The Eagle's Prey

Book excerpt: The mighty Roman army faces Britain's defiant tribes in this epic fifth novel of Simon Scarrow's acclaimed series, The Eagle's Prey. It is late summer AD 44, and the battle-weary Roman legions are in their second year of campaigning against the British tribes. The troop' commander, General Plautius, is under considerable pressure from the emperor to crush the natives once and for all. Centurions Macro and Cato are with the crack Second Legion under the precarious leadership of Centurion Maximus, and it's their task to hold a ford across the river Tamesis when the natives are forced into a trap. But Maximus's nerve breaks at the critical point, allowing the enemy leader and his men to escape. Outraged by this failure, General Plautius orders the decimation of Macro and Cato's unit. Their choice: die, or escape to become fugitives pursued by soldiers of their own ruthless army. Hiding from their former comrades, as well as the Britons, Cato's small band of fugitives has only one chance to redeem itself before its soldiers are hunted down, like animals.