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Casca: The Eternal Mercenary

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A while back a friend of mine mentioned something about a series of books following a man who is immortal, and this man was immortal because he was cursed to live forever by Christ as he was dying on the Cross. The man's name is Casca. Casca is a soldier of the Roman army around the time of Christ's death, sometime around 33 A.D. Casca is the soldier assigned to the mundane task of waiting for Jesus to die while he kept the small crowd around the Cross at bay. When told to finish the Jew off Casca stabs him in the side, just as the Bible tells it, but Jesus has a few words with Casca. The rest of Casca's life is then changed, and so the legend begins. Anyone interested in historical fiction and/or immortality should definitely read this book if not the entire series of 22 books spanning 2000 years.

In the Eternal Mercenary Casca life goes from soldier, to slave, to extreme popularity very quickly, but I don't want to give too much away. Read this book, the first in a long series of great stories about the man made to live until the return of the Jew. Until we meet again.

This series by the author Barry Sadler is a modern blend of two ancient legends. The first is the legend of the roman centurion Longinus who was supposedly present at Christ's crucifixion.
He stabbed christ in the side with his spear to end his agony on the cross and afterwards he became a christian convert and a
saint.
The next legend is that of the wandering jew who was supposedly cursed by Christ to wander the world until the second coming.
The reason according to the story why he incurred the wrath of Christ was that he out of spite made a derogatory or insulting remark to Jesus as he was being led to his crucifixion.
The result of this blend has been Casca Longinus,a Roman soldier cursed by Christ to wander the world forever until the second coming.
Forever fighting,forever surviving and waiting for him to return.
This series of adventures takes our protagonist down through history from one war to another. In almost each case he endures wounds and horrible pain only to encounter more.
A strange unexplained power makes his flesh heal miraculously from all wounds inflicted and which renders it along with his blood poisonous to all other creatures man included.
His ability to outlive others makes his existence a lonely one without any lasting friendship or company. He finds himself in many cases the victim of other's brutality and hatred thus making his long existence also a harsh and violent one.
That which he desires so much eludes him and that is death,which is freedom from his brutal life and eternal peace. He is not so much a hero as he is a victim of fate in a situation not of his choice.
There is plenty of historic detail in this series much of it dealing with warfare and the military.
For those who want historic fact mixed with fiction this might be worth a try.
For fans of action adventure series in the tradition of "The Executioner" and the "A Team" this is a good recomendation.
There is plenty of fast-paced action in this series and it's guaranteed to keep you from yawning.
There are graphic descriptions of violence and gore so if if you're looking for light reading then I suggest reading Robert Fulghum instead.

Casca: The Eternal Mercenary is a series of twenty-two books written by Barry Sadler. This series is about a guy named Casca Rufio Longinus; he was cursed by Jesus Christ. The curse is "Soldier, you are content with what you are. Then that you shall remain until we meet again." The curse means that Casca will remain as a soldier until the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is a fantastic series so far. The first book in the series is extremely descriptive, interesting, and unpredictable.
Mr. Sadler, the author, describes everything in great detail; it is so descriptive that the reader will get hooked on the book until he/she is done with it, such as when Casca describes exactly what happened the day he killed Jesus Christ. Casca says that he and the other soldiers were betting on who would take the clothes of Jesus and the two thieves, who were killed the same day. He goes on to say how he speared Jesus in the rib cage to kill him quicker, and how when he did that some of Jesus' blood ran down the spear shaft got on his lips. That is when Jesus cursed him. Casca then goes on to describe what happened after he was cursed. He describes what illnesses, injuries, and punishments he has received or avoided as he goes through his life. He also recollects what women he has married and fallen in love with, and the women that his enemies raped and killed. Casca recalls his slavery and what life was like in slavery.
This book in the series is interesting because Casca, the main character, is a depicted soldier who fought in the Vietnam War in 1970. He was injured by a piece of shrapnel which exposed an area of his brain approximately four inches long and three inches wide. Casca's body was taking steps to protect itself from infections by rapidly healing the abscess in his skull. This amazed the army surgeons, a colonel, and a major. Major Goldman, one of the surgeons, discovered that Casca's blood was deadly poison. He also discovered that Casca could speak the Latin of the Caesars. These facts are intriguing because no person who has a wound as such could heal by itself and few people at that time could speak such a tongue. Casca explained to Major Goldman about how he was cursed. While in the hospital, Casca told Goldman that he had been alive before the birth of Jesus and that he was the one ordered to kill Jesus. These are just a few of the multiple points of interest in the first book. These interesting facts came out of the first chapter.
The reader can never predict what turn of events lie in store for the soldier who lives infinitely. Every new place he goes, he receives a new name. No one knows that he is the same legendary figure because few people know that he can not die. As one progresses through Casca's life, one starts to believe that he will be dead due to a stab wound, some type of poison or sickness he incurs, but he still lives on because of the curse. "Soldier, you are content with what you are. Then that you shall remain until we meet again."
This series, especially the first book arouses interest as it is interesting, descriptive, and unpredictable. I have had a wonderful experience in reading the series. I own all twenty-two books and have read the first seven so far. I recommend this series to anyone who is, has been or wants to be a soldier, or anyone who is interested in action/adventure books.

You may have heard the story of the wandering Jew. Well this is that story brought to life, in a very real and gritty way. If you don't know what I am talking about, it is the story of the Roman who killed Christ on the cross and was cursed to wander the earth till the second coming.

In Sadler's rendition, Casca is that Roman and Christ's curse goes on to include, "As you are, so shall you remain". What this means is that Casca, being a soldier, will therefore remain a soldier through his immortal search for the Christian god. This is a great plot device because we, the reader, get to vicariously participate in every major battle for the last two thousand years with a man who can not be killed. At least not permanently.

