Praetorian (Eagles of the Empire 11)

Cato & Macro: Book 11

By: Simon Scarrow

Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong

IF YOU DON'T KNOW SIMON SCARROW, YOU DON'T KNOW ROME!

PRAETORIAN is the gripping eleventh novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Eagles of the Empire series. Essential reading for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. 'A new book in Simon Scarrow's series about the Roman army is always a joy' The Times

AD 51. Legionaries Cato and Macro have forged a bond that has survived war, rebellion and torture. Yet nothing has prepared them for a daunting mission on the deadliest battlefield of all: the bloody streets of Rome.

Traitors are threatening to plunge the Empire into bloody chaos and no one can be trusted. The Emperor has ordered Cato and Macro to go on a deadly mission, working undercover to root out the traitors before Rome tears itself apart.

As the true scale of the corruption dawns, they realise they are facing terrifying odds. Two men against many, in a desperate race to save not only the Empire, but each other...

(P)2011 Headline Publishing Group Ltd©2011 Simon Scarrow

Good story, meh delivery

Another good installment for the series, with cloak and dagger intrigue. The story was however spoiled by the poor character differentiation that Johnathan Keeble has. Previously Steven Pacey did a wonderful job of differentiating the wisened older macro vs the younger cato and all the other characters. One could jump in at any stage of a chapter and know exactly who the character was. But with Keeble's reading, I find that except for the warehouse watchman, the emperor and the monty python like female voices, they all sound the same. Especially the two main characters, macro and Cato. This was extremely disappointing. Maybe I have just been spoilt with the excellent character voices of Pacey, but Keeble's rendition leaves a disappointing aftertaste.

These Are Enjoyable

Praetorian is a fun story to listen to. Indeed, the entire series is great to listen to. It seemed like the first couple of books made some references to historical events which sort of provided a bit of grounding. The later books don’t seem to do this. Or, if they do, the references are too obscure for me. Who cares, just listen to them!

What you've come to expect

Brilliant story where we left off, from the heart of Rome this time. New narrator again, but he too worked out nicely. Great job.
Next please.

it's a fresh change for Cato and Makro

Cato and Makro being in Rome is a fresh change and the spy aspects is nice. having anyone but Jonathan Keeble narrate or David Thorpe makes this book kind of dull though. it was easy enough to get through but I felt like I was just rushing to get to the next one that Jonathan narrates

An ancient who done it.

This was my first venture into audiobook fiction.
If you like Roman history, and you were a fan of HBO's 'Rome', You'll be glued to this one.
Im going to seek his other stuff out, post haste.