''Praetorian'' (2011) is the eleventh book in the '' Eagles of the Empire'' series by Simon Scarrow.

Plot summary

Macro and Cato are spending their days at an inn in Ostia, awaiting orders from

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Claudius's secretary, Narcissus. Narcissus finally arrives and orders the duo to go

undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

in the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

to uncover a plot to assassinate the emperor. As instructed, the duo joins the Praetorian guard under different names and try to uncover the plot. During their operation they face their old foe,

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of ci ...

. They succeed in saving the emperor on more than one occasion. In the climax, it is hinted that they will return to Britain to help in the invasion there.

References

* 2011 British novels Eagles of the Empire Novels set in the 1st century {{2010s-war-novel-stub