Eagles Rising

Augustus #1-2

by Richard Foreman

If you enjoy Roman historical fiction check out Richard Foreman's latest book, Spies of Rome: Blood & Honour, a crime thriller featuring Augustus Caesar and Marcus Agrippa.

Eagles Rising.

Books 1 & 2 in bestselling author Richard Foreman's epic Augustus series are now available in this must-have collective edition.

AUGUSTUS: SON OF ROME

'Augustus: Son of Rome' tells the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar and the rise of his heir, Gaius Octavius, as he journeys to Rome from Apollonia. We see a boy grow into a man as Octavius develops the moral courage, intelligence and ruthlessness that will finally see him become Augustus, Emperor of Rome.

The pen and sword will be employed to defeat his enemies and Octavius will earn the name of "Caesar".

Yet Rome will exact its price - and triumph will be accompanied by tragedy.

Julius Caesar, Cicero, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Brutus and Marcus Agrippa all feature in this epic adventure, which will appeal to fans of Shakespeare, Plutarch and Conn Iggulden alike.

AUGUSTUS: SON OF CAESAR

Caesar is dead - murdered by Marcus Brutus and his fellow conspirators.

Mark Antony now holds power in Rome, through his position as consul and the legions under his command.

Brutus has fled the capital, along with Cassius Longinus. Cicero is a shadow of the force he once was.

The Senate are unable or unwilling to oppose Antony but Octavius, Caesar's heir, is daring to defy Rome's new dictator.

Octavius - along with Marcus Agrippa and the centurion Lucius Oppius - must first negotiate the treacherous politics of the capital and then recruit an army, in order to defeat their enemies.

War is inevitable. The fate of Rome will be decided on the battlefield rather than in the Forum.

Caesar is dead. Long live Caesar.

Recommended for fans of Conn Iggulden, Ben Kane and Simon Scarrow.

Richard Foreman is the bestselling historical novelist of the Sword of Rome and Sword of Empire series. He has also written Band of Brothers: The Complete Campaigns, based upon Henry V and the Agincourt campaign, as well as a series of novels charting the rise of Augustus Caesar and Marcus Agrippa (Augustus: Son of Rome and Augustus: Son of Caesar). He lives in London.

Praise for Spies of Rome: Blood & Honour

"An arresting opening that leads into a thoroughly gripping story. Impressive research and understanding of the period allows Richard Foreman to move so seamlessly and effectively from historical epic to historical detective thriller. A must read for fans of Steven Saylor." Peter Tonkin, author of 'The Ides'.

Genres: Historical Fiction

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2018

About the author

Richard Foreman is the author of numerous best-selling Kindle books, including Augustus: Son of Rome and the Sword of Rome series of novellas which follow Julius Caesar and his centurion Lucius Oppius during their campaigns in Britain, Gaul and the Civil War. The stories are a blend of action, intrigue and Ancient History.

He is also the author of Warsaw, a literary novel set during the end of the Second World War, and the historical novel A Hero of Our Time, as well as the Raffles series of historical crime novellas.

His latest novel, Band of Brothers: The Game's Afoot, is a story is action, intrigue and historical insight set in medieval times.

He has worked as a literary consultant and publicist to a number of bestselling authors, including Tom Holland, Conn Iggulden and Simon Scarrow. He is now a publishing director at Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books, with his business partner Matthew Lynn.

He lives in London.

Reviews

[Mercedes Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really had mixed feeling about this book(s). I really liked the development of Octavius and Agrippa; for once, we see Octavius as a real teenager on the way up—not as a snotty trumped-up interloper as he is often depicted. There was real character in the youth, and intelligence. Sure, he wasn’t particularly courageous, but bravery probably wasn’t the reason Julius Caesar chose him as his heir. Besides, Octavius had the loyal Agrippa to protect him, though his friend was terribly distracted by his new—and probably hopeless—love affair. Anyway, Octavius still had some bitter lessons ahead of him, as he found out after falling under the spell of the duplicitous Cicero, who wanted to use him then throw him away. That might have been the end of what little innocence he may have retained.

What confused me about this book was the sequence of events. Of course, the greedy and disreputable Marc Antony sought to rid himself of the troublesome Octavius. It wasn’t so easy after all. I spent the whole book trying to figure out how in the world they would end up as uneasy allies. But I’m just going to have to be patient, for that eventuality doesn’t occur in the pages of these two books. Antony certainly thought himself the better man:

“Permission to speak freely, sir.”
“Granted.”
“It is not our desire to choose between you and Octavius – but rather we wish to serve you both. The legions want you to become allies, not opponents. Only by operating together will we be strong enough to defeat the Senate’s forces and avenge Caesar’s murder.”
“Are you somehow saying that I should treat this boy as my equal, that we should hold joint command?” Antony replied, ire and bewilderment firing his aspect and flaring his nostrils. “He’s just a f’ing boy, with about as much noble blood as a Gaulish drab. He has spent more time potty training than he has training to be a soldier.”

At the same time, I understood that Brutus was the official enemy of them both, though I had a hard time tracking his steps. Did Brutus hang out awhile in Rome after Caesar’s murder? How did he host gladiatorial games if he was absent? When did he finally leave the city, and where did his army come from? It’s possible I missed something, but I was totally confused as to his movements all the way through. There were a lot of interesting battles and skirmishes throughout the book, but overall I had trouble tying everything together. I’ll keep trying, though, because I enjoyed the character development.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Sharpe Books.


