega, pues llegados a éste punto, ya quiero saber qué pasa con los personajes.

[Helen Mccabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book of 420 pages over two days and was bewitched by it. It is the second book in the Forgotten Legion series and I enjoyed this one as much as the first. Romulus and his friend, the mighty Gaul, Brennus have escaped from being gladiators in Rome and have finally ended up in Parthia in the company of their friend, Tarquinius, the haruspex, who can see their future through his divination but is not willing to expose it to them. They suffer great brutality as mercenaries from their Parthian master, Pacorus, but he himself is afraid of Tarquinius and his ability to see the future. The Parthian army commanded by Pacorous are the ones that defeated the Roman army in a terrible battle and where the Roman legionary survivors were given the choice of becoming soldiers in the Parthian army or to die in a most shocking way. The next battle that the three friends experience is one against the Scythians and as it begins, the book switches to Fabiola, Romulus' twin sister, who has been an upper class whore who, Brutus, friend of Julius Caesar has fallen in love with. Free from the brothel where she was placed as a small child, and able to act as a rich Roman mistress, all Fabiola wishes to do is find her brother and discover who was her father, the cruel nobleman who raped their mother from which the twins issued and then gave them away, Romulus to be a gladiator and her to a brothel. The only criticism I have of this book that it flips from Romulus to Fabiola like a TV series, because just as you reach a cliff hanger in one event. like the Scythian battle, you have to return to the other story. In one way, it does lower the tension and agony, but it can be disconcerting. However, as an author myself, I am unsure in what other way this enormous story can be told. The outcome of war on the three friends through many years of fighting on the battlefield and the desperate search for Romulus by Fabiola is finally sorted out, and I am about to read the third and last book, The Road to Rome. Let's hope it is as good as this one.

[Janine Southard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one. It's got Romans. It's got former slaves who became prostitutes (and gladiators) and worked their wily ways to freedom. It's got a soothsayer whose prophecies come true. It's got travel throughout the Ancient world. Plus, I really liked the first book in this series, The Forgotten Legion.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have:
* character development
* suspense
* active verbs

Also unfortunately, it did have lots of "what has gone before" at the beginning. This is quite sensible in a sequel...for a page or three. But for the first few chapters? That's a bit too much! And the sudden multi-year jumps, one after the other, completely threw me.

Though I cared deeply about the characters during the last book, I had a hard time in this one. In fact, by the time that Brennus kicked the bucket--which he's been threatening to do since the beginning and which Kane has been leading up to for hundreds of pages--I didn't care about him anymore. I was almost happy he'd died so that we could get on with things.

If I could grab book 3 in my local library, I might give it a go, but The Silver Eagle has convinced me to stop reading this series. Since this series isn't easy to find in the USA, that'll never happen. (I started reading it in Scotland and had to import the second book. (Thanks, Amazon.com!))

[Massimo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bel libro con le due storie parallele - piacevoli da leggere e a tratti molto coinvolgenti - dei gemelli Romolo e Fabiola, storie che per un attimo si uniscono nel finale, che forse è l'unica parte non molto credibile del racconto. Comunque, ogni capitolo svela nuove sorprese e quindi non ci si annoia mai. In più, la trama scorre sulle vicende storiche dell'ascesa di Cesare e permette di rivivere fatti già noti (leggasi, già studiati a scuola!). Confermo il giudizio positivo per questo scrittore già dato nel primo libro della trilogia.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Segunda parte de esta trilogía sobre la Legión Olvidada, la cual continúa con el estilo y la estructura del primer libro.
Se suceden los capítulos alternos entre los distintos personajes de la historia, narrando con agilidad esa mezcla entre realidad y ficción tan acertada en Ben Kane.
Lo dicho, mantiene el nivel de la anterior obra, aunque sigue faltándole para mi gusto algo de encanto, un poco de intriga, algún elemento que añada cierta originalidad. Por todo lo demás, la novela entretiene y cumple con las expectativas generadas, avanzando en la historia de sus protagonistas. Terminaremos con la siguiente entrega, sin duda.

