It took me a really long time to sink my teeth into this one, but once I got going it was a great ride. Hunter's prose was really smooth and I enjoyed the action in this book quite a bit. The middle did suffer from some pacing issues, but the climax was really good. I love this time period, and Faustus was a great protagonist to experience it through. I will continue this series!

Shadow of the Eagle. An absolute page turner from start to finish and a really great read! We follow a young man on his journey up the ranks of the Roman army based in Britain. The story is a great insight in to the way in which Rome tried to conquer the whole of Britain, but also of the defence against her might.
The humour throughout was great and added a real personality to the different characters. The constant change of aims for the main character also kept me engaged throughout!
Can’t wait for the next instalment!

This is a fascinating novel exploring the Roman Conquests of Caledonia, and further exploring the mystifying mythology of the Celtic Isles complete with rip-roaring action, grand narrative, and excellent characters. This novel felt like I had time traveled into the past and was witnessing something epic. Something amazing. Mostly what is known about the relationship between Scottish History and Rome is that there were the Picts and they just kept on raiding Hadrian's wall, which assumes to be the most popular stereotype, when this novel fleshes out the fact that the Caledones (before the Irish Celtic Tribes I believe moved over to Scotland) used to rule much of old Scotland back then and they were more closely related to the Britannic Tribes. This is important to note, because the Caledones may have been one of the most powerful confederations that Rome often had to face in Britannia.

With Agricola being the newly appointed Governor of Britain during this era, he had been one of Rome's most famous generals; helping Vespasian assume power during the Year of the Four Emperors. He led his army to Scotland, and Wales and ventured deep into the far North of the Highlands. During this novel, we begin to see the journey of Faustus Valerianus and how he builds a disorganized legion into one of the best, as they campaign with General Agricola. There's a lot of insight from different points of view: The Celtic Tribes, and the Romans. There are many good characters in this novel that I don't want to spoil. Also, if there was any reason that the Romans were successful against their Germanic or Britannic counterparts, it was because they used divide and conquer. You will find that some Celtic tribes in this novel prefer to be on the cusp of Rome. And other tribes resent it. And therefore this infighting or the inability of the Celtic tribes to adopt Roman tactics, is what really led to their downfall. Studying Arminius and Teutoberg Forest is something I really recommend.

There's a far deeper story here; from Romans learning about the culture of this island, from Selkies and Celtic Mythology being explored; there's a fascinating insight into how the Romans perceived the world, and how their enemies perceived them. And Faustus is also ongoing a period of guilt and sadness from having to deal with the ghosts of his past. And that's a good clue you can take. That being said, there wasn't one central villain in this novel, and that was a good thing. This novel showed both the grey, the good, and the ugly. It showed that all people want is peace, but the desire to expand, to need and want more than what you already have, and never being content with what you have already, is the real reason. It's a really great novel, and it feels like the start of something epic. I really recommend this novel and give this a 10/10.

Amazon review submitted

This is one of those book, the kind that you don't want to put down and feel bereft when you have finished it. There is a great ending that leaves way for many follow on books with the various characters to 'do their own thing'.

Having read a great deal of Rosemary Sutcliff's work on Roman Britian, I really enjoyed the Shadow of the Eagle. Hunter is not just a good writer and storyteller, but also a good researcher. Recommended for anyone interested in historical fiction of the Roman empire.

This gripping and highly entertaining start of a new historical series. It's a well written page turner that kept me hooked and entertained till the end.
I liked the the different POVs, the humour, and the storytelling.
I can't wait to read the next story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Shadow of the Eagle follows Faustus Valerianus, son of a Roman father and British mother, as he joins legendary general Agricola's campaign to conquer the British Isles.

I have a love for all things ancient history and was really excited to read this. The book splits between the pov of Faustus, and Calgacos, leader of the Caledones - Roman v Britain - and it is masterfully done so that you find yourself conflicted about who you want to triumph (alas, why couldn't they all just get along !) This is a story less focused on battles (though there are several, and I found them to be actually nail-biting) and more on relationships - the intricacies and politics of both sides which I found particularly interesting when it came to the Highland clans. And whilst I expected this to be a male dominated book, I was pleasantly surprised to find the inclusion of several strong, independent (to the extent they could be in that time) females- in particular Aelwen, the wife of Calgacos.

Several myths are woven into this book, for example the hill people and selkies, but in such a way as to explain the origin of the myths in a believable (as opposed to outlandish) way.

There was an unexpected warmth and humour to this tale; it is well-researched, well-written and I would highly recommend. I actually have Amanda's Centurions series on my bookshelf and can't wait to dive into those!

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written with a compelling storyline that I learnt things from and well developed charcaters. I really liked it,