Simon Scarrow's sixth installment of his "Eagle" story follows Centurions Macro and Cato during a transitional phase in the threaded storyline of this Sand and Sandals series. In the last book, "The Eagle's Prey", our heroes were banished from the war front in Britannia, where the majority of the previous five books took place. "Prophecy" centers on Rome's battle against piracy in and around the northeast Italian coast while providing a launch pad for our characters to explore the further reaches of the Roman Empire."Prophecy" is built around two primary plot points. The first is Rome's battle with piracy in the Adriatic Sea. The second is a mystery around the discovery of certain scrolls that the pirates have seized and are holding for bid with high-dollar potential buyers. The story starts in Rome, several months after the episode in Brittania, and provides new scenery for our boys from the Legion. While not many pages were dedicated to their time in Rome, the urban capital makes for a strong change of pace to the overall series storyline.Furthering that change of pace, Scarrow places the bulk of the story on and around the sea, including numerous naval battles, and the requisite drama associated with the high seas. Macro and Cato are already well-cast characters. If you're not familiar with the series, you won't be too enlightened by their development, however we do get a peek into Macro's youth. I enjoyed the book. There's something comforting about returning to characters you know, including Vespasian who teams up again with Macro and Cato. Vitellius returns in his role as leading foil, setting up what will likely be an ultimate battle between he and Vespasian for Rome's leadership in 69 AD.Scarrow isn't writing historical literature...he's writing historical fiction - it's fun, down to earth, adventurous and exciting. He knows his space well and is comfortable with his characters' place and the enticement to his audience.I find the entire series a great escape and touch-point to the wold of the Roman Empire.
Simon Scarrow- The Eagle’s Prophecy 4.25 StarsIn AD 45 centurions Macro and Cato, are being told that they must go on a deadly mission or be executed. A large group of vicious pirates have come into possession of scrolls that could destroy Rome if they see the light of day. Now Macro and Cato must go with a group of troops to try to get the scrolls back and save Rome. If they are successful, they can have there lives back. It seems like a suicide mission, but what choice do they have?This book had a good introduction, as it gets you right into the heart of what the book is going to be about. The main plot is great. It has some twists, but no real shocking moments. It did keep me reading and enjoying the time period as it is a captivating time. It had some very intense parts that kept me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to put the book down. I loved the characters in the book as well. I will definitely be looking for more books in this series. I did feel in parts like I was missing something in not having read the other books preceding this one. In the future I will read this series in order. I would recommend this book those who love historical fiction.For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.Tony PetersKids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnappinghttp://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/
What do You think about The Eagle's Prophecy (2015)?
A book set in the context of the Roman army should have at least some factual relationship to its narrated topic. This purports to be the story of two legionary centurions seconded to the Ravennate fleet to hunt down a pirate menace taking over the Adriatic, who has actually also managed to acquire three of the Sybilline books. In addition, the commanders of the Ravennate fleet during the reign of Claudius are - wait for it ------VITELLIUS AND VESPASIAN. This is utterly unbelievable. Please allow me a loud groan at this point, because while the story would have made not a bad fantasy plot, the consistent uselessness of the historical background made this book a chore. Needless to say, I will not be reading the rest of this series.
—Birgitta Hoffmann
Another good book in the series. Really liking Simons fight scenes, very well described. Good to see our heros re-united with their enemy Vitellius and commander Vespasian. An enjoyable story on the high seas where our heros chase down pirates, and recapture some scrolls.A nice small side story with regards to Macro's parents. Although it wasnt much of a surprise, when Simon decided to reveal that Macros mother had done a runner when he was young lad. Would have been better if he mentioned nothing until he met his mother. Would have been more of a surprise. Agree with another reviewer, about the dialogue used by the characters being more 2010 AD, rather than 10 BC. But I can live with it.
—Amjid
Macro and Cato are two Roman soldiers around the time of the Emperor Claudius. The first two I read were set in Roman England, but in this one they have been sent back to Rome and are under a death sentence. They are sent out to recover items that have been captured by pirates, so we get some sea scenes here. They are not the only ones in pursuit of the missing items and the sea soon turns red from the flowing blood.Actually, not a bad action book. I read somewhere that part of the series (9 books) may be made in to a made-for-tv series.Read for task 25.5.
—Donna Jo Atwood
