[sufue]

Under the Eagle is the first in the Cato and Macro series by Simon Scarrow. I wasn't quite sure whether to classify this as historical fiction or as a historical thriller and put it in the mystery/thriller thread but eventually ended up here. When I first started buying titles in this series in DTB while in the UK on business trips, they were sometimes found in the "crime" (UK-speak for mystery ) section, which is how I found the series to start with, but eventually they moved to either more general fiction, or military fiction if the bookstore was big enough to sort that out. In any case, this is a great series (IMO) that I have enjoyed sharing with my son. (Even giving him nightmares when he was very young about the druids in one of the books...hmmmm...) I think the series is not very well known in the US, but I have the impression it is a big deal in the UK - someone UK-ish could comment, perhaps.

Anyway, Under the Eagle has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US and other US retailers. Be careful - there are two versions of this - a Headline version that is the $0.99 one, and a St. Martin's press that is $9.99. You don't want to make that mistake!

Kindle US link: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Eagle-E.../dp/B00GW4VXL8
Kobo US link: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/eb...f-the-empire-1
BN US link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unde...=9780755350827

Spoiler:

UNDER THE EAGLE is the gripping first novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling EAGLES OF THE EMPIRE series. A must read for fans of Bernard Cornwell.

It is AD 42, and Quintus Licinius Cato has just arrived in Germany as a new recruit to the Second Legion, the toughest in the Roman army. If adjusting to the rigours of military life isn't difficult enough for the bookish young man, he also has to contend with the disgust of his colleagues when, because of his imperial connections, he is appointed a rank above them. As second-in-command to Macro, the fearless, battle-scarred centurion who leads them, Cato has more to prove than most in the adventures that lie ahead.
Then the men discover that the army's next campaign will take them to a land of unparalleled barbarity - Britain. After the long march west, Cato and Macro undertake a special mission that will thrust them headlong into a conspiracy that threatens to topple the Emperor himself...