The Eagle's Prey

August 29, 2005
As Rome consolidates its control over Britain in A.D. 44, the legions prepare to lure the remaining defiant tribes into a trap to crush their resistance; the Emperor Claudius is anxious for the new colony to be pacified; and his commander in Britain, Plautius, is clearly feeling the imperial heat to Romanize "those bog-hopping barbarian bastards." When thousands of the native warriors slip through the trap into the nearby marshes, one Second Legion unit is blamed for the lapse: that of the young and impressionable Cato and the crafty veteran Macro, returning for the fifth installment in Scarrow's series of Eagle
-titled military historicals. The intrigue and treachery that follow condemn Cato to death and get Macro relieved of his command. Redemption requires the two to deliver the rebel commander, Caratacus, to their superiors. Scarrow's combat is brutal and sanguinary; his imperial politics are almost as sharp. The pace throughout, whether in debating tactics or deploying slings and arrows, is fast, building to a satisfyingly high pitch. Scarrow hits his stride with this fluid post-Caligula bloodbath. In a one-two swing of the blade, his appealing odd couple's next appearance is set for this December.