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kyrilson's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
gnull's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome book! It's been on my TBR for so long that I can't remember where I heard of it. Luckily I found it on Kindle Unlimited!
It drew me in from the beginning. I can only assume that it was because of the strong main character, Stiger. He is strong but wise and compassionate, at the same time not expecting anything but the best from his men.
It would be straight historical fiction but for the elves and magic and the like.
I want to and that it seems to be meant for adults, but if a young person is interested, I don't recall any inappropriate material.
What a great adventure!
It drew me in from the beginning. I can only assume that it was because of the strong main character, Stiger. He is strong but wise and compassionate, at the same time not expecting anything but the best from his men.
It would be straight historical fiction but for the elves and magic and the like.
I want to and that it seems to be meant for adults, but if a young person is interested, I don't recall any inappropriate material.
What a great adventure!
sparrowhank's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the world, plot and character (although lacking some sort of female character even if its in a military context). The writting it self needs work, it tells more than it shows and its confusing at times. Hopefully the author improves this in the consequent books which I am looking forward to read.
elliottm3's review against another edition
2.0
Weak book...contains hardly any world-building, only one dimensional characters, no plot depth. I mainly read it because it was free on amazon prime, but I'll pass on the sequels
ogrezed's review against another edition
5.0
Another book by this author that I had trouble putting down. A book of this length usually takes me a week to read, instead of just 2 days. I was expecting historical fiction, but it does have fantasy elements like elves and dwarves. No romance, which surprised me.
rosseroo's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book in a series that takes Imperial Rome and transports it to a fantasy setting. In it, we meet a battle-hardened officer of the Legion, as he and his trusted elf Lieutenant make their way to a new assignment to a garrison fighting rebels in the southern provinces. They arrive at a ramshackle camp that's the complete opposite of what an imperial garrison should be, and are assigned the worst company to lead on a relief mission to a fort that has lost communication with the garrison.
The first 2/3 of the book is a pretty typical tale of a veteran officer taking command of a rag-tag batch of low-morale soldiers and whipping them into shape via cunning and example. Along the way, readers are enlightened on various aspects of soldiering based on the Roman model. I feel like I've read something very very similar, but can't recall if it was in Simon Scarrow's "Eagle" series about a Roman officer, or one of KJ Parker's books, or in one of Bernard Cornwell's various series. In any event, it's pretty typical military fiction stuff, fairly well executed.
The final third of the book is the expedition to the fort, and the fantasy element finally comes into play a little bit, as a paladin tags along, a magic sword appears, unearthly evil rears its head, and a nod to future books in given with an epilogue introducing dwarves. All in all, it's nothing special, but should appeal to fans of military fiction based on the Roman Empire who don't mind a mild seasoning of fantasy elements.
The first 2/3 of the book is a pretty typical tale of a veteran officer taking command of a rag-tag batch of low-morale soldiers and whipping them into shape via cunning and example. Along the way, readers are enlightened on various aspects of soldiering based on the Roman model. I feel like I've read something very very similar, but can't recall if it was in Simon Scarrow's "Eagle" series about a Roman officer, or one of KJ Parker's books, or in one of Bernard Cornwell's various series. In any event, it's pretty typical military fiction stuff, fairly well executed.
The final third of the book is the expedition to the fort, and the fantasy element finally comes into play a little bit, as a paladin tags along, a magic sword appears, unearthly evil rears its head, and a nod to future books in given with an epilogue introducing dwarves. All in all, it's nothing special, but should appeal to fans of military fiction based on the Roman Empire who don't mind a mild seasoning of fantasy elements.
brian's review against another edition
3.0
Sort-of Roman army story, mixed in with fantasy elements.
Fairly standard story of new officer with a past gets given some dregs from the army and moulds them into the best fighting unit around.
Although there's nothing especially new or exciting, it's a well written book with decent characters.
Contains a good mixture of fighting, politics and details of the history without bogging down in page filler material.
Fairly standard story of new officer with a past gets given some dregs from the army and moulds them into the best fighting unit around.
Although there's nothing especially new or exciting, it's a well written book with decent characters.
Contains a good mixture of fighting, politics and details of the history without bogging down in page filler material.