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what is the sequence of titles for the Eagle series. I 'need' to read a series in the order which they are written. I am considering starting this series.

 

it was Crispina's quote : "GO! Leave the heads and go!" that piqued my interest.

 

Occassionally I need to read a book that has that written. In balance in a way to Breem's book Eagle in the Snow.

Edited by Artimi

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what is the sequence of titles for the Eagle series. I 'need' to read a series in the order which they are written. I am considering starting this series.

 

it was Crispina's quote : "GO! Leave the heads and go!" that piqued my interest.

 

Occassionally I need to read a book that has that written. In balance in a way to Breem's book Eagle in the Snow.

 

Here, Artimi:

 

1. Under the Eagle (2000)

2. The Eagles's Conquest (2001)

3. When the Eagle Hunts (2002)

4. The Eagle and the Wolves (2003)

5. The Eagle's Prey (2004)

6. The Eagle's Prophecy (2005)

7. The Eagle in the Sand (2006)

8. Centurion (2007)

9. The Gladiator (2009)

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JGolomb, have you had a chance to read "The Eagle and The Wolves" yet? I just finished it the other night and the one thing I'll take away after reading it is: "GO! Leave the heads and go!" :)

 

Let me know what you thought of it. I waiting on the fifth, "The Eagle's Prey", to come as an inter-library loan, as my library only has the first two books in the series.

Crispina - I think you're psychic. I just started "Wolves" two days ago. Just got past the first battle with the Atrebatan auxiliaries. And yes, the Boars and Wolves need to seriously get the whole head-thing under control. LOL

 

So far I like it. I think it's a pretty strong beginning.

 

How does it compare to the others?

 

Jason

 

I'm not a book reviewer, but in my opinion it is quite like the one before it - When the Eagle Hunts; but I still enjoyed it. With each book, Mr. Scarrow keeps moving you right along as the Roman-Britain conquest progresses. I'm worried about the title of the last book in the series and what it means for our heroes, but maybe I'm wrong.

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Picked up "The Eagle's Prey" this morning at the library, number 5 in the series. Will begin reading it tonight!

Crispina - I finished "Wolves" right before the long weekend. Good story, but not great. Though I felt this book did a lot for the character development of Cato and Macro. I've got the next one on order. How do you like it so far?

 

I started reading Manfredi's "The Last Legion" which, so far, focuses on the last Western Emperor - Romulus Augustus. From reading the historical notes (the book is fiction), it appears the author's going to tie this into Arthurian legend in Britain.

 

So far, though, not as strong as Scarrow.

 

J

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Picked up "The Eagle's Prey" this morning at the library, number 5 in the series. Will begin reading it tonight!

Crispina - I finished "Wolves" right before the long weekend. Good story, but not great. Though I felt this book did a lot for the character development of Cato and Macro. I've got the next one on order. How do you like it so far?

 

I started reading Manfredi's "The Last Legion" which, so far, focuses on the last Western Emperor - Romulus Augustus. From reading the historical notes (the book is fiction), it appears the author's going to tie this into Arthurian legend in Britain.

 

So far, though, not as strong as Scarrow.

 

J

 

 

Don't like to say this, but I'm finding myself skimming over or skipping altogether paragraphs in Eagles Prey when the short swords come out. Guess you just have to be into that sort of thing. Anyway, so far the book is holding my interest. Maximius is not all he seems to be, me thinks. Also, in this book they briefly (so far) mention the Ninth Legion; what year did the disappearance of the Ninth occur? After reading Sutcliff's novels I should know this!

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Picked up "The Eagle's Prey" this morning at the library, number 5 in the series. Will begin reading it tonight!

Crispina - I finished "Wolves" right before the long weekend. Good story, but not great. Though I felt this book did a lot for the character development of Cato and Macro. I've got the next one on order. How do you like it so far?

 

I started reading Manfredi's "The Last Legion" which, so far, focuses on the last Western Emperor - Romulus Augustus. From reading the historical notes (the book is fiction), it appears the author's going to tie this into Arthurian legend in Britain.

 

So far, though, not as strong as Scarrow.

 

J

 

I think part of the problem with the 'The Last Legion' is the translation style. I loved this book and felt there was something left out when it was translated. and I never saw the movie..

I find if I have read the book, the movie is a disappointment. And life is too short for avoidable disappoints:)

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Don't like to say this, but I'm finding myself skimming over or skipping altogether paragraphs in Eagles Prey when the short swords come out. Guess you just have to be into that sort of thing. Anyway, so far the book is holding my interest. Maximius is not all he seems to be, me thinks. Also, in this book they briefly (so far) mention the Ninth Legion; what year did the disappearance of the Ninth occur? After reading Sutcliff's novels I should know this!

 

Crispina - 117AD is when the Ninth disappeared, and that legion was part of Claudius' invasions of Britain. For a nifty little review of Sutcliff's novel, I'd like to point you here: The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

 

And I know what you mean about the battle scenes. I actually enjoy the action...you know, kind of just letting yourself go and enjoying for the sake of itself. But those scenes become a bit repetitive. I'm not sure how unique the descriptions can be when they occur so frequently...over and over and over again. I think that's one of the reasons the first two books were particularly strong (because the battles are "new"), and why "When the Eagle Hunts" was fun (because the battles were more unique than the typical roman set-piece battles).

 

The characters WITHIN the battles, and drama and intrigue BETWEEN the battles, is what makes the books enjoyable.

 

J

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I think part of the problem with the 'The Last Legion' is the translation style. I loved this book and felt there was something left out when it was translated. and I never saw the movie..

I find if I have read the book, the movie is a disappointment. And life is too short for avoidable disappoints:)

 

Artimi - Good point! I think the translator was Manfredi's wife (or maybe sister...or mother...same last names at any rate). I wondered about the very same thing through the first 25 pages or so...the dialogue was rather melodramatic. However,the dialogue is becoming more comfortable as the book progresses.

 

There's virtually little hope for a movie to be equal to its book. There's such depth and detail that a book can provide that's near impossible for a movie to match due to obvious limitations in time and often scope. An obvious exception is the Lord of the Rings film trilogy which I really enjoyed. That being said, I've not read the books...but I'd heard from fans that the movies were strong partners to the books.

 

I watched Angels and Demons over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It didn't hurt that it was based in Rome, mind you. I read the book a few years ago, so couldn't recall every detail, however I thought Ron Howard and the writers did a nice job choosing which parts of the plot to remove or modify in order to work in the film version.

 

J

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I think part of the problem with the 'The Last Legion' is the translation style. I loved this book and felt there was something left out when it was translated. and I never saw the movie..

I find if I have read the book, the movie is a disappointment. And life is too short for avoidable disappoints:)

 

Artimi - Good point! I think the translator was Manfredi's wife (or maybe sister...or mother...same last names at any rate). I wondered about the very same thing through the first 25 pages or so...the dialogue was rather melodramatic. However,the dialogue is becoming more comfortable as the book progresses.

 

I found the book very interesting, as Manfredi (himself a classical scholar) painted quite a vivid picture of the disintegrating Roman World of the 5th Century. Unfortunately for the film many of these details were missed out, the emphasis being on action and the plight of the central characters. Kerstenin arriving in the nick of time with his veterans, putting on his legates helmet as he appeared still gave me a lump in my throat though.

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Crispina - 117AD is when the Ninth disappeared, and that legion was part of Claudius' invasions of Britain. For a nifty little review of Sutcliff's novel, I'd like to point you here: The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

 

And I know what you mean about the battle scenes. I actually enjoy the action...you know, kind of just letting yourself go and enjoying for the sake of itself. But those scenes become a bit repetitive. I'm not sure how unique the descriptions can be when they occur so frequently...over and over and over again. I think that's one of the reasons the first two books were particularly strong (because the battles are "new"), and why "When the Eagle Hunts" was fun (because the battles were more unique than the typical roman set-piece battles).

 

The characters WITHIN the battles, and drama and intrigue BETWEEN the battles, is what makes the books enjoyable.

