The Eternal Mercenary (Casca, No. 1) [Paperback]

Barry Sadler (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Jove (August 15, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515095354
• ISBN-13: 978-0515095357
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,122,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original Idea, Great Writing, Entertaining Historical Series, June 7, 2002

By 

Boone (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Eternal Mercenary (Casca, No. 1) (Paperback)

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars an odyssey through history!, May 3, 2003

By 

howard lee (planet earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Casca: The Eternal Mercenary (Action/Adventure Series) (Audio Cassette)

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.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful book/series, December 7, 2004

By 

Frankie "Frankie" (AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eternal Mercenary (Casca, No. 1) (Paperback)

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.