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Books read or listened to during December

2/4/2016

Friends

This is the list of books that I read or listened to as part of my target of 52 books in a year during the month of December.

The Poisoned Pen – Arthur B Reeve.
Railway To the Grave by Edward Marston
Time Machine by H G Wells
Whose Body by Dorothy Sayers
The Exploits of Elaine by Arthur B. Reeve
Crusade by Robyn Young
Preaching Matters by Jonathan Lamb
Extraordinary People by Peter May
Requem by Robin Young
Brothers in Blood by Simon Scarrow

This takes us to the end of week eleven with the following stats fiction 18 (audio books 4) non fiction 5

The Blood Crows by Simon Scarrow

4/8/2015

Friends

This is my review of the book The Blood Crows by Simon Scarrow which I have read recently. This is the ongoing saga of our Roman army heroes Cato and Macro. They have now been re-posted back to Britain to hopefully avoid all the political scandals that are going on in Roman with the Emperor and his advisor's.

The current campaign is to remove all resistance from the remaining native tribes in Britain. As such they are placed in a remote outpost surrounded by native tribes. Cato is to take control of the outpost but the previous Prefect died in mysterious circumstances, and the outpost is currently being run by Centurion Quertus.

Centurion Quertus has gained a reputation as a fearless commander, but when a captured native is scared stiff at the thought of being taken to the outpost for questioning Cato & Marco begin to wonder just what this reputation is. When they come across a series of marker posts with human heads on them they become even more concerned.

Add to the mix fanatical King Caratacus who leads the native tribe army and is out to destroy the outpost, then one wonders along with Cato and Marco just who is the enemy and who are they fighting.

An enjoyable book, though I did not enjoy it as much as others in the series. I will record this as book 29 week 23 fiction 27 (audio books 4) non fiction 2

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Praetorian by Simon Scarrow

1/16/2013

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This is my review of the book Praetorian by Simon Scarrow – book 52 and the final book in this current list. It was actually finished a few days ago, but I am a bit behind in my reviews.

This is the continuing saga of our heroes Cato and Macro and their undercover exploits working for Narcissus to save Emperor Claudius from all would be assassins.

The tale starts with a massive bullion robbery, and then migrates to corruption, at the highest levels. To keep the emperor safe and to infiltrate the liberators Cato and Marco are sent undercover as lowly legionaries in the Praetorian guard. These are the special soldiers tasked with guarding the emperor and his family. They also have the best perks.

The story then migrates to a grain shortage and hunger riots in the Roman streets, as they try and root out the traitors.

It is an enjoyable tale of fiction and fact intermingled together, and Simon manages to paint a very realistic picture of life in the Rome during AD51.

This was book 52 fiction 48 (14 on audio) non fiction 4 and the final book on this list.

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The Legion by Simon Scarrow

8/13/2012

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This is the ongoing saga of our Roman friends Marco and Cato and their adventures. They are on the trail of Ajax the rebel gladiator. He is now going around with his band of rebels killing Romans, leaving one alive and making sure that, that person knows it was Marco and Cato who had attacked them. All of this causes a great deal of upset with the locals.

They chase him to Egypt and end up in prison...

At the same time the Nubians to the south also start a rebellion. Eventually Ajax joins with the Nubians and the governor of Egypt orders Cato and Marco to join the twenty-second legion and help defeat the Nubians and Ajax. The only issue is can they cope with an enemy that is considerably more numerous than they are and a legion that is more used to sitting by the pool under the shade of a palm tree..and of course after many skirmishes – do they manage to catch Ajax..

An enjoyable contrast to the Olympics as book 19 week 12 fiction 19 (7 on audio) non fiction 0

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Gladiator by Simon Scarrow

3/30/2012

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Here we find our heroes Macro and Cato, at sea off the isle of Crete when a huge tidal wave damages their ship. They have to put into shore for repairs and find that large parts of the Island have been devastated by a Tsunami and earth quake. Most of the ruling Romans have been killed and it is up to Marco and Cato to help run things.

Very quickly they find that the salves on the island now start revolting against their masters, and then one ruthless gladiator takes control. He quickly forms a large army of rebels, killing off any resistance from the Romans. Till all that is left between him and victory are our friends..

I will leave it there otherwise it will spoil the story. The book is good fun and very readable. It is the ninth book in the Eagle series. This is book 41, week 31 read novels 28, poetry 1, study, audio 10.

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Centurion by Simon Scarrow

1/10/2012

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This holiday period I seem to be doing well in catching up with my reading. This book was finished a few days ago, but I did not get round to doing my review of it till now. The book continues the saga of our friends Macro and Cato and their life in the Roman Army. This time they are having “fun” in the desert kingdom of Palmyra. Trying to stop a rebellion in the Roman provinces, that will lead all the way back to Rome.

It was amusing reading the wonderful descriptions of their actions in the hot sandy desert, especially when it was so wet and cold outside. Fiction making a perfect contrast to reality. Simon seems to manage to stack the odds against our heroes in ever increasing amounts with each book, but still they manage to save the day by the end of the book. As one of the quotes on the cover said “a rip-roaring read”

So this is week 21 written book 16 audio book 7 total 23

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Books read or listened to during December

The Blood Crows by Simon Scarrow

Praetorian by Simon Scarrow

The Legion by Simon Scarrow

Gladiator by Simon Scarrow

Centurion by Simon Scarrow

Tim Fuller

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