Day of the Caesars (Eagles of the Empire 16)

Sorry. I have read this book in 2018! I remember as a very interesting letture. One of those one cannot put the book down until it has read it to the last page. The same for all the books of this serie that I have read with much pleasure.

Como siempre, la saga de Cato y Macro me encanta, Simon Scarrow me hace vivir su aventura en los tiempos romanos.

This Eagles of the Empire series by Simon Scarrow is the best series I've ever read. Every book has been hard to put down. This most recent book is no exception. I hope there's more to come even after this one! The main characters of Macro and Cato really grow on you and it's exciting to follow them through their adventures. You learn a lot about Rome and the Roman Empire as well as it's military campaigns, strategies and weapons. Mr. Scarrow has done serious research in every region in which his stories are set so there's lots of historical accuracy. He will admit when he has taken literary license to "fill in the blanks" where there's missing information. I love this series!

This is the latest instalment of the adventures of Cato, now a Tribune, and Macro, a centurion, with both serving in the elite Praetorian Guard and both back in Rome from a dangerous mission in Spain (see Invictus, the previous title in the Series). Their return takes place during a very tense period with Emperor Claudius having just died and his adopted son and declared heir Nero having come to power. However, Britannicus, the natural son of Claudius is still alive and well, although only a young teenager. He is a rival for Nero and his mother Aggripina, Claudius’ widow (and his nice and murderess) The first comment that this book inspires is that it is exciting and the factions plot against each other to seize supreme power. Although number seventeen, this is perhaps one of the most gripping of the whole series, with Cato being pressured and blackmailed by both sides to rally their respective causes. My second comment is that the author deserves praise for his portray of young Nero as a cruel, sadistic and thoroughly horrid individual of who even his ruthless mother is afraid. The vivid scene where Britannicus is abused by his adopted brother and which takes place when Nero invites himself at a banquet can – if I remember correctly – be found in the sources and something like this is very likely to have happened. Despite attempts at revisionism and although the “bad press” that Nero has received only surfaced after his death (for very obvious reasons), he does seem to have been rather atrocious, even outmatching Caligula at times. A third point is that the kind of plot to overthrow Nero that is presented in the book I largely part of the author’s license or, to put it slightly differently, there does not seem to be any indication of such a plot in the historical sources. There were however a number of plots – real or imagined – during Nero’s reign and while all senators feared for their lives, some are known to have been openly hostile to him (and generally payed for it with their lives). So the plot presented in this book is quite plausible. It could very well have taken place. A further point is that the crucial role of the Praetorians, and more specifically the vital importance of making sure of the loyalty of their officers, is well shown, well explained by the author in his historical note, and historically perfectly correct. This in itself explains how Macro and Cato (even more so) find themselves embroiled in this struggle and forced to choose a side, with Cato’s circumstances adding a nice personal touch. A last point is about another nice touch from the author and that is his decision to have some of the book’s last scenes take place in and around Capri and Tiberius’ palace. Again, and as mentioned by the author in his endnote, this is a rather marvellous and beautiful place that is well worth visiting, even if you are not “a fan” of everything Roman. Five stars, and I am (with many others, no doubt), waiting impatiently for the next instalment as our two heroes are about to join Corbulo (Nero’s best general) in Armenia as war against the Parthian Empire threatens to break out.

Good item in good condition if rather slow in arriving