Death to the Emperor: The thrilling new Eagles of the Empire novel - Macro and Cato return!

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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. Plenty of action in this, but a rare glimpse at the fact that the Roman’s were not the good guys and you feel sympathy for the Iceni. 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.

The boys are back in Britain, its AD60 and they are in Camulodunum (Colchester) with Macro in semi-retirement and Cato keeping his head down in the quiet backwater of Britain. Well, he's off on an assignment on the other side of Britain helping to eliminate the Druids so he plays no part in the actual revolt. As with all of the Simon Scarrow books I've read, the history is worn lightly enough to make an enjoyable read: this is not a dry, stuffy retelling of events but rather uses the real historical events as the backbone for the story being built around it. That will soon be put the test especially since Camulodunum is ‘a powder keg’, surrounded by tribes chafing under the yoke of Roman rule and people left hungry as a result of poor harvests and high taxes.

As hostilities create mayhem in the west, Governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus gathers a vast army, with Prefect Cato in command. Please get rid of her as Cato deserves a nice lady to settle down with and this relationship just does not work. I haven’t read the rest of the series and didn’t feel I had missed part of the story, although I do love history. Realising Macro’s worst fears, his actions set in motion a series of events that will threaten Rome’s hold on the province of Britannia and the lives of the Romans who have settled there. I have been a fan of Simon Scarrows Eagle of the Empire series since 2017 when I discovered the books in my local library.

As with all the books in the series this revolves around the adventures of our old friends Macro and Cato plus assorted other characters. He does not much care how many of his soldiers die in the process so long as he achieves his objective which in this case is to attack and destroy a stronghold of the Druid cult on the island of Mona (Anglesey). But the Roman taxpayers are demanding more and more from the local Iceni tribes and new Queen Boudica is unable to pay. What is to follow as a whole is a fantastic and action-packed Roman adventure, in which Boudica's revolt with the annihilation of Camulodunum as just the beginning of a much greater rebellion that will probably continue in the next volume towards its inevitable end and the destruction of the druid stronghold Mona will be the main focuses, but during these bloody actions in Camulodunum Macro will lose some very dear family members, from the likes of the mute boy Parvus and the dog Cassius towards fellow soldiers and in particular the spy/assassin Apollonius, and all this due to an act of madness by the Roman procurator, Decianus.Their insistence that the conquered isles will benefit and should be grateful eerily echoes the arguments of the much later British Empire. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. He takes most of the available soldiers on the expedition including Cato, leaving most of the country to be protected by a few ill-trained forces, including Camuldonunum which is left to Macro and the few hundred other veterans who have also retired to the town. The novel ends with the destruction of Camulodunum and it is then clear that this is part one of an ongoing tale.