The book Eagles Rising: The Augustus Caesar Saga is set in two parts: ‘Son of Rome’ and ‘Son of Caesar.’

‘Son of Rome’ starts with the teenaged Octavian taking classes in warfare with the other young upper class Romans in the area, desperate to live up to his famous uncle Caesar and make him proud, and ashamed that his best isn’t enough – he simply does not have the physical build to be stereotypical jug-head warrior. But he does have brains – and – more importantly – he knows when to keep quiet and just observe what’s happening around him.

There is a lot of skipping around in time of Octavian’s current schooling, the time he spent on campaign with his uncle, and the big lead up to that fateful day at the Senate…

I liked how Foreman handled the last act / first act hand-off of how we’re jumping in here at the end of Julius Caesar’s story, but that also means were just at the beginnings of Octavian’s. Octavian never for a moment moans – the way a lot of other characters do – about being born “too late” and having missed the “glory days” – he sees that everything is about the future and he is ready to embrace it.

Octavian heads into Rome to claim his inheritance from Caesar, both literally and metaphorically – and we are now into Book 2.

‘Son of Caesar’ shows how Octavian built up a powerbase in Rome, carefully observing all the players in the political game and carefully deciding who could be an ally and who were going to be his enemies. Long before any fights on a battlefield take place, Octavian has laid the groundwork to come out on top. And the fighting is equally intense, whether on the battlefield or over a cup of wine in “pleasant” conversation at a party. Everyone is choosing sides, and even knowing who’s going to die of old age and who’s getting murdered, its fascinating to watch events slowly build as the beginnings of the Roman Empire and put in place, day by day.

‘Eagles Rising’ is the perfect title for this story as we watch the very beginnings of Augustus’ imperialism forming and shows just what a chess master he was, intent on playing a long game, but also showing that he knew every move and piece on the board mattered.

[BEATRICE VEGAS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foreman's Eagles Rising tells of Gaius Octavius's ascent to power after the death of his great uncle Julius Caesar. There are volumes written on the Roman Empire fiction or non-fiction and everything in between. Equally true is the fact that those enthralled with this era cannot get enough of it. Nevertheless, what could persuade one to peruse Foreman's novel. From the beginning, one is aware of his interpretive flair. He does not miss an opportunity to entangle one in the endless battles, intrigue, jealousy, deceit and betrayal characterising this period. True this is historical fiction and Foreman is allowed a measure of writer's license. His endnote gives one insight into it. However, Foreman the writer/historian sticks largely to facts and desists from employing theatrics to augment his work. Nonetheless, one can expect a different angle, a deviation from the norm in a Foreman novel. What prompted a mere teenager, plagued with illness to pursue his inheritance in the face of insurmountable odds? After all Rome was a hotbed of conspiracy. A lesser man let alone a callow youth would have fled to safety after Caesars death rather than face the bacchanalian and devious Anthony. The tale opens on three Roman teenagers Salviedienus, Agrippa and Octavius who are friends and neighbours living just outside Appollonia. Using their conversations and daily life Foreman gives us a glimpse of Octavius the teen who metamorphoses into Augustus the man. One is swept into the whirlpool of pageantry, passion, splendour, chaos and earth-shattering upheaval that characterised ancient Rome more so after Caesars death. This is the saga of extraordinary men of vision, ruthless ambition, debauched, penniless, who fight to ensure the continuance of one of the most awesome and enduring empires known to mankind. The events that unfold bring to life the mortal frailties of the soldier and senator alike their wives and their mistresses, and the commoner who loved Caesar. Foreman's Eagles Rising is a richly embroidered tapestry, bold and breathtaking in its scope as it shifts from the villas and landscape of Apollonia to the harsh terrain of the journey to Rome made harsher being fraught with dangers, a veritable battleground. If Foreman intended to demonstrate what moulded Octavius character at an early age, his perseverance and courage despite his physical weakness that helped him endure the chaos and turmoil following the assassination of his great uncle he succeeds. Augustus known equally for his cruelty as his sagacity is evocatively poignant and true to life evincing ones reluctant admiration. A highly commendable read.

[Scott Vinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting style

An interesting style of writing incorporating good battle scenes with sometimes a slight battlefield correspondent style and using a series of letters to advance the story at times. A different format may have turned this into 4 books but the action/battle scenes probably only warrant 2.
I await book 3.

[Rob A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the fist 2 books in this series. I always find it a bit daunting to get all the names straight early as they use given name and surname at different times. Characters are developing some nice depth and I see more nefarious battles ahead.

[Malcolm Glover · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story line spoilt by historical inaccuracies Julius Caesar eating food with cranberry sauce! Pretty obvious that the author, being American has a few problems with European history.

[David Elkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An gripping tale

A work of fiction but it makes the greatest Roman leaders become real. Some is good history and some is great writing.

[Keith Neville]

Super reads thoroughly enjoyed both books

[ross mcmurchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

History buff’s novel

There are some who such novels in order to nick pick at historical incongruity. I love a historical novel for it’s writing and education. Read this assured you will be entertained as well as gaining knowledge of these times

[Wayne Wawrenuik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining read with delightful insights into the minds of the various characters in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed both books.