The Legions of Fire (The Books of the Elements) [Hardcover]

David Drake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2010 | Series: The Books of the Elements

From the Bestselling author of the Lord of the Isles. . .

In this novel of magical menace to the survival of all humanity, David Drake introduces a new fantasy world, Carce, based on Europe during the later Roman Empire.

Far in the north, a group of magicians perform a strange dance on a volcanic island intended to open a gateway for supernatural creatures that will allow them to devastate the whole Earth and destroy all life. Not knowing the cause, two young men, Corylus and Varus, and two women, Hedia and Alphena, each separately pursue the answer to mysterious and threatening happenings that prefigure disaster  in  the great city of Carce, the center of civilization.  Through magical voyages in other realities where fantastic creatures, and even gods, help or hinder them, each of them must succeed or not just the city but the world will end in fire.

The Legions of Fire is the first of a fantasy quartet set in the world of the city of Carce.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drake (Lord of the Isles) vividly recreates the attitudes of patrician Romans in this fantasy tale, the first of a projected quartet. When Senator Saxa's bookish teenage son, Varus, suddenly channels a mystical prediction of the end of days while reciting an epic poem, Saxa's young wife, Hedia, blames the wizard Nemastes, who's been scheming after Saxa's money. Varus's best friend, Corylus, and sister, Alphena, also caught up in strange visions during the recitation, suspect there may be more going on than Roman political wrangling. Alphena adds her skill with arms and sense for magic to Hedia's keen intelligence and deadly temper, Varus's mysterious connection to the lands of dreams and death, and Corylus's military instincts and good sense as they tangle with magicians trying to destroy the world. Fans of fantasy and historical fiction will enjoy the decidedly noncontemporary characters and their adventures. (May)
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From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up–Drake opens a four-book epic saga with this convoluted fantasy. Four people are in the middle of a struggle between two powers bent on either dominating or destroying the world. Varus, a poet, is the pawn of a group of ancient magicians trying to set the world aflame. His friend Corylus, the son of a soldier, and his sister, Alphena, both begin to have visions about the end of the world. Hedia, Varus's mother-in-law, is certain that her husband's new companion, a foreign magician named Nemastes, is behind all of the strange occurrences. The four characters are drawn further into the events as the world shifts around them: Corylus is advised by a Norse god, and the others must all navigate the land of dreams. All of them make small choices that change the course of events for the whole world. Unfortunately, over the course of the novel, they are merely the game pieces of the larger forces that seem to move them around. Though they are the central figures, they are thrust into events with little knowledge or motive, and seem to succeed by chance rather than intention. The plot is convoluted, and the setting, which features real-world locations and historical events, is so like ancient Rome that it is a mystery why Drake chose to rename it. Some fantasy fans may be interested in a new series with historical details and mythological figures, but The Legions of Fire is unlikely to win over a large audience.–Alana Joli Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CTα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (May 11, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765320789
• ISBN-13: 978-0765320780
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Army took David Drake from Duke Law School and sent him on a motorized tour of Viet Nam and Cambodia with the 11th Cav, the Blackhorse. He learned new skills, saw interesting sights, and met exotic people who hadn't run fast enough to get away.

Dave returned to become Chapel Hill's Assistant Town Attorney and to try to put his life back together through fiction making sense of his Army experiences.

Dave describes war from where he saw it: the loader's hatch of a tank in Cambodia. His military experience, combined with his formal education in history and Latin, has made him one of the foremost writers of realistic action SF and fantasy. His bestselling Hammer's Slammers series is credited with creating the genre of modern Military SF. He often wishes he had a less interesting background.

Dave lives with his family in rural North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Thirteenth Sorcerer, October 8, 2010

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Legions of Fire (The Books of the Elements) (Hardcover)

The Legions of Fire (2010) is the first Fantasy novel in The Books of the Elements series. It is set within Carce, an empire very much like Rome in 30 AD. Magic is part of the belief system, but most citizens have little experience with thaumaturgy.

In this novel, Publius Corylus is a Knight of Carce and the son of a Publius Cispus, a former tribune in the Carce legions. Corylus is an army brat and only wishes to become an army officer. But first he needs training in Philosophy and Rhetoric.

Marcus Pulto is Corylus's servant. He had been a striker for the senior Publius before they retired and had practically raised Corylus. Pulto is married to Anna when he retired.

Anna is the wife of Pulto. She had been the nursemaid for Corylus and then housekeeper for the Publius family. She believes in many things that the public considers superstitions.

Gaius Alphenus Varius is the son of Gaius Saxa, a Senator. He and Corylus have the same Rhetoric instructor and have become friends. Varius even lets Corylus take instruction and practice in the family gymnasium.

Gaius Alphena is the daughter of Saxa. Her father is rather confused and lets her do many things. Alphena has almost forgotten that she is a girl.

Hedia is Saxa's second wife. She had been married to his cousin, who died mysteriously. Hedia truly cares for Saxa and his children, but Alphena does not like her stepmother.

Lenatus is a former freelance swordsmaster. Now he is the trainer for the Gaius household. His services are not used by Saxa or Varius, but he does teach Corylus and Alphena. He is a friend of Pulto.

Pandaerus of Athens is a philosopher and instructor in Rhetoric for a dozen young men. Only Corylus and Varius are really serious about learning public speaking.

Nemastes is a Hyperborean sorcerer. He has gained the attention of Saxa and greatly influences him. Nemastes can talk the Senator into just about anything.