It's true that I have a fascination with immortality. (Strangely, I don't look forward to my own death). But even so, I think most people, (well... guys), will enjoy these novels. There are 22 in total but don't expect the last one to round out the series. They just stop; apparently because Sadler was murdered while on a trip through Central America.

I picked up an old beat up copy of the first book from my father and read it while I was doing my 2 weeks training with the National Guard. The book got rotated around by everybody at night while pulling duty on radio watch. Needless to say, everyone finished it within a couple of nights and wanted more. I was disappointed to find out that the series was out of print and the author dead,but I looked around for used copies anyway. I was unable to find the series in any used book store, but finally managed to find them online in auctions. (This is what got me started in online autioning.) Anyways, I recommend to anyone looking, that you don't necessarily have to buy the whole set at once, becuase the bids usually got to high in those auctions. Instead, by sets with a number of volumes, and don't worry if you get the same one more than once, you can turn around and sell it on auctions and probably get what you paid. By the way, the newest book by the new author is now out. It is called Casca the Liberator.

In the late 80's, while overseas in the Marines, a friend told me about the series and it grabbed my interest. When we got back to the states I bought the first book from the PX. I read it in 1 day and was hooked. I went back to the PX and bought every other book in the series they had availible and it still took me another three years to complete the collection. I found the first book to be an enthralling read that I just couldn't put down. Casca is just a common soldier and anyone who has been in the military, especially the infantry, can really relate to Casca. When Casca takes Dr. Goldberg back to that day on Golgotha, it's like you go back with him. The book draws you in and holds on to you. You can't help but feel for Casca as he goes thru the ages and falls in love knowing that he will have to move on eventually. Forever fighting and never knowing peace. A page turner if there ever was one. I highly recomend this book and any others in the series.

I have the entire series except for two books. Over the past number of years I have read " my " CASA adventures many times and you know,each time it seems I find something that I missed before! It's easy to lose oneself in this story. My advice to one is, find a quiet area, have lots of time and be prepared to travel back and enjoy an adventure that only gets better every time you read it!

Personally, I would have never picked this book up on my own. I would have judged it based solely on its cover in complete violation of the old cliché. Truly, this series was suggested to me by a friend who, much like the author, is a Green Beret. After a gentle cajoling, I begrudgingly accepted and read the thing... what the heck it's only two hundred pages.

Today I am pleased to say that I am fourteen books into the series and hungrily devouring each one I get my hands on. The books are well written and avoid jargon. Furthermore, the "voice" of the main character Casca Rufio Longinus is written with what I can only assume are tones consistent with what the average soldier has in their own mind. The books have, thus far, been very consistent with regard to quality and storytelling.

I have even taken the time to look into the life of the author a little. It has become fairly clear that the insertion of certain characters and experiences in the books are taken directly from the author's life. This has been true on several occasions, if not in time period, then at least in relevant context. Not surprising as authors do not, after all, exist in a vacuum. What is surprising however is the way that Barry Sadler has managed to work these themes into actual historical events. Moreover, he manages to do this with a fair level of accuracy.

Casca Rufio Longinus, the roman legionary who stabbed Christ on the cross, is cursed to live until the second coming as a soldier. In living out his curse, Casca works as a soldier for various countries or as a mercenary for various missions because as it turns out even immortals need to eat and buy clothes. The experiences are always rich because they are always new with new characters and new parts of the world.

What is especially compelling to me is the depth of the Casca character. While he is of course, a soldier, he has no misconception about where his place is or what he is capable of. Furthermore although he is surrounded by either an army or friends, Casca always feels very isolated due to the fact that friends and loved ones will eventually die. At times, this sense of isolation that the character feels is almost palpable.

Overall, I would definitely suggest Casca the Eternal Mercenary. With the exception of the fact that getting the earlier books is like pulling teeth (although I have contacted the publisher and they assure me Kindle editions are on the way), they are really great, a nice change from traditional fantasy novels, the likes of which can be hard to find in quality if not quantity.

The book opens with some US Vietnam war doctors looking at what should be a corpse, a man victim of the getting blown up thing. However, the body heals rapidly, which freaks them. It freaks them even more, when assisting with surgery to remove shrapnel they find a bronze age arrowhead. One of them has Casca's story inflicted on them.

Casca is part of the squad that executes Jesus, and because he wants to get back to a 'hot little Armenian dancer' he shoves a spear in to finish him off, given he was taking a long time kicking the bucket.

Jesus basically gives him a Chinese style curse telling him you will remain as you are then, if you are happy with it, or, you will live in a lot of interesting times.

Casca gets in a fight with a superior over the girl, ends up spending decades in a slave mine, helps out a supervisor, becomes a gladiator. Because of his immortality and work he is a lot stronger and more durable than a normal man.

Becomes a star gladiator, Nero gives him his freedom. After a two day bender he is busted by the vigiles doing the defecation and even worse abuse of a statue of Nero in the street, so Nero sends him to a slave galley. A few more decades of this, and his is back in a legion, having outlasted many emperors. Casca is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, that is for sure.

So, some more war, and Casca is getting sick of it after looking over a battlefield with 50000 dead.

He tries the suicide thing, stabbing himself in the heart, but no joy. His body rapidly ejects the sword.

The end sees him fighting in Israel, versus Arabs, in a more modern time.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

This is epic stuff people. Just read them all and you will see the magic. The last few novels were written by a ghost writer because you can tell the quality isn't there and writing style is different. The early ones are the ultimate in high adventure and historical data. Put down that book and you will be sorry.