AD 15. The German chieftain Arminius has been defeated, one of the lost Roman eagles recovered, and thousands of German tribesmen slain. Yet these successes aren’t nearly enough for senior centurion Lucius Tullus. Not until Arminius is dead, his old legion’s eagle found and the enemy tribes completely vanquished will he rest. But Arminius – devious, fearless – is burning for revenge of his own. … burning for revenge of his own.
Charismatic as ever, he raises another large tribal army, which will harry the Romans the length and breadth of the land.
Soon Tullus finds himself in a cauldron of bloodshed, treachery and danger.
His mission to retrieve his legion’s eagle will be his most perilous yet…
more
Excellent read. Different take on historical fiction. Informative, fun, violent and tragic at the same time. Excellent characters and story lines
Part of a trilogy related to the slaughter of three Roman legions by “barbarians.” Great action believable characaaters.
This book is part of trilogy based on the Battle of the Teutonobourg Forest, one of the Roman Empire’s most dramatic and crushing losses where massed German warriors ambushed 4 Roman legions and slaughtered them almost to a man. Not only did the German tribes destroy the legions, they also captured each legion’s eagle, the symbol of the legions’ pride and identity. All of this devastation and defeat occurs in book one, where the main character, Centurion Tulles is introduced. Tulles comes to doubt the loyalty of Arminius, a German who is serving as a Roman auxiliary, but Arminius plays the part of a loyal ally of Rome so well that the Roman governor, Varas, refuses to heed Tulles’ warning and leads his forces into Arminius’ trap. Tulles is able to bring 15 men out of the killing zone by instinct, luck and a strict adherence to the legion’s discipline, but is unable to save his legions eagle.
Book 2 takes place 6 years later. Rome has neither forgotten nor forgiven Arminius’ treachery. Its army now consists of 8 legions under a new and more capable general, Germanicus. When Arminius attempts to duplicate his ambush tactics from 6 years earlier, the Romans reverse the tables on the German tribes and inflict heavy losses on their warriors. Despite their victory, the Romans have unfinished business with Arminius and his allies. The Germanic tribes still impose a serious threat to Rome’s interests west of the Rhine; Arminius remains at large to re-unite the tribes, and the legions’ eagles have not all been recovered. In book 3, Tulles and his legionaries help Germanicus inflict a major loss on the tribes, dissolving the alliance Arminius had worked so long and hard to bring about and leading the German chieftains from the tribes located closest to the Rhine to sue for peace. One of those chieftains attempts to use his possession of Tulles’ eagle as a bargaining chip to strike a better deal with Germanicus. The presence of the eagle so close to the treaty meeting though hidden, sets up the climactic race between Tulles and Arminius to gain possession. The race is a close one, and the author throws in some unexpected plot twists to keep the final outcome in doubt until the very end. History buffs will enjoy these books for the insight on life in the Roman legion with its famous discipline which allowed Rome to govern an empire which stretched across the known world of classical antiquity. Non historians will like this trilogy for the adventure and the interesting characters as drawn by the author. These books are, quite simply, an interesting story told quite well.