The Eagle's Egg

[silverink]

 Just finished reading Rosemary Sutcliff's short story Eagle's Egg, and oh my goodness... it was so good and cute... !!

I loved Quintus and Cordaella's relationship; him courting her by carrying her water from the well was adorable, and I like how much he respects and cares for her! Quintus and Vedrix's relationship was very interesting as well—I particularly liked Quintus asking for his advice about Cordaella, and their conversation about Roman rule over Britain. It reminded me of Marcus and Esca's conversations in The Eagle of the Ninth, and I love that Sutcliff writes those themes into so many of her stories.

The characters, as always in Sutcliff stories, are wonderful: Quintus is such a sweet and awkward dork, especially with Cordaella; Cordaella is an awesome and interesting character too, and she seems like a fierce badass who's also secretly a softie; I adore Vedrix as well, and I feel like he's especially interesting, being a skilled artist and sort of a confidant for Quintus. I want to know more about all of them now tbh! I also really loved how character-oriented this story is and how it mainly focuses on the character's relationships. Pretty much the only plot is Quintus making a terrible joke to stop a rebellion, and that was just delightful to me, it was so pure. 

Comments

[mossgreen]

I ment to reply to this this morning but didn't... I remember reading Eagle's Egg in print years ago, though I don't know what book, or whether it was a stand-alone thing. One of the things that always stuck with me was Vedrix and Cordaella having the same hair though his looked like carrots and hers didn't. It's interesting what things stick with you because I had completely forgotten the single joke that's the core of the story!

And yes, it is very reminiscent of Eagle of the Ninth.

[riventhorn]

I love this one too--it's one of my requests, actually. :) Very much yes to wanting more about Vedrix in particular. His character has so much potential. And Quintus's joke, lol.

[verecunda]

I read this one a few months ago, and I really liked it too! The romance between Quintus and Cordaella was very sweet, and I LOVED Quintus quellling a mutiny by - in his words - making "a bad joke at the right moment." <3 I also like how he's the Ninth's aquilifer - it brings him very close to Marcus and Esca, in a way. :) I like that it adds to the lore of the Ninth's history in Sutcliff's universe.

One bit that really sticks out to me is the mention of him finding Calgacus lying where the fighting had been the heaviest. Since Tacitus doesn't mention him being killed or captured at Mons Graupius, I've got used to thinking he must've escaped, so that bit brought me up with a real "oh no!!" Sutcliff gave him a suitably heroic end, though!