Book Review: Eagle and the Flame by Adam Lofthouse

It’s exciting to be welcoming Adam Lofthouse back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, Eagle and the Flame.

Rebellion is in the air at the far reaches of empire.

Wall of Hadrian, Britannia, AD 367. Tribune Sixtus Victorinus is scouting north of the Wall when he first sees the smoke. Riding south he finds a province in chaos, the local populace in flight, the soldiers absent.

Britannia is ablaze, overrun with barbarians and Valentia is the word on everyone’s lips. But no one seems to have the first clue what it means…

Victorinus may have let his life run to ruin and drunk his youth away, but now he must forge himself into the soldier he always wanted to be, the hero his children think he is.

Because his family are among the missing, and traitors lurk much closer than he could ever believe.

To save his family, he must first save an empire.

EAGLE AND THE FLAME will sweep you through the tumultuous years of the late Roman Empire.

***** 

Having read books by this author before, I was intrigued by his latest book, Eagle and The Flame.

This book is the first in a new series and features Tribune Sixtus Victorinus, a man relegated to patrolling the lands north of Hadrian’s Wall. When the flames of rebellion start to burn around him he must pull himself out of the rut he has been living in and become the solider that Rome needs.

This is the third of Adam’s books I have read and he continues to impress me. You can really tell that he has a passion for history and especially Rome as it come through as really good solid plots and realistic characters.

Many books in the historical fiction genre suffer from focusing too much on battles, with page upon page of description of men dying in new and inventive ways. Don’t get me wrong – there are battles aplenty to slake your thirst for the blood of your enemies, but it is backed up by plot and intrigue worthy of any crime or thriller writer.

I very much enjoyed this novel and look forward to seeing what comes next.

(Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources, Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.) 

About Adam Lofthouse – 

Adam has for many years held a passion for the ancient world. As a teenager he picked up Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden, and has been obsessed with all things Rome ever since.

After ten years of immersing himself in stories of the Roman world, he decided to have a go at writing one for himself.

He lives in Kent, UK.

Say hello to Adam via Facebook, X, Instagram and Bookbub. Click here to sign up to his newsletter. 

Eagle and the Flame is book one in the Shadow of Rome series and was released by Boldwood Books. Click to buy on Amazon, Kobo and Waterstones. 

by

Chris Parish