CATO AND MACRO ARE ARMED TO THE HILT FOR THE EPIC 25TH ADVENTURE IN THE EAGLES OF THE EMPIRE SERIES FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR Twenty years have passed since the raw recruit Cato faced Centurion Macro on the training ground. Now scarred heroes of the Roman army's toughest conflicts, they are the first choice when Emperor Nero's top general, Corbulo, needs the best for a dangerous mission.
Over a thousand miles from Rome, on northern coastline of the Euxine Sea, a city's people face massacre as the Scythian Empire pushes back against Nero's wild ambitions.
The journey alone would break lesser men. And at their destination is a scene of carnage and approaching famine, while an army far greater in number than the Roman force gathers for the finish . . .
Always in Cato's mind is the terrible image of his last hours in the fearful faces of his wife and son, and Macro's wife, held as hostages against his failure. The fate of countless Roman citizens, and of everyone Cato cares about, lies in his hands.
Celebrate 25 Eagles of the Empire novels in November 2026! Praise for the Eagles of the Empire
'Scarrow's novels rank with the best' INDEPENDENT
'Always a joy' THE TIMES
'Gripping' SUNDAY EXPRESS
Readers love Simon Scarrow's
'Exciting action scenes . . . a very enjoyable read'
'A wonderful read and hard to stop once you start reading'
'Everything you'd come to expect and much more. Action, drama, comedy and trauma!'
Simon Scarrow is a UK-based author, born in Nigeria, and now living in Norfolk. He completed a master's degree at the University of East Anglia, and, after working at the Inland Revenue, went into teaching as a lecturer at City College, Norwich.
He is best known for his "Eagle" series. This is Roman empire military fiction, starting with the second invasion of Britain, and continuing with subsequent adventures in every corner of the empire. The stories are told through the eyes of two centurions, Macro and Cato. To date there are eighteen books in the series.
Scarrow has also written a series of four novels on the Napoleonic wars, focusing on the lives of Wellington and Napoleon.
25 books in, I'll repeat that, 25 books in the Eagles of the Empire series and Simon Scarrow has hardly missed a beat with Marco and Cato's adventures and The Sword of Rome is another brilliant entry in the series.
If you have got this far in the series you know the formula, great action, political drama and intrigue and brilliant characters. This one offers something a little different though with Marco and Cato finding themselves shipped out of Rome and ending up in the Euxine (Black) sea and dealing with enemies they haven't faced before, and Cato's judgment failing him for once which almost has a catastrophic effect, but our heroes are never down for long.
Also the afterward at the end of the book includes a very heartfelt thank you from Simon Scarrow to the fans and the people who have helped bring Marco and Cato this far, and it also hints at what the future holds and that is very exciting!
25 books in, if you are here then you don't really need a review, but I will say a few words.
Its so good to have Macro and Cato back, if only for the 2 days it took me to finish the book. Simon Scarrow has once again given us a nail biting installment on the adventures of everyone's favourite centurions. As usual very well written, it was also good to see a tactical decision made by Cato, not go as to plan and cause serious repercussions and showing that sometimes he doesn't hold all the answers.
Eagles Of The Empire is probably my favourite series of books, so now I patiently wait for book 26