One of the best books in the series. Full of action and having Macro play apart of Boudicca's uprising is a stroke of genius. Scarrow keeps delivering in a series I dint want to see end

Death to the Emperor is a brilliant addition to Simon Scarrow’s Eagle series. The more recent additions to the series haven’t felt as strong as the earlier books, but the return to Britannia just gives these books that extra something that makes them great. Reading it felt like I did over 15 years ago when I first picked a Scarrow book up.

I love the wiser, more embittered Cato we now have, as well as the older but slightly more mellow Macro. As always, they work so well together as characters. Add to the mix Boudicca, and it’s like the old gang is back together.

It feels like this is a story Scarrow has wanted to write for years, many previous books have either paved the way for this, or just filled in a few years waiting for it. It’s a powerful story showcasing a rare defeat for the night of Rome, and the cliffhanger ending means waiting another year before we get the violent and bloody finale. I can’t wait.

I really loved this book and the author's writing style. He clearly has researched in depth, the military tactics utilised during that period. The story is centred around two semi-retired Roman army friends who have settled in Camulodunum (Colchester) with their families. The town is surrounded by lands owned by Boudica, the queen of the Iceni tribal. The relationship between the Roman occupiers and the Iceni is initially based on mutual respect, but soon deteriorates into a bloody insurrection.
There is also an interesting parallel .story of a Roman column invading Mona (Anglesea) with the intention of destroying the last of the remaining Druids.
The battle scenes are explicit, without gratuitous horror. The main characters Cato and Macro, are well-rounded and believable. However, having lived in Camulodunum, with a wealth of local knowledge I have a lot of sympathy for the Iceni and Boudica! They were horribly exploited and betrayed by the Romans.
I can thoroughly recommend this book to those that love Roman military history.

The boys are back in Britain, its AD60 and they are in Camulodunum (Colchester) with Macro in semi-retirement and Cato keeping his head down in the quiet backwater of Britain.
But the Roman taxpayers are demanding more and more from the local Iceni tribes and new Queen Boudica is unable to pay. While Macro deals with rising local tensions, Cato is pulled into the campaign to wipe the remaining resistance out on Mona (Anglesea). So the friends spend much of this apart but obviously as we would expect, trouble quickly finds them. Plenty of action in this, but a rare glimpse at the fact that the Roman’s were not the good guys and you feel sympathy for the Iceni.
It's good stuff and everything you could want, but be warned, this ends on a cliff-hanger so everything is not resolved in this book.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the twenty first book of this epic series and our heroes are older wiser at times but still going strong. Quality writing and research are the backbone of this series, throw in a real feel for time and place and no shortage of action and you have the some of the reasons for their success.
The great news is that the ending and Authors notes leave little doubt that at least one more is on the way, personally I hope for many more.
Totally completely recommended.

I have read a couple of Simon Scarrow’s books in the past which I’ve very much enjoyed, although this is the first I’ve read in his extraordinarily long running Eagles of the Empire series. The story follows Prefect Cato and Centurion Macro as the Roman Empire faces a ferocious enemy in Queen Boudica and a violent uprising.

I found Death to the Emperor a thrilling and action packed read which kept me engrossed from beginning to end. The historical aspect is fascinating and brought to life vividly by Scarrow with intriguing characters and bloody clashes. The story is full throttle and whilst there are a lot of characters and locations to keep track of, as a reader you are in safe hands with Scarrow’s expertly constructed, atmospheric and gripping novel. Would highly recommend to historical fans.

AD 60 and Macro and Cato are enjoying a bit of peace in Camulodunum with their families. Macro has now retired and is serving as the Senior Magistrate while Prefect Cato is still in the army but not on active duty. But their peace doesn’t last long. Governor Suetonius is making an attempt to finally conquer Britannia by defeating the Ordovices and the druids on the Isle of Mona and he wants Cato to assist him.

Meanwhile, King Prasutagus of the Iceni is dead and Queen Boudica is now in charge. When the Iceni can’t pay the taxes owed to the Empire it creates a chain of events which culminates in Macro and the inhabitants of Camulodunum having to make one last stand.

