Their insistence that the conquered isles will benefit and should be grateful eerily echoes the arguments of the much later British Empire.

On my sacred honour, I will sacrifice an unblemished lamb to you if you would see your way clear to causing that bastard to slip from his saddle and break his f’ing neck …Two Lambs,’ he added wistfully. The story doesn’t let up all the way through as something is always happening leaving you feeling the urgency of the situation. Macro and Cato each face deadly battles against enemies who would rather die than succumb to Roman rule.That's not all that has changed: Cato is no longer the scared young man he had been in the first entries; Macro no longer the seasoned Centurion. I have read Douglas Jackson who in his first book Hero of Rome did this piece of Roman History much shorter but with as much clarity as Simon Scarrow. p>Read about how we’ll protect and use your data in our Privacy Notice.

Centurion Macro is now enjoying a comfortable retirement in the colonia of Camulodunum, while his old friend Cato is assigned a new command as the Governor of Britain, Suetonius Paulinus, plans a military campaign to destroy the Druid stronghold on the island of Mona (present-day Anglesey in Wales). The story is centred around two semi-retired Roman army friends who have settled in Camulodunum (Colchester) with their families. It was a fascinating read as Boudica’s rebellion is a fascinating topic as it’s also one that changes according to the personal point of view of the reader: feminist ante litteram, nationalist or simply someone who rebelled against the power of the Romans. I have found the previous two books The Emperor’s Exile a waste and ponitless it was just written to get Cato to Britain to join up with Macro again. As you might expect, the book is full of authentic detail about weaponry, military strategy, social and religious customs and much, much more.

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While Macro deals with rising local tensions, Cato is pulled into the campaign to wipe the remaining resistance out on Mona (Anglesea). We all know that the spark was the death of Boudica's husband, the mistreatment of her and her daughters by the Roman procurator Decianus, and the crippling high taxes. The two sides became a heaving mass of helmets, crests, blades, spears, swords and axes, amid sprays of crimson and a cacophany of weapns clashing and thudding home on shields and limbs’. If you’re unaware of the history of the Romans you might feel it necessary to read the others, although I felt it was easy to parachute into the world in the pages and become part of it.Many in Rome feel the cost of maintaining a military presence in such a troublesome new province isn't worth the cost of the meagre imports the island produces. By moving the major Roman army units away from southern England, the Romans inadvertently created the opening and window of opportunity for Boudica's rebellion. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. With thanks to Sophie Ransom, the publisher and the author for the advanced reading copy of this book. But surprisingly I was reading the follow up to the last Scarrow and this was only published in paperback this year. Far from being a peaceful northern enclave, Britannia is a seething mass of bitter rebels and unlikely alliances against the common enemy. I’ve always appreciated how the morality of the Roman invasion has been discussed over this series and how Macro and Cato genuinely see Rome as a guiding light of civilisation.I enjoyed this as it wasn't too graphic, some of the battle scenes in other books in the series have been too long and drawn out. The novel begins with Cato and Macro in the colony of Camulodunum enjoying (more or less) retirement, but then fate in the person of Boudicea knocks on their door. The author evokes what life must have been like in the Roman Empire and in the Roman Army in particular. We drop straight into the story as Queen Boudica’s husband dies and feel her immediate struggles, as a wife, a mother, but primarily as a leader with men waiting in the wings to remove power if she’s willing to allow it. This is Roman empire military fiction, starting with the second invasion of Britain, and continuing with subsequent adventures in every corner of the empire.