Items related to The Silver Eagle

Kane Ben The Silver Eagle ISBN 13: 9780099579786

The Silver Eagle - Softcover

 
9780099579786: The Silver Eagle
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
“A gripping blend of history, battles, gore, ancient politics, betrayals, consummate and casual cruelty, and sex....a pleasure for those who like history and great adventure.” —Library Journal on The Forgotten Legion

Trapped in Parthia by Crassus’s failed invasion, ten thousand legionaries are captured and marched to the edge of the known world—these men are the Forgotten Legion. Among them are Romulus, Brennus and Tarquinius, all men with troubled pasts and good reason to hate Rome. Together the trio must face the savage tribes that surround them as well as the more treacherous enemies within the ranks of the legion itself. The three friends’ character will be tested to the utter limit as they struggle to find a way back to Rome. Meanwhile, Fabiola, Romulus’ twin sister, fights to survive and maintain hope in her brother’s survival. Freed by her powerful lover but beset by enemies on all sides, she must travel to Gaul to find her lover, Caesar’s right-hand man, where Vercingetorix threatens the life and the lives of all who rally around Caesar.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:
BEN KANE is the author of the critically acclaimed, The Forgotten Legion, and is at work on the concluding volume of this trilogy. He lives in England.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:
I THE MITHRAEUM
EASTERN MARGIANA, WINTER 53. 52 bc
A good mile from the fort, the Parthians finally came to a halt. When the steady crunch of boots and sandals on frosty ground ceased, an overwhelming silence descended. Quiet coughs and the jingle of mail fell away, absorbed by the freezing air. Darkness had not quite fallen, allowing Romulus to take in their destination: a nondescript cliff face of weathered, gray- brown rocks that formed the end of a range of low hills. Peering into the gathering gloom, the powerfully built young sol­dier tried to see what had brought the warriors  here. There  were no build­ings or structures in sight, and the winding path they had been following appeared to come to a dead end at the cliff’s foot. Raising an eyebrow, he turned to Brennus, his friend and surrogate father. “What in Jupiter’s name are we doing  here?”
“Tarquinius knows something,” grunted Brennus, hunching his great shoulders under his thick military cloak. “As usual.”
“But he won’t tell us!” Romulus cupped his hands and blew on them, trying to prevent his fingers and face from going completely numb. His aquiline nose already was.
“It’ll come out eventually,” the pigtailed Gaul replied, chuckling.
Romulus’s protest died away. His eagerness would not speed things up. Patience, he thought.
Against their skin, the two men wore cloth jerkins. Over these, standard-issue mail shirts. While affording good protection against blades, the heavy iron rings constantly drained away their body heat. Woollen cloaks and scarves and the felt liners under their bronze bowl-shaped crested helmets helped a little, but their calf-length russet trousers and heavy studded caligae, or sandals, exposed too much fl esh to allow any comfort.
“Go and ask him,” urged Brennus with a grin. “Before our balls drop off .”
Romulus smiled.
They had both demanded an explanation from the Etruscan haruspex when he’d appeared in their fuggy barrack room a short time earlier. Typi­cally, Tarquinius gave away little, but he had muttered something about a special request from Pacorus, their commander. And the chance of seeing if there was a way out of Margiana. Unwilling to let their friend go off alone, the pair also jumped at the chance of some information.
The last few months had provided a welcome break from the constant fighting of the previous two years. Gradually, however, their life in a Roman fort turned into a numbing routine. Physical training followed guard duty; the repair of equipment replaced parade drill. Occasional patrols provided little in the way of excitement. Even the tribes that raided Margiana did not campaign in winter weather. Tarquinius’s offer therefore seemed heaven- sent.
Yet Romulus’s purpose tonight was more than simple thrill-seeking. He was desperate for even the briefest mention of Rome. The city of his birth now lay on the other side of the world, with thousands of miles of harsh landscape and hostile peoples in between. Was there any chance he might return there one day? Like nearly all his comrades, Romulus dreamed of that possibility day and night.  Here, at the ends of the earth, there was nothing  else to hold on to, and this unexplained excursion might provide a sliver of hope.
“I’ll wait,” he replied at length. “After all, we volunteered to come.” He stamped resignedly from foot to foot. Suspended by a leather carrying strap, his elongated oval shield, or scutum, swung off his shoulder with the move­ment. “And you’ve seen the mood Pacorus is in. He’d probably cut my balls off for just asking. They’re better freezing.”
A laugh rumbled in Brennus’s throat.
Short and swarthy, Pacorus was at the head of the party, dressed in a richly decorated jerkin, trousers, and ankle boots, with a conical Parthian hat and a long bearskin cloak to keep him warm. Under the fur, a delicate gold belt circling his waist had two curved daggers and a jewel-hilted sword slung from it. A brave but ruthless man, Pacorus led the Forgotten Legion, the remnants of a huge Roman army defeated the previous summer by the Parthian general Surena. Together with Tarquinius, the friends  were now merely three of its rank- and-filers.
Once more, Romulus was a captive.
It was ironic, he thought, that his life should be spent exchanging one master for another. First it had been Gemellus, the brutal merchant who owned his entire family—Velvinna, his mother, Fabiola, his twin sister, and himself. Falling on hard times, Gemellus had sold Romulus at thirteen to Memor, the lanista of the Ludus Magnus, Rome’s largest gladiator school. Although less casually cruel than Gemellus, Memor’s sole business was training slaves and criminals to fight and die in the arena. Men’s lives meant nothing to him. At that memory, Romulus spat. To survive in the ludus, he had been forced to end a man’s life. More than once. Kill or be killed: Brennus’s mantra rang in his ears.
Romulus checked that his short, double-edged gladius was loose in its scabbard, that the bone- handled dagger on the other side of his belt was ready for use. The actions  were second nature to him now. A grin creased his face as he caught Brennus doing the same. Like all Roman soldiers, they also carried two iron- headed javelins, or pila. Their companions, a score of Pacorus’s best warriors, stood in marked contrast to them. Clad in simpler versions of their se nior’s clothing, and with a slit-sided woollen cloak rather than a thick fur one, each man was armed with a long knife and a slim case that hung from his right hip. This was large enough to carry his recurved composite bow and a supply of arrows. Proficient with many weapons, the Parthians were first and foremost a nation of highly skilled archers. It was fortunate that he had met none of them in the arena, thought Romulus. All were able to loose half a dozen shafts in the time a man could run a hundred paces. And every one accurate enough to kill.
Fortunately, the ludus was also where he had met Brennus. Romulus threw him a grateful look. Without the Gaul’s friendship, he would have soon suc­cumbed to the savage life. Instead, over two years had passed with only a single life- threatening injury. Then, late one night, a street brawl had gone horribly wrong, and the friends had had to flee Rome together. Joining the army as mercenaries, the general Crassus had become their new master. Poli­tician, millionaire, and member of Rome’s ruling triumvirate, he was desper­ate for the military recognition possessed by his two colleagues, Julius Caesar and Pompey Magnus. Arrogant fool, thought Romulus. If he’d been more like Caesar, we’d all be home by now. Instead of fame and glory, Crassus led thirty-five thou­sand men to a bloody, ignominious defeat at Carrhae. The survivors—about one- third of the army—had been taken prisoner by the Parthians, whose brutality outstripped even that of Memor. Given the stark choices of having molten gold poured down their throats, being crucified, or serving in a border force on Parthia’s unsettled eastern frontier, Romulus and his comrades had naturally chosen the last.
Romulus sighed, no longer so sure that their choice had been correct. It seemed they would spend the rest of their lives fighting their captors’ his­torical enemies: savage nomadic tribes from Sogdia, Bactria, and Scythia.
He was  here to find out if that miserable fate could be avoided.
Excerpted from The Silver Eagle by Ben Kane.
Copyright © 2009 by Ben Kane.
Published in March 2010 by St. Martin’s Press.
All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Buy Used
Condition: Very Good
The Silver Eagle This book is in... Learn more about this copy