[Bookhode · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is a worthless pile of crap, whose only redeeming quality is the fact that the author actually did some pretty decent research for it, so there is a bit of (presumably) authentic Ancient Roman feel in these pages, especially when it comes to warfare, and every day life in the legions. Other than that, the book is basically a series of stupid and repetitive random encounters, with our heroes mostly minding their own business, but running into all sorts of different assholes, who absolutely need to beat up, rob, kill, rape or maim them, without any discernible reason.

The only difference between these various encounters is in the geographical setting: some of them take place in a snow, others in desert, or forest, or urban back alleys, or whatever, as our heroes try to make their way from the Far East back to Rome. The thing that irritated me the most in the process, is the fact that in almost every encounter, the heroes face impossible odds, and are just about to be obliterated, before they are unavoidably saved by some fucking miracle in the last SPLIT SECOND. This is a fine action movie/book trope, provided that it happens at the culmination of some important fight or something like that, but NOT when it happens in every god damn chapter. Seriously, these idiots that I'm supposed to care about were on the very verge of violent death at least 4d6 times in this novel, but there is always some divine intervention, or some unbelievable trick, or just utterly unrealistic feat of timing, to pull them through. The best part is, at some points, you can tell that even the author has no idea how are they supposed to survive this shit, so he just cuts off a little cliffhanger to end the chapter, and then 30 pages later casually notes something like "oh well, we just dropped to the ground (in the middle of a cavalry charge by large group of expert horsemen, btw) and covered ourselves with some dead body, and no one noticed, so we are cool, yay, praise Mithras!"

Still, my personal favorite move was when the 3 heroes (still serving in a Roman Legion) find themselves in a major pitched battle, and just decide to WALK OUT OF IT ALL and escape. Just like that. They literally turn around, walk between the hard pressed lines of their comrades, everyone is cursing them as cowards and traitors (obviously with a good reason), but no one is trying to stop them, no one is throwing a fucking spear into their backs, nothing bad happens, until they are already out of the battlefield, when the one super bad crazy evil officer, who was giving them hard time since day one, notices their act of strategic relocation, and rides out to kill them, all by himself, only to be comically disassembled by a berserking war elephant. Good times. Stupid humans, how didn't anyone else think of this brilliant move in the entire history of warfare?!

Anyway, enough of this crap, this book is not good, it's not engaging, it's not exciting or believable in any of its aspects. I hate to leave the series incomplete after I've already read more than one part of it, but there is no OCD in this world that will force me to waste my time on part 3 of this shit.

Current score: 36/100 (at the very bottom of my 2-star range)
Current ranking: 491st on my all time list of novels, 11th out of 12 on my list of historical fiction.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one sat by my bed a while because I'm getting a little burnt out on 900 page tomes. I read the first book a while back and enjoyed it fairly well, but haven't been exactly itching to read the sequel.

The Silver Eagle is set in ancient Rome, during Julius Caesar's life. One of the members of the Triumvirate of Croesus, Pompey, and Caesar - Croesus, heads to what is modern day Iran to fight the Parthians, and was wiped out. An entire legion of Roman soldiers is destroyed or captured, and in these alternate history novels, was forced to fight for the Parthians as mercenaries.

The books follow the lives of twins named Fabiola and Romulus, who are separated in the first book after being enslaved. Romulus gets into the legions having fled the gladiator pits and Fabiola is taken as a prostitute. By the end of the first book, Fabiola has escaped her life with Brutus (yes, that Brutus) and Romulus is now working for the Parthians.

This book covers more of their life, as they move through Roman history. The story is interesting and holds attention, but is marred by being so heavily contrived. Swapping back and forth between characters each chapter, they continually are facing incredibly awful situations as everything keeps going not just wrong but as badly as possible, no matter how unlikely and forced it might be, then getting out of it over and over.

Fabiola spends the book a perpetual victim with virtually no purpose in the novel, and Romulus keeps having the worst situations and coincidences keep happening, facing pointlessly sadistic people he cannot retaliate against. Despite this, the situations and descriptions, historical details, and combat sequences are quite engaging, so the book still works, but I can't really recommend it.

[Bailey Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second novel in the compelling Forgotten Legion trilogy is a 50/50 split of heart-racing can’t put down chapters and boring, unrealistic chapters. The story follows Romulus, Tarquinius, and Brenus as they continue fighting different enemies at the edge of the known world, Margiana, and within the Roman army. Back in Rome, Fabiola is living happily with Brutus, until he is called away to help Cesar with his campaign in Gaul and an incident with a group of slave hunters leaves Fabiola fighting for her life.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel, but found the constant battle scenes and near death experiences redundant and overdramatized. While I appreciate Kane’s detailed description of Roman battle strategies and techniques, I was no longer excited to read another battle scene where his characters faced ridiculous odds yet somehow survived with mere scratches or bruises. Even Fabiola’s story line, which I usually cannot get enough of, left me wanting. Kane’s descriptions of the different cities his characters visit and everyday aspects Roman, Greek, Parthian, and other cultures kept me reading this book. While it was not nearly as good as the first book, I’m looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.

[Elizabeth Raines · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another example of characters you don’t realize you care so much for until the plot starts going and something might happen to them. Those chapters, got my emotions going. I love love love this setting. There’s so much building and exploring that one can do in the ancient world. The writing is fine here. I really liked the plot that was in Asia as I got to read about places that I’m interested in but there isn’t a lot of fiction about. The Rome chapters, I really wish that Kane would have played more with Fabiola following Mithras but overall I really enjoyed her plot as well. Just didn’t hit a five star for me. Hopefully I will finish the series this year.

[John McDermott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent , action packed sequel to The Forgotten Legion. Ben Kane vividly recreates the Roman world in all its brutal glory. Entertaining & informative ! Highly recommended.

[Jim C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a historical fiction novel and the second of a trilogy. The first one must be read before this one. The Roman Empire is on the brink of civil war. We continue to follow our main characters during this time period. Romulus, Brennus, and Tarquinius are still serving in the Forgotten Legion and still hoping to make it back home to Rome. Fabiola is still searching for her twin brother, Romulus, while being Brutus' lover.

This isn't my usual type of genre read but I do love this author's novels. I believe the main reason is the writing style and how he tells the story. His characters are currently apart. He will devote one chapter to a particular character and when something exciting is about to happen he will switch to the other character. This entices me to keep on reading as I am dying to find out what was going to happen. I have always been a sucker for this type of story telling. He also does an excellent job with the setting as I can really envision how people lived way back then. This novel really can be broken down to two concepts and they are family and friendship. Any reader can understand these concepts as these characters make sacrifice after sacrifice for these concepts.

I am loving this series even though it is out of my reading realm. The realism is terrific even though it can be gory and brutal. The battle scenes are well written and one can tell the author has done his research for this time period.

[Rafa Aguirre Ezquerra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Demasiado Mitra, demasiadas predicciones, visiones, augurios y pálpitos sufridos por otro número desmesurado de personajes. Ni en Harry Potter hay tanto mago suelto.

La cantidad de escenas increíbles y casuales casualidades que acontecen a los protagonistas se pueden disculpar (tampoco perdonar) porque no deja de ser una novela de ficción... eso sí, con buena ambientación histórica.

Eso es lo que la salva y lo que me ha animado a no abandonarla a la mitad. No sé si algún día me animaré a completar la trilogía. Ahora mismo lo dudo. Fabiola me cae entre mal y regular y Romulus me parece un poco pánfilo...

[Edd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book skipped past some of the major events in that time period, while it amplified the mundane. Other than that, loved it!!

[Lionel Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to practice English with a pleasant historical background for Romans’ lovers. Still main characters are just basic ones and not really interesting.