 

J

 

Thanks for giving me the date in regards to the Ninth Legion, and I read your Sutcliff review back when I began her Eagle of the Ninth series. Re the battle scenes, I think Scarrow does such a great job describing those; so don't get me wrong I don't dislike them really. It's just, as you say, after four books it can get repetitive. I've become very attached to Macro and Cato, even Vespasian and Plautius. ha. That's what keeps me reading,too.

 

CeasarsUnderwear.jpg

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The Eagle's Prey, fifth in the series - finished it last night. I had mentioned that after I read the first several chapters that the book seemed "same ole' same ole'"; but, it quickly takes a turn for the better and in a surprising way! I liked this book, even tho the scenes of capture and torture were pretty graphic. Somehow I knew our heroes would come out "smelling like a rose" but there were times when I wasn't sure what Mr. Scarrow had in mind for Cato and Macro and thought the story of one of these character might just end with this book. Kept me reading that's for sure.

 

Coincidentally, when I opened my email box this morning there was the notice from my library that The Eagle's Prophecy, number six book, was ready to be picked up. Spoiler - back to Rome we go!

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Oh, man bummer. When I picked up Eagle's Prophecy, I requested a search for the next book Eagle in The Sand. The library could not find one copy within the Clevenet system nor the last two books in the series. Not really wanting to purchase the books, I went online anyway to check out Amazon and found some cheaper paperback copies; but then decided to call my local bookstore. They told me they are unable to order me any of the three books as they are unavailable at this time. (He also mentioned that Simon Scarrow must have changed publishers after The Eagle's Prey). Then he suggested the used book store down the street.

 

Hey, I called them and she went to check her shelves and found a paperback copy of Eagle in The Sand for $5! Better than Amazon's $14. I'm picking it up today

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Oh, man bummer. When I picked up Eagle's Prophecy, I requested a search for the next book Eagle in The Sand. The library could not find one copy within the Clevenet system nor the last two books in the series. Not really wanting to purchase the books, I went online anyway to check out Amazon and found some cheaper paperback copies; but then decided to call my local bookstore. They told me they are unable to order me any of the three books as they are unavailable at this time. (He also mentioned that Simon Scarrow must have changed publishers after The Eagle's Prey). Then he suggested the used book store down the street.

 

Hey, I called them and she went to check her shelves and found a paperback copy of Eagle in The Sand for $5! Better than Amazon's $14. I'm picking it up today

Nice score! Pays off to be patient, eh?

 

So I've given up on Manfredi's "The Last Legion". I was actually enjoying the story itself and my major issue, if you recall, was the dialogue. After mentioning that on the boards and a brief discussion, I chalked it up to maybe a poor translation.

 

But as I approached the books half-way point and read through a scene with the following:

Romulus Augustus to Livia (one of his saviors): Are you Aurelius's girlfriend?

Livia: No, I'm not

RA: Would you like to be?

Livia: I don't think it concerns you.

 

Really? RA sounds like a 5 year old whose parents have recently gone through a divorce and mommy is now starting to date...

 

I'm just done with these people. Romulus's character ranges from strong-budding-emperor, to mentally challenged half-wit, to brooding insolent teenager. It was all over the place and I realized that I had too many other interesting books to start on rather than burning another week slogging through this.

 

Has anyone read Manfredi's Alexander series? It seems to be extremely popular (outside the US, at least).

 

J

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"Nice score! Pays off to be patient, eh?"

 

Heh, when I picked it up today the lady told me it was $10. I told her I thought it was $5. "Oh, no - it's $10". Hmmmm. I bought it anyway, saved $4 plus s/h from Amazon. ha It's a thick paperback.

 

She also became very excited about Simon Scarrow and this entire book series. "Another author for me to investigate!" she says. Also, she said I could return the book when finished with it and get 25% credit. Since it was the only copy they had, she was hoping I'd bring it back - so she could read it. Also I can use the credit towards the last two books in the series if they happen to come into the shop. Then she proceeds to rattle off this whole list of historical fiction authors that are her favorites wanting to know if I also enjoy them. I told her the only other author I've read is Rosemary Cutliff (whom she didn't know).

 

And I wouldn't have known about Cutliff or Scarrow if I hadn't found out about them on UNRV.

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