BookSeriesInOrder.com





Book Notification

Cato & Macro Books In Order

Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.

Publication Order of Eagle Books

Under the Eagle (2000)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Eagle's Conquest (2001)Description / Buy at Amazon
When the Eagle Hunts (2001)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Eagle and the Wolves (2003)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Eagle's Prey (2004)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Eagle's Prophecy (2005)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Zealot / The Eagle in the Sand (2006)Description / Buy at Amazon
Centurion (2007)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Gladiator (2009)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Legion (2009)Description / Buy at Amazon
Praetorian (2011)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Blood Crows (2013)Description / Buy at Amazon
Brothers in Blood (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon
Britannia (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon
Invictus (2016)Description / Buy at Amazon
Day of the Caesars (2017)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Blood of Rome (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon
Traitors of Rome (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Emperor's Exile (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Honour of Rome (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
Death to the Emperor (2022)Description / Buy at Amazon
Rebellion (2023)Description / Buy at Amazon

Cato and Macro series, otherwise known as Eagle series is a book series written by Simon Scarrow. This book series focuses on the history of ancient Rome, from around AD 42, but specifically on the experiences and adventures of two major characters of the book, Quintus Licinius Cato and Lucius Cornelius Macro, in their military and political world.

Cato and Macro are both army soldiers in the ancient Rome. Cato starts off as a recruit at a time when Macro is a centurion in the army. When Cato arrives as a recruit, he is described as a tall weak looking lad. He has been made to join the army as part of the terms of agreement for him to gain his freedom. He is of German decent and comes from the imperial palace. Due to his weak nature, many soldiers write him off including Macro. They even bet on how long he would last in the army before he gets killed or quits. This leads to resentment from his fellow soldiers and when the emperor, with whom he has ties, orders that he gets promoted to an Optio, things only get worse between him and the rest of the soldiers. His determination however brings him favor in front of Macro’s eyes, who was a centurion and Cato’s superior. This eventually leads to the formation of a friendship that goes a long way in making these two characters inseparable and in almost all military missions carried out the duo carries out the work together. Cato’s determination sees him rise through the ranks up to a point where he gets promoted to a centurion and finally a Prefect. At some point, he temporarily has a bigger position than Macro in the army. His quick rise to success is unlike the quick passing of his age as he gets to hold high positions in a very young age that at some point a senior surgeon forgets his rank and mistakenly refers to him as a junior officer.

Macro is a veteran, having 16 years experience in the Roman army. At the start of the series, he has just been appointed as a centurion, when he gets to meet Cato. Macro is a skilled man in battle and warfare and quite obedient to his seniors as every order from a more senior officer than him is observed to the latter. However, this is not the case with one senior officer by the name Vitellius, due to personal issues between them. Despite the bad blood between him and Vitellius, Macro remains loyal to Rome. He even protects the emperor from assassination which was planned by his bitter rival Vitellius. He is also a lover of the bottle and can easily get into brawls with people, but this doesn’t greatly affect his relations with people. His experience is very key in the army and this sees him get promotions, from a centurion of the sixth century of the fourth cohort of the second legion to a prefect in charge of Fort Bushir in Judea; a rank he attains in the seventh sequel.

In the first book of the series,” Under the Eagle,” Cato and Macro are ranked as Optio and Centurion respectively in the Roman army. Emperor Claudius is on a conquest to capture Britain and has sent his forces to war. Some of the senior officers sent to this mission include Vitellius and Vespasian. At the battle front, Macro and Cato start witnessing strange happenings in their camp such as secret missions, betrayals and ambushes. Vitellius, a senior officer who has bad blood with Macro is the cause of all these strange happenings in the camp as he is not at the battle front to fight for Rome, but for his own selfish interests. Vitellius is planning to steal Caesar’s pay chest, that contains a good size of valuable gold. Macro and Cato’s army skills and survival tactics are put to test as they try to survive at the battle front and win not only the battle for Britain but also internal battles in their own camp.

In the sequel,” The Eagle’s Conquest,” the plot gets thicker for the protagonists; Macro and Cato. The book has two plots in one read, the first half focusing on the war with Britain while the last half focusing on a planned assassination of the emperor. The protagonists are among the soldiers at the front line fighting for the capture of Britain by Rome from the forces of the King of the Celtic tribes of Britain, Caractus. Vitellius is a rogue senior officer who is in this war not for the interest of Rome but for his own interest. He is in a love triangle with Cato. They are both lovers to a slave girl going by the name Lavinia. However, Vitellius is after more than the love of Lavinia. He has his eyes on the seat of the emperor of Rome, Claudius. All along, he has been plotting the assassination of the emperor with Lavinia and a Carthaginian surgeon as his accomplices. This plot gets foiled by Macro and Cato, who feels betrayed by Lavinia after discovering that he had been part of a love triangle. To cover himself up, Vitellius murders Lavinia and the assassin.

Later on in the series, (Centurion) we get to see Cato fall in love again, this time with the daughter of a senator called Julia. Julia and her father had been trapped in a citadel but they survived. She promises Cato that she will get married to him at the end of “Centurion”.

The whole Macro and Cato series is an epic story that captivates the reader all through the reading. Macro and Cato are a powerful duo, who use their military skills and logic to handle cases and do investigations on life threatening cases. They are able to foil Vitellius’ selfish plans twice and save Rome from shame and defeat. The writer has well explained the structure of the Roman army at the time very well in the first book thus ensuring a reader who has no prior knowledge of the Roman Empire and its security structures gets to understand them easily thus understand the whole series. The protagonists, Macro and Cato not only offer entertainment to the reader but also life lessons and skills such as loyalty, bravery and persistence.

This is a great read for anyone who wants to enjoy some historical fiction and great sword action from the ancient fights.

Book Series In Order » Characters » Cato & Macro

5 Responses to “Cato & Macro”

  1. peter Gedling: 1 year ago

    When is the next book after death to the emperor, really was so gripping, it finished leaving me desperate for the next one ASAP.

    Reply
  2. Scott Andrews: 1 year ago

    I’ve just finished DEATH TO THE EMPEROR I’m hoping this is not the end for macro and Cato any idea when the next book will be published please a devoted reader

    Reply
  3. Victoria Haselden: 1 year ago

    Dear Mr Scarrow,Love your Macro and Cato series but would it be too much to ask that both heroes find true love and rewards for their endurance and loyalty protecting Rome. After all there is the young Lucius to raise as well as Macro’s most excellent love interest waiting for him. Try not to let your painful personal trials blight all the fairer sex.
    Thank you for the history lessons describing the Romes campaigns though when will man be learn not to steal other’s land.Best wishes, VH

    Reply
  4. Joe Santoni: 2 years ago

    Have you any Idea where I might find “Brothers in Blood” in an audio format?

    Thank you.
    Joe Santoni

    Reply
    • Graeme: 2 years ago

      Hi Joe – Audible has it.

      Reply

Leave a Reply