Eagles in the Storm (3) (Eagles of Rome)

Arminius has been defeated, one of the three eagles has been recovered, and thousands of German tribesmen slain.

Yet these successes aren’t nearly enough for senior centurion Lucius Tullus. Not until Arminius is dead, his old legion’s eagle liberated and the enemy tribes completely vanquished will he rest.

But Arminius is still at large, devious, fearless and burning for revenge of his own. Charismatic as ever, he raises another large tribal army, which will harry the Romans the length and breadth of the land.

Into this cauldron of bloodshed, danger and treachery, Tullus must go - alone. His mission – to find and bring back his legion’s eagle – will place him in more danger than he has ever faced before.

Can he succeed? Can he even survive?

The battle of the Teutoburg Forest, or Varian Disaster, took place in Germany, in September of AD 9. Three Roman legions were massacred by native tribes in a supremely well executed ambush. The defeat was one of the greatest ever suffered by Rome, and the body blow it delivered was one of the reasons that the Empire never again made a serious attempt to conquer Germany.

All my books are born from my obsession with Roman history, and this one was no different. Planning and writing a series of novels about the lead-up to this conflict, the battle itself and its aftermath has been thrilling. I have twice visited the area of Germany in which the battle took place, and its many museums. Seeing the equipment, weapons, coins and even the bones of legionaries who’d died in battle didn’t just fuel my imagination – it stirred my soul.

I hope, like me, you will want to immerse yourself in the Eagles of Rome series, to remind yourself why the legend of Rome endures.