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A review by topdragon
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
4.0
If you're looking for a good novel to get a young person hooked on historical fiction, look no further. This is the first of an 8-book series, each of which can be read as a stand-alone novel. This first one is about a young Roman legionnaire named Marcus Flavius Aquila who leads a unit to Britain, gets injured to the point where he can no longer participate and thus must find his own way forward...without the Roman army that has been his home for so long. He embarks on a quest to recover the lost eagle standard of the Ninth Roman Legion who, fifteen years before, had marched into northern Britain and disappeared forever. Not coincidentally, that Legion had been commanded by Marcus' own father.
The story is not the typical Roman legion war fighting kind of novel but rather a story about a young man who must find a new place in the world for himself. He must discover who he is outside of the Roman army, where his destiny lies, and how to find his way. It's sort of a coming-of-age novel, even though Marcus is already a grown man, albeit still young for a commander. It's a fully engaging story with nicely rounded characters and a plot that remains interesting throughout. While young readers will likely enjoy it, I believe adults will like it equally. And if so, there are seven more novels that feature Marcus' descendants in Roman Britain and beyond.
The story is not the typical Roman legion war fighting kind of novel but rather a story about a young man who must find a new place in the world for himself. He must discover who he is outside of the Roman army, where his destiny lies, and how to find his way. It's sort of a coming-of-age novel, even though Marcus is already a grown man, albeit still young for a commander. It's a fully engaging story with nicely rounded characters and a plot that remains interesting throughout. While young readers will likely enjoy it, I believe adults will like it equally. And if so, there are seven more novels that feature Marcus' descendants in Roman Britain and beyond.