"Eagle In The Snow" by Wallace Breem centers on the years 405 AD to early 407, capturing a key moment in the Roman Empire's death throes as hundreds of thousands of mostly Germanic peoples mass on the east bank of the Rhine waiting for the river to freeze and to walk into Gaul. The tale is an epitaph for the Roman Empire with General Paulinus Gaius Maximus serving as the lone pall bearer, carrying the weight of an empire marching inexorably toward its grave.Compared to the action adventures of Scarrow, Igguldon or Duffy, the writing style of "Eagle in the Snow" is stark, abrupt and subtle. "Eagle" is deep and the prose and exposition are very genuine. Think of Scarrow and Duffy as TV movies, and Breem as an Oscar-worthy film. It's no surprise that the book was a Bestseller, and in the realm of Roman historical fiction, "Eagle" justifies its praise as a classic. For those less interested in Roman military fiction, like the Rhine itself, "Eagle" runs much deeper.Breem paints a very detailed and accurate picture of life in Maximus' world. This historical novel is as solid in its history as documentation and archaeology allowed in the late `60s, and the liberties taken seem to be few and forgivable. He draws a very vivid exposition of existence at the ends of the Roman earth. He elicits emotion through the subtle interplay between characters and through Maximus' monologue.The story is structured from Maximus' point of view, who narrates all but the prologue and epilogue. He is the consummate Roman - born in Gaul to Roman ancestry, raised to be a soldier. He loves Rome with every thread of his being, and despite never having been there, he loves what the city is and what it represents. Breem's Maximus is the Roman ideal.His cousin Julian was brought up by his own parents as Julian's were forced to commit suicide by a usurping Roman Emperor. Julian also grows up to be a soldier, but at this point the cousins' paths diverge. Maximus and Julian represent two sides of a Roman coin - on one side is Maximus: the Empire, staunch, disciplined, loyal and forever Roman. On the other side is Julian: the Empire in decline, resentful, living-on-the-fringe, and consumed by hatred.Maximus is pushed to break away from the Empire and lead his frontier legions as a new emperor. He declines both times, once to his Roman legion and once to the Germanic tribes. Julian intercedes on the tribes' behalf and Maximus explains why he can't accept: "My Empire has had more usurping Emperors than I can count...all weakened the empire they thought to strengthen. I shall not add to their number." Julian responds: "The Empire is dying, Maximus. It is weaker than when you were a boy..."Maximus ultimately receives no support from any other Roman legion, reflecting the fractured, disaggregated and self-interested nature of the Empire's far-flung nations. The ending is inevitable - though such is the emotive monologue by Maximus that one can't help but feel hope and optimism at each turn in the ultimate series of battles.The Rugged Land edition of the book (published in 2004) provides a detailed list of characters, historical timeline, Roman and modern place names, and glossaries of tribes and 5th century terms. It's particularly helpful that historical figures are distinguished from those that are purely fictional. Maximus, while perhaps loosely based on Generals of the time, is fictional. A more detailed map also would've been helpful.
This book is well worth reading. I’d have given it three stars were it not for Breem’s meticulous attention to the details. Indeed, it’s the historical details that make the book but their description holds it back.Breem delivers us an impeccable story that centres on a hero that is slightly out of keel with the usual ancient hero we are used to thoughtlessly scoffing down. General Maximus is a stoic, loyal type that knows his place and his job. He is very disciplined and personifies the type of hero, largely neglected these days, whose exceptional talent lies in his incorruptible sense of duty. If you looking for Russell Crowe to effortless slice open 10 or 12 guys in the space of 30 seconds before running through a ruddy cheeked Germanic maiden with his pork sword, the chances are you’ll not get through the first chapter. This Maximus is not the brain child of cynical film formulas, rather years of dedicated historical research. You get the sense this book is an act of catharsis for Breem who releases all he has learnt about Roman life and times and marrys it to some of his experiences as a serviceman in the North West Frontier Force. This guy know his shit and the book is believable. But, that’s where it comes a cropper. Breem is equally as disciplined as is hero in his style and draws with illuminating, but at times rather dry, detail the life and times of his minor roman General. He educates us in the practicalities a high ranking solder must face in the fields of politics, logistics and warfare and sets it during Rome’s decline in the 5th century AD. And that’s how it reads. Factual, even when the Germanic tribes get theirs. I personally like this about the book, but would have liked it more if he’d just cut us a bit of slack and left out the more gratuitous descriptions. So three out of five, but strongly recommended.
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Goodness, I am a stubborn reader. Took me 10 days to finish this disappointment, largely because I kept falling asleep each time I picked it up. Great for insomniacs.It had everything going for it - I love military history, enjoy historical fiction, have been reading quite a bit on ancient civilizations over the past two years, am hopefully visiting Rome in December, and it's a "classic bestseller" with oodles of positive GoodReads reviews. Alas.It was clearly meticulously - exhaustively - researched, but historical grounding is just one essential ingredient of successful historical fiction. We also need to care about our characters and become engaged in their situations, and Eagle in the Snow was just cold, remote, and flat in that respect. Never felt like I really got to know any of them. Perhaps it's just a dated writing style. Written by a guy, for guys, in 1970.Summary: Excellent coverage of military strategy and tactics of the fading Roman Empire, lousy character development.
—Carol Smith
When it come to historical fiction you couldn't get a better book than this. In this gripping story Wallace Breem tells us about the life of general Maximus and of Rome’s final stand. The beginning of the novel tells of his years commanding the forces on “the wall” in britannia, but the real adventure start when he is sent to protect Germania against the Vandals, Alans, Franks, Alamanni and Burgundians. However, Maximus soon finds himself abandoned by Rome and is left with nothing but his wits and sense of duty to stand against the looming barbarian hordes. Wallace Breem’s did a great job describing the life of a roman general just before the fall of the empire. This book was also quite suspenseful, almost too suspenseful infact. If you actually think about it at least three quarters of the book was just building up to the final battle which was sort of crammed in at the end. Apart from this however it was a great book and a definite page turner even if it was a bit slow at the beginning. This would be a great book for people who like stories about Rome and are looking for a interesting book to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone ages 17 and up mainly because its probably a bit of a challenging read for anyone younger than that. Although this book might be a bit slow in the beginning it is definitely worth the perseverance.
—Lucas Conway
A splendid novel: an absolute masterpiece!!! I loved the author's style and descriptions of the bleak landscape, forts, and towns; I could feel every sword thrust, the ice and snow, every emotion of the protagonist! The mood of foreboding permeated the whole novel. Set in the 4th and 5th centuries, the time of Honorius, Stilicho, and Galla Placidia, the story is told in the first person in flashback by the dour Roman General Maximus, to a group of tribesmen in Segontium (modern-day Caernarfon, Wales). The general holds to the stoic manly virtues of the earlier Rome. Due to a quirk of fate, the Rhine freezes over and the barbarians cross on the ice to the west bank, overwhelming the Romans at the 30th milestone between Augusta Treverorum (Trier) and Moguntiacum (Mainz). In history, this Rhine battle actually did contribute to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire not many years hence. The ending, in an epilogue, was heart-breaking. The author has clearly done his historical research. Possibly for heightened dramatic effect, the author blended the forced suicide of Martinus, Vicarius of Britannia, with those of Arria and Paetus, all three of them historical figures.
—Jane
