I liked ‘The Eagle’s Prey’ more than the previous book in the series but not as much as the first three. This is still a quality Roman adventure, though, full of action and drama.

The characters are vivid. Cato, the main ‘star’, is my favourite. He’s believable and relatable, as is his friend and fellow centurion Macro. These two are rarely apart in the previous four books, yet in this one there’s a lengthy spell where they’re separated. Because they make such a great duo, I missed the usual interaction.

Also, like with the previous novel, this lacks a love interest for the two main characters, which spiced up the narrative in their earlier adventures. Any female characters in this story are incidental. I would’ve preferred some titillation mixed in. Of course, the situations the characters end up in makes meeting women difficult, but something thrown in here and there would’ve been good.

The language is contemporary, which makes the narrative flow better than if the author had used archaic turns of phrase. He also uses modern English slang, which some readers won’t like, but at least it’s consistent. I’ve read historical novels where in one scene a character says something like, ‘Keep it in your trousers,’ while in another scene someone else says, ‘Whence came he thus?’

While I admit I would’ve preferred the language to not incorporate modern slang, the characters and third-person narration are engaging enough for this not to make me feel like I’m reading a story set during any period other than the first century AD.

Perhaps my being an Englishman makes the slang words and phrases more palatable. I admit, it did annoy me when, in another historical novel, the author of that book used the odd Americanism – ‘ass’ and ‘butt’, for example – so I can understand why any non-English reader – and certainly non-British – would be distracted by the slang terms.

So, while the slang words and phrases didn’t bother me, three other elements did distract me at times. One being a trait that keeps cropping up in books I’ve read this year by different others, namely this sort of thing: ‘more loudly’, ‘more closely’, instead of the more concise ‘louder’ and ‘closer’. Don’t use two words if one will do.

Adverbs: the ‘tell’, not ‘show’. More than once a character is described as having ‘swallowed nervously.’ The adverb not only ‘tells’, it’s superfluous, as ‘swallowed’ shows his nervousness.

The two points above are minor criticisms. The one big gripe I have is the overuse of ‘then’ to state what happens next. This novel is riddled with ‘thens’, at times making the third-person narrative sound like a child’s voice. ‘Then’ is easy to cut when editing, and it’s not hard to drop it altogether. It ends up being a filler word, notably when using it to start a sentence. The reader knows whatever’s happening is taking place after what’s just happened, so no need to put, ‘Then he …’ and such like.

In most cases, I deduct a star if a book is riddled with ‘thens’ or swamped with adverbs. As someone who appreciates good writing style, these things drive me to distraction. Yet, ‘The Eagle’s Prey’ is such an engaging story it overrode these niggling points.

It’s easier to go on and on criticising a book than it is to praise it over and over, and I’ve doubtless not expressed how impressed I am with ‘The Eagle’s Prey’ to the extent it deserves, so, in a nutshell, I’ll state this: it’s a mighty fine read. ( )

Nueva aventura de Quinto y Macro, con menor protagonismo para Vespasiano y mucho menos para Plautio o Narciso.
Cato es la estrella indiscutible.
Simon Scarrow consigue crear un ambiente opresivo y empático con los britanos, pero también con aprecio por los romanos en ocasiones. Mejora respecto a las anteriores entregas. ( )

Britania
Simon Scarrow
Publicado: 2016 | 354 páginas
Novela Histórico
Serie: Serie Águila #14

En el año 52 d. C., las tribus occidentales de Britania, inspiradas por el gran odio que sienten los druidas hacia los romanos, se preparan para atacar…, pero, ¿serán capaces de enfrentarse a la disciplina y el coraje de los legionarios? Malherido durante una escaramuza, el centurión Macro se ve obligado a quedarse atrás, a cargo del campamento como prefecto, mientras Cato rechaza la invasión por las colinas. Su misión no es otra que derrocar la fortaleza druida para así consolidar el triunfo de Roma sobre los nativos. Pero el invierno ya se acerca y el terreno empieza a ser impracticable a causa de las tormentas de nieve y la lluvia helada.Cuando las patrullas que Macro tiene apostadas en las proximidades de la guarnición lo informan de que los nativos empiezan a dispersarse, una terrible sospecha se cierne sobre el centurión, acostumbrado ya a los entresijos de la batalla. ¿Habrá subestimado el gobernador en funciones, el legado Quintatus, al enemigo? ¿Estará su juicio militar socavado por la ambición? Si es así, si se ha tramado algún plan sofisticado…, Cato y sus hombres lo pagarán caro.

En lo que parece que va a ser el ataque definitivo contra las hordas de Carataco, la tercera cohorte debe desempeñar un papel de primer orden, cortando una posible retirada. Sin embargo, el fracaso en el cumplimiento de esta misión, la desbandada que éste provoca y las luchas internas en el seno de la propia cohorte va a desencadenar una situación crítica. En su búsqueda de una cabeza de turco, el nuevo centurión superior se fija en los centuriones Macro y Cato que tendrán que tomar una difícil decisión.

Rollicking good yarn. I am starting to feel a measure of sympathy for the Brits. ( )