This is the twenty-first book in the series and honestly, it’s the one I’ve been waiting for. The story of the rebellion of Boudica is well known to those of us growing up in the UK and I was so excited that this series was finally going to cover these events. The way Simon Scarrow has fleshed out the characters and brought them to life is incredible. I’ve always appreciated how the morality of the Roman invasion has been discussed over this series and how Macro and Cato genuinely see Rome as a guiding light of civilisation. Their insistence that the conquered isles will benefit and should be grateful eerily echoes the arguments of the much later British Empire.

As ever, the level of historical research is astounding and the pace is frenetic. The ending had me gasping and the twenty-second book cannot come soon enough!

Despite Death to the Emperor being the first book I’ve read in the series, I never felt at a loss. The author provides sufficient detail about previous events to help make sense of things but not too much that you feel you’ve learned everything there is to know. Although this is my first introduction to Centurion Macro and Prefect Cato, I loved their partnership borne of mutual respect and a soldierly comradeship forged in the heat of battle. For much of the book, though, they find themselves apart, each wishing they had the other beside them for support and advice, and because of their complementary skills.

Although now officially an army veteran living in the Roman colony of Camulodunum (Colchester), as Macro remarks to his wife, Petronella, ‘You can take the man out of the army, but never the army out of the man’. That will soon be put the test especially since Camulodunum is ‘a powder keg’, surrounded by tribes chafing under the yoke of Roman rule and people left hungry as a result of poor harvests and high taxes. Poorly defended and with a large civilian population, Camulodunum is vulnerable to attack but only a few, like Macro, can see the potential danger.

Both Cato and Macro find themselves under the command of men whose actions they doubt or whose motives they distrust. For Cato, that man is Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, Governor of Britannia. Suetonius is ambitious for military success. ‘Rulers need victories and heroes keep the mob happy.’ He does not much care how many of his soldiers die in the process so long as he achieves his objective which in this case is to attack and destroy a stronghold of the Druid cult on the island of Mona (Anglesey).

Macro has drawn an even shorter straw in the person of Procurator Decianus, the man tasked with collecting the tribute owed to Rome by the Iceni, ruled by Queen Boudica. Macro has his measure from the start, ‘You seek power and riches and you don’t care who you have to ruin to achieve that… You don’t serve Rome’s interests, only your own, even if that means putting the Empire in danger’. Decianus considers the Iceni savages and demonstrates this in the most ruthless way. Realising Macro’s worst fears, his actions set in motion a series of events that will threaten Rome’s hold on the province of Britannia and the lives of the Romans who have settled there. This includes Cato, Macro and their families.

As you might expect, the book is full of authentic detail about weaponry, military strategy, social and religious customs and much, much more. There are some terrific set pieces such as the assault on the island of Mona which involves not just a battle against a ferocious enemy but against the elements too. Battle scenes are brought thrillingly to life, putting the reader right in the heart of the action. ‘The two sides became a heaving mass of helmets, crests, blades, spears, swords and axes, amid sprays of crimson and a cacophany of weapns clashing and thudding home on shields and limbs’.

Although history tells us how the uprising led by Boudica ended, the book’s stunning but savage conclusion leaves many questions unanswered about the fate of some characters, meaning book twenty-two cannot come too soon.

I have to admit that this is the first book I read in this series and I thoroughly enjoyed it as Cato, Macro, Petronilla and the characters are fleshed out and relatable even if they’re act and think like you expect someone did 2 thousand years ago.
It was a fascinating read as Boudica’s rebellion is a fascinating topic as it’s also one that changes according to the personal point of view of the reader: feminist ante litteram, nationalist or simply someone who rebelled against the power of the Romans.
I found the descriptions of life in Britain in the I century very interesting and they made me wish I know more about the lifestyle.
The story is tightly plotted, full of actions, and gripping. It’s fast paced and the excellent storytelling kept me hooked and turning pages.
There’s plenty of twists that surprised me and kept me on the edge till the last page.
I appreciated the historical notes and I am glad I was able to read this story, discover this intriguing series, and learn something new.
I want to read the rest of the series because this book can be read as a stand alone but I want to learn more about these characters.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Headline for this digital copy, all opinions are mine.

i am a long standing fan of Simon Scarrow’s Macro and Cato, i have followed their adventures from book one. once again, another captivating story about two of my favourite ancient world warriors. Roman Britain vividly portrayed in all her brutsl glory..well done Mr Scarrow, another riveting read.