Rome: The Eagle of the
Twelfth
- M.C.
Scott
Publisher: Bantam
Demalion of Macedon never wanted to be a legionary. An unwilling recruit, he is appalled to be posted to the infamous XIIth legion, notorious for its ill luck. Promoted slowly through the ranks, he does his best to please his superiors, and in doing so, finds that he has come to love his legion, that he will willingly give up his life -- and his chance of death -- to protect its sacred heart: the Eagle.
Rome
managed to conqueror and hold vast amounts of land in its hay day with its
military might based in its legions. This story tells the tale of a reluctant
solder – at least at first - and how he grows into his role of warrior through
form friendships with his comrades. I have to confess I’m not usually a fan of
war stories and this book is a war story albeit set in Roman times. Focusing on
the eastern edge of the empire, where the Roman Empire meets the empire of the
King of Kings, this tells the tale of one of Romans campaigns to hold Jerusalem
and surrounded environs from local horse lords and rebel Hebrews.
This
give a real inside view of what life is like in a legion – complete with floggings,
intense close relationships between soldiers and war games. The description of
the surroundings and the every life of the legion is well portrayed and
multi-coloured. At times you could taste the sweat of the soldiers and smell
the copper of blood. However, I never really felt an emotional connection to
the main character. As a result I read the whole story as if from a birds-eye
view. I watched all that was happening but never really felt part of it. I
suspect that’s mostly my fault as I don’t usually read a lot of war stories.
But I couldn’t stop watching nonetheless.
From
the description I thought this was going to be an undercover mission to rescue
the eagle of the Twelve, but it’s more a story of the Twelve and the hardships
they faced over ten years. A detailed and involving story which will thrill and
delight those who love historical stories and Roman period especially, but for
some reason fell a little short for me personally.
Recommended
for fans of Conn Iggulden and Douglas Jackson. 7 out of 10
I'm not big on war stories either, but I find it interesting that it had you involved on some level. Still, I don't think this one is for me and I suspect it would fall short for me as well. Still, brilly review!
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