[Julián Gómez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hay varias cosas que decir de este libro, pero antes, es menester mencionar que me veo confundido con respecto a la calificación, no se si se merezca las 5 estrellas por ser excelente, o 4 estrellas por algunas falencias que encontré como lector.

The Silver Eagle o El aguila de plata es la segunda parte de la serie "La legión olvidada" que narra dos historias paralelas y que fácilmente enganchan al lector; afortunadamente NO es necesario haber leído el primer libro, "La legión olvidada", para empezar de cero con este. Pero ¿Por qué empecé con El aguila de plata y no con La legión olvidada?. Sencillo, cuando fui a la librería, este fue uno de los primeros libros que vi debido a su portada llamativa y al leer la contraportada me llamó demasiado la atención, -ignorando totalmente que se trataba de una trilogía- por lo que, me lo llevé a casa sin pensarlo dos veces.
Ahora sin mas rodeos, haré una lista con lo bueno y lo malo del Águila de Plata.

Lo Bueno:
-Dos historias paralelas, increíbles, magnificas, estupendas, que enganchan al lector muy rápidamente.
-Mucha acción, mucha adrenalina en las batallas que se van narrando con todo lujo de detalle.
-Un libro que abre mucho la mente a grandes imaginaciones de la época romana del siglo I a.C.
-Personajes bien hechos, muy profundos y con cierto toque de inteligencia.
-Los datos de las batallas en su mayoría son reales. Dando poco lugar a la ficción, salvo algunos personajes.

Nombraría más aspectos pero con estos 5 son más que necesarios.

Ahora bien, unas pocas cosas negativas de este libro también tienen que ser mencionadas, aspectos en los que en las reseñas que he leído, he estado completamente de acuerdo.

Lo malo:
-Debido a tantas batallas, se hace un poco repetitivo la victoria de los protagonistas de la serie; es como si contaran con una suerte estratosférica que hace a veces muy predecible el final de muchas luchas por las que atraviesan los protagonistas.
-Algunos fragmentos son bastante fuertes si uno lo imagina, pero que el autor menciona con toda la normalidad del mundo. Para comprender mejor, al autor le faltó un poco mas de suspenso y dramatismo en las situaciones criticas.
-Una ENORME cantidad de términos en Latín que hacen que la lectura sea un poco torpe y lenta a veces, haciendo revisar el glosario prácticamente en cada pagina en algunos capítulos.
-Relacionado a lo anterior, el glosario es inmenso y muchos términos son de casi una pagina, cosa sumamente exagerada para definir algo sencillo (ej: armas, dioses, lugares).
---
Puede que haya hecho énfasis en las cosas negativas del Águila de Plata, eso no quiere decir que sea un libro regular ni malo, todo lo contrario, es uno de los mejores libros que he leído y también uno de los mejores en su género. Con sus falencias y todo, estas se ven prácticamente apañadas por las cosas BUENAS que hay en él.
El final da obviamente para la tercera parte, llamada "Camino a Roma" que prontamente estaré comprando.
Así que, cerrando esto. Recomiendo el libro 100%.
Calificación: 4.8/5.0

[Jason Snelgrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "The Silver Eagle," Ben Kane demonstrates his formidable command of historical detail and his gift for making ancient Rome come to life. This sequel to "The Forgotten Legion" delivers a compelling narrative that sees its characters traverse the vast reaches of the Roman Empire, painting a vivid tapestry of Roman history along the way.

The trio of main characters, Romulus, Brennus, and Tarquinius, continue their saga, each offering a unique perspective of Rome’s society. Kane's skillful character development continues to impress, with each character evolving in response to the trials they endure. Their personal struggles set against the backdrop of a vast and tumultuous empire imbue the narrative with a striking sense of scale and depth.

Kane's deep understanding of Roman history is evident throughout the novel. From the political machinations of the capital to the brutal realities of ancient warfare, Kane weaves historical facts into the narrative seamlessly, providing a rich context for the story. The military strategies, Roman societal hierarchies, and the nuanced depiction of Roman culture all attest to Kane's meticulous research and devotion to historical accuracy.