Shipping: US$ 5.67
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Destination, rates & speeds

Add to Basket

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781848090132: The Silver Eagle: (The Forgotten Legion Chronicles No. 2)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9781848090132
Publisher: Arrow, 2010
Softcover

  • 9780312672843: The Silver Eagle: A Novel of the Forgotten Legion (The Forgotten Legion Chronicles, 2)

    St. Ma..., 2011
    Softcover

  • 9780312536725: The Silver Eagle: A Novel of the Forgotten Legion

    St. Ma..., 2010
    Hardcover

  • 9781848090118: The Silver Eagle

    Prefac..., 2009
    Hardcover

  • 9780825836992: SILVER EAGLE (MARCH) CONCERT BAND/HARMONIE/FANFARE

    CARL F..., 1999
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Kane Ben
Published by Random House Business Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0099579782 ISBN 13: 9780099579786
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
AwesomeBooks
(Wallingford, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The Silver Eagle This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9780099579786

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 5.25
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 5.67
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Kane Ben
Published by Random House (2012)
ISBN 10: 0099579782 ISBN 13: 9780099579786
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Goldstone Books
(Llandybie, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. All orders are dispatched the following working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we have over 500,000 books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. Seller Inventory # mon0004576131

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 4.38
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 7.56
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Kane Ben
Published by Random House Business Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0099579782 ISBN 13: 9780099579786
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Reuseabook
(Gloucester, GLOS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used; Good. Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Seller Inventory # CHL2571345

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 3.34
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 9.30
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Kane Ben
ISBN 10: 0099579782 ISBN 13: 9780099579786
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Bahamut Media
(Reading, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780099579786

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 5.25
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 8.81
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Kane Ben
Published by Random House Business Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0099579782 ISBN 13: 9780099579786
Used Paperback Quantity: 3
Seller:
WorldofBooks
(Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR004082755

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 14.24
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 6.06
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Kane Ben
Published by Random House Business Books (2012)
ISBN 10: 0099579782 ISBN 13: 9780099579786
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
WorldofBooks
(Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR004164954

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 14.24
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 6.06
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds