Eagle in the Snow

"Eagle in the Snow" (ISBN 1-59071-011-8) is a modern classic of historical fiction. Written in 1970 by Wallace Breem, the novel is set in Britannia and Germania in the late 4th and early 5th century, and centers on the Roman general Paulinus Gaius Maximus, a Mithraic in an age of Christianization. Maximus and his friend Quintus command the defence of Hadrian's Wall, but when news comes of an impending Germanic invasion across the Rhine, Maximus is promoted to 'General of the West' and reassigned to Moguntiacum, where he and his one legion are tasked with defending the entire border between Germania and Gaul.

As he is carrying out his duties, more and more of his allies—including those who were once his enemies—try to persuade Maximus to seize the Western Emperorship for himself. Despite the tempation of the Western throne, Maximus remains true to his sense of honor and duty. In a cruel twist, Maximus finds himself fighting for an empire rapidly converting to Christianity where his traditional pagan beliefs are only reluctantly tolerated.

The character of Maximus is loosely based on the real-life Marcus, who was declared Emperor of the West by his legions in Britannia but was soon executed. The Germanic invasion that Maximus defends against was the real Germanic invasion of Gaul in AD 406.