17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive, July 26, 2008
A debut author gives a welcome and impressive addition to the range of novels set in Roman times. UK reviews have mad mention of both Simon Scarrow and C Iggulden, but in my humble opinion this is much near the style of Iggulden. The Scarrow novels tend to have more of a focus on the action and, to me, are a Roman version of Cornwall's Sharpe novels. Of course this does have action but a lot of effort has been put into the historical and political side to balance the character development and backstory.
This sets things up by introducing the characters and then eventually bringing them together as they battle together in far away lands.
The author knows his stuff and that comes over in every page. The first in a series, I suspect the next one will be even better as Mr Kane becomes more comfortable with the characters and has less need for backstories.
This is an increasingly crowded market but quality is always welcome.
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68 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Victims of Rome, September 6, 2009
Forgotten Legion could be a pretty good book. It has some things going for it, an intriguing premise and smooth writing. It has fatal flaws in other areas that prevent me from slogging through the whole thing.
1) It has a lefty view of history in which the world is divided up into two groups: exploiters and victims. You see, one day the Gauls were out traipsing through the woods, picking flowers, as was their wont. The only downside to this idyllic existence was that they often had to spend too much time away from their wives and babies. Then one day the evil Romans came along and burned their village... The same for the Etruscans, poor fellows, another group of traipsing flower-pickers done in by the nasty Romans. Kane goes so far as to attempt to paint the Carthaginians as victims too. Yes, the poor Carthaginians, happily tending their empire, which they called Happy Valley, when one day...
Yes, we get it. American Indians, Etruscans, Gauls, Neanderthal Man...the list of history's victims is endless. Then, (dim lights, cue ominous music): Romans, Americans, pre-socialist British, Cro-Magnons...history's heavies. Enough already. We get it. How tiresome!
2) From the "what hath Steven Pressfield wrought?" department. Gritty realism in the form of, mainly, modern profanity. Lots of it. Personally, I read historical fiction to be transported to another time, the more exotic the better. I enjoy a good hero now and then, larger than life characters. Kane's minions are all in the gutter. Kane's Roman world is no more exotic than the worst parts of a modern every-city. Spell broken. Personal taste on my part.
3) Bloat, the most damaging. I realize that publishing houses no longer use editors. But it seems writers are incapable of editing their own works. This book is probably 30% too long. It's the first of a trilogy and it shows. Consider these scintillating passages (from Chapter 15. I could have thrown my dart anywhere and found other examples.):
Chapter starts off with gladiators waking up. (Every chapter should start with characters waking up, right? Start at the beginning, I say.) Then, get this, they eat breakfast. Let's join the action...
"Brennus covered a piece of bread in honey. "Want some?" he asked, shoving it into his mouth.
(You'll never believe the response, dear reader. Wait for it...Wait for it...)
"No."
On the next page, this riveting gem:
"Be careful." Astoria seemed worried as she kissed the blond warrior. "Stay together."
"Stop fussing woman!" Brennus gently squeezed her backside. "Cook me more of those mice."
Still awake? Next page, we get this high drama:
Sextus hefted the double-headed axe with a wink. "[I'll] Keep an eye out for you." (The author routinely lops off the beginnings of sentences in dialogue, intending to make it sound natural, but it usually only obscures the meaning.)
"Thank you."
"You would do the same for me."
"I would."
Go to any point in the book and you'll find this. Start at chapter 1.
Kane should learn to listen to his inner voice, because it's telling him to move things along. Again, from chapter 15, thrown in amidst the above lines of dialogue are these passages.
"The sooner we get to the arena, the better." (Couldn't agree more. How about skipping the whole waking up/eating scene?)
"It should be interesting today." (Yes, and hopefully soon!)
"Suddenly Romulus felt keen to get to the arena." (Me, too, pal...Me, too...)
These are 4 pages that should have been cut out entirely. But I shouldn't just pick on this book because there are plenty of culprits. The first 29 pages of River God should be cut by 20 pages, for example. There is a sentence in Ford's "Fall of Rome" that is 96 words long. Personally, I've had it with books that require me to edit them while I read. No more flipping ahead pages trying to find the story. A trilogy? Forget it. Do writers really think we readers have nothing better to do with our time than edit their bloated books?
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Forgotten Legion...a Book to Remember!, March 17, 2009
It's hard to believe that this book is Ben kane's first novel. This young author writes with maturity and style that pulls the reader into the time period with characterization that all of us can relate to.
If you enjoy Steven Pressfield, Jack Whyte and Conn Iggulden you will love this book. Like Iggulden's Emperor series, "The Forgotten Legion" takes place during the rise and fall of Julius Caesar. Unlike Igguldens books though, Kane describes the times from the perspective of three slaves: brother and sister (twins) Romulus and Fabiola, and the captured Gaul Warrior Brennus. In addition, Tarquinius an Etruscan master of war and divination adds a sense of destiny and magic to this historical piece of fiction. Romulus and Fabiola are sold respectively to a famous gladiatorial school and famous house of prostitution. Kane pulls no punches in his description of gladiatorial combat, war, filth and the ultimately dehumanized state that was the lot of slaves.
The three males meet up after Romulus and Brennus escape from the Ludus Magnus. These men that have every reason to loath Rome ironically end up fighting for her under incompetent military leader Crassus and surviving a bloody battle with the Parthians only to find themselves in chains again. Fabiola becomes the favorite prostitute of a key political figure and there is even the hint that the twins hold a genetic secret that could add a real twist to this series.
While the action and storytelling are great and the historical perspective fascinating; the best thing about this new series is that it is addictively entertaining. Rumor has it that the next novel in Ben kane's series comes out in July of this year. I for one will be first in line for my copy.
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