Customer Reviews

The Lost Legion

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I'm not sure what I thought this book would be like when I started it, but I had a feeling it would not be that great. Boy, was I wrong. This book is an epic - a fantastic journey through time to the ancient Roman Empire where the mad Emperor Caligula can send a whole legion off on a useless, suicidal mission, all to get rid of one man. We follow the XIIIth Legion, the 'Emperor's Own', as they meet obstacle after obstacle thrown in their path, but they press ever onward. This is the best, most complete picture I have ever read of what the daily life of the legionaire was really like. But there is more to this book than that. We meet a whole company of raw recruits who are more or less fooled into 'signing on the dotted line', including a newlywed poet. His bride hears 'a woman's place is with her husband' and off she goes to follow the legion. At first we see her as a childish fool but as the legion moves on and she manages to stick with it, we come to appreciate her commitment, her love and her loyalty. And so do all the others in the XIII. This crack Roman legion now has a female member, Lilia. Off they go to strange lands, exotic and dangerous, make new friends and many new enemies, all the while being followed by a stranger alone. We see the