Centurion

August 27, 2012
With sword, spear, and shield, Roman legionnaires hack, stab, and slash a bloody path across 1st-century A.D. Syria in this eighth volume in Scarrowâs Eagle series (after The Eagle in the Sand). Macro and Cato are Roman centurions in charge of a cohort of legionnaires, and a regiment of auxiliaries, respectively. Close friends, they endure the soldierâs life together for the sake of Rome. Here, they find themselves embroiled in an unprecedented and dangerous situationâa revolt against Rome in neighboring Palmyra threatens to bring war with Parthia, a long-time enemy of Rome that has its sights set on Palmyra. Cato, Macro, and their men are sent to safeguard the besieged Palmyran king and his loyalists. The march across the vast Syrian Desert is hampered by hunger, thirst, and enemy ambushes, but the real trouble begins when they arrive at Palmyra and discover the city surrounded by bloodthirsty rebels and riddled with treachery, cowardice, betrayal, and murder. And then the Parthian army arrives. Replete with court intrigue, deadly politics, and massive close-quarters battle scenes, Scarrowsâs newest is excellent historical fiction. Agent: Meg Davis, Ki Agency (U.K.).

September 15, 2012
Roman legionnaires Marco and Cato continue their martial adventures in the eighth installment of Scarrow's splendid Eagle series. When another remote corner of the vast Roman empire is threatened, the Second Illyrian Cohort is sent to Palmyra, an oasis city in the middle of the Syrian desert, to quell the double threats of rebellion and invasion. As the cohort prepares to ward off the Parthians long enough to buy sufficient time for reinforcements to arrive on the scene, the two indomitable comrades must vie with both overt and insidious enemies. Military and political intrigue abounds as combat positions are staked out, and the historical and literary stage is authentically set for a series of sizzling battle scenes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)