However, for all its historical depth, "The Silver Eagle" is not just a dry history lesson. Kane's prose is engaging and vivid, filled with suspense and action. His depiction of battle scenes is visceral and thrilling, capturing the chaos, brutality, and valor of Roman warfare with startling intensity.

One potential drawback is that readers unfamiliar with the first book may find themselves at a loss due to the many references to prior events. While Kane does provide some backstory, the novel is best enjoyed as a continuation of the series rather than a standalone read.

Additionally, the heavy emphasis on historical detail, while a strength of the novel, may feel overwhelming for those seeking a lighter read. Yet, for those with a fascination for Roman history, this richness of detail is one of the book's greatest assets.

In conclusion, "The Silver Eagle" is a riveting blend of historical detail and narrative drive. Ben Kane's meticulous research and talent for storytelling make this novel a deeply engaging journey through ancient Rome's tumultuous past. Despite some potential hurdles for newcomers, the book stands as a rewarding read for history buffs and fans of historical fiction alike.

[S.J.A. Turney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Forgotten Legion series is one of the strongest series set in ancient Rome that has been produced to date. The scope of the series in length of years, geographical reach, depth of character and intertwining some of the most tumultuous and important events in the history of he world with the life story of a small number of fictional characters is phenomenal. As a series, it is impossible not to pick up the next book and read on...

This, the second book in the series, is my clear favourite. The reason for this is that, while the first and third novels are masterful, the Silver Eagle takes us outside the known world of Rome and introduces us to other cultures. It is Ben's most imaginitive novel and gives him the best opportunity to show off his talents.

By this point, the characters have very much grown into themselves and are familiar and sympathetic. Their talents and idiosyncracies drive the story just as much as the events beyond their control. The story was full of interesting sights and sounds, strange facts and unusual locations as Romulus and his companions strive to return to the known world. In the meantime, events unfold in Rome and around the republic as his sister becomes ever more deeply entangled in the intrigues of Rome.

I found the book hard to put down and went immediately to read the third. I have to say that this story was the one that I went into with a little trepidation, given its scale and the need to bring the story back to a certain point within its pages. I wasn't sure that could be done convincingly, yet it was.

[Beorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing that frustrates me most about Ben Kane's books is that picking one up can be such a hit and miss event.
There are books where you devour it with relish and really invest in the characters, yet there are others that are just the archetype of staid, wooden and cardboard devoid of anything of note.

The most baffling thing of such inconsistency is that Kane is notably talented as crafting realistic human emotion & characters and, most often seperately, one of the most consistently skillful at descriptions of battle scenes and personal contributions. The trouble lies in the fact that more often than not, Kane prefers to focus on one over the other - for example, in the opening book of his Hannibal series, it was the human element that took precedence; in the sequel, the battle scenes - often at the expense of the reader's enjoyment.

That at least is my theory as to why I found myself enjoying, or rather not hating, this book. The story manages to balance both human stories and the various battles & military points. Possibly around 60:40 in favour of the human element.
There are some neat, if not quite genius, tricks used to deflect you just when you think you know where the story is leading.

Altogether a distinct improvement on the opening book in the series.

[Robin Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the Roman genre rapidly expanding it is not easy to keep up with all the new authors in the genre. It is also not so easy to know who is worth your ££ and pence and who isnt.

Ben Kane is one i can assure you is worth it. after the first book i was hooked, his mix of fact fiction and Myth sets the book apart from the usual mundane, add in the pace and characterisation of the calibre of Scarrow and Riches and you get an idea of his skills.

Im well and truly left adrift at the end of each book gagging for the next one longing to know what will be the next episode in the lives of these new friends i have made (Romulus, Brennus, Tarquinius & Fabiola) add to that the tantalising hints at parentage the back drop of the Roman , Scythian, Etruscan and many other worlds and you can see why Ben Kane is a new power in this Genre, long may he remain.
(Parm)