In this story, Corylus and Pulto are on their way to a reading by Varius. Pulto is even wearing a toga, but he still has on his on his hobnailed boots. When they arrive, Corylus lets Pulto leave, so the servant goes to visit Lenatus.

The courtyard is crowded. Not many are there to hear the poetry of Varius, but Corylus and Pandareus are truly listening to every word. Of course, Corylus may tease Varius and Pandareus will critique him after the reading.

However, the reading doesn't go as planned. Corylus is trying to stay awake and suddenly experiences a vision Then Varius sees twelve sorcerers dancing near a cliff. The others also see strange things.

Alphena sees her brother go into a trance. Then the room shudders and the air becomes cold. She gets off her bench and slaps Varius.

The room returns to normal, but the crowd is milling in confusion. Then the audience rushes out of the courtyard. Saxa and Nemastes enter to observe about the disturbance, but soon leave.

Varius and Corylus are clinging to each other, looking stunned. Pandareus suggests that they leave the courtyard to get away from the spectators. Alphena decides to adjourn to the gymnasium.

Pulto lead Pandareus, Alphena, Varius and Corylus to the gym, with Lenatus at the rear. Pulto clears the way as they cross the courtyard and checks the gym for witnesses. Then he and Lenatus guard the door.

After Pandareus closes the door, he questions the two youths. Corylus explains his dream of a snowy forest. Alphena asks if he saw anything else. He says that he had seen hairy elephants. He also admits that he had seen Saxa and Nemastes just before awaking.

Then Pandareus questions Varius about the object in his hand. Varius doesn't know anything about the object, but adamantly claims it as his own. Upon further questioning, Varius admits seeing dancers.

Meanwhile, Hedia questions Saxa about the affair. Saxa says that she will just have to trust him. She replies that she does trust him, but suggests that the Emperor may not if he continues to associate with sorcerers.

This tale takes Varius, Corylus, Alphena and Hedia into dream worlds where weird events happen. They meet nymphs, fauns, ghosts, savages and other supernatural creatures. They face strange and terrifying trials.

Corylus and Varius survive the fiery disasters. The next installment -- Out of the Waters -- will address the element of water. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Drake fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of the ancient world, magical incidents, and persevering young people.

-Arthur W. Jordin

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent historical fantasy, May 14, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Legions of Fire (The Books of the Elements) (Hardcover)

In Carce, the center of civilization, bookworm Varus, son of Senator Gaius Saxa, is to do a reading. Attending it is his classmate and friend Corylus, son of commander Publius Cispius. At the recital of the epic poem, Varus abruptly makes strange predictions of the end of days beginning count down.

His young shrewish stepmother Hedia holds the avaricious wizard Nemastes culpable for Varus' outrageous embarrassing behavior. However, besides Varus, Corylus and his sister Alphena were engulfed by visions during the recital. None are aware that to the north on a remote volcanic isle, mages have begun a final ritual that will enable beasts from beyond this realm to enter and destroy mankind. Four residents of Carce with diverse skills are all that stand in the way to prevent total extinction.

The key to this sort of historical fantasy is how wonderfully David Drake captures the essence of the patrician nobility of Rome, which brings freshness to the quest. The quartet of heroes is fully developed with different skills, knowledge and attitudes. Corylus brings military strategic experience to the mix; Alphena possesses combat skills; Hedia is brilliant though volatile; and Varus has a connection to the beyond. Together they may save the realm; separately they have no chance as the Legion of Fire is an enjoyable first tale.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than 95% of fantasy books, February 5, 2011

By 

William Spillman - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Legions of Fire (The Books of the Elements) (Hardcover)

This book is the first in a planned 4-book series and therefore spends some time introducing the characters and setting. However, one thing David Drake is very good at is developing characters and settings continually while still moving events forward, so it flows more seamlessly than the vast majority of stand-alone fantasy. In fact, it's far more readable than the Lord of the Rings books, as Drake never need long, drawn-out exposition to explain his backgrounds--he integrates them into his descriptions seamlessly.

Drake's writing is masterful. He can describe more about a setting or person in a sentence than most authors can in a paragraph, and more in a paragraph than most could fit in a chapter. Compared to him, most other authors seem repetitive and long-winded, or even boring. I discovered Drake at an early age, and his writing spoiled me to the point where I find many legendary authors, such as Tolkien, almost unreadable.

The characters are interesting, and develop noticeably during the course of events, both in themselves and in their relationships with one another. Drake has become a master at twining separate plot threads together over the course of the story, so that characters separate and come together at crucial moments, each one working and developing separately but also working together.

The book uses historical Rome, elements of Greco-Roman mythology and Norse mythology, and Drake's unique, somewhat-surreal fantasy-land building to create a world that is gritty and realistic while still bizarre and fantastical. The characters are realistically frightened and perplexed by the mystical places and things happening, but don't get stymied or require other characters to explain every detail of the magical world to them like most fantasy. They just deal with it as it comes, despite their confusion and fear, triumphing through their unique skills, their courage, and their friendship. This is what makes Drake's heroes different than most fantasy heroes who either luck into their victories or are utterly unflappable and do not know the meaning of "fear."

That said, I give this book four stars because it's not QUITE as good as Drake's Lord of the Isles books, which may be the best fantasy series ever written. This may be unfair, as this is only one book and the Lord of the Isles series is ten. Regardless, if you liked the Lord of the Isles books, you'll like this. If you haven't read the Lord of the Isles books, read them. You'll probably read this when you're done with them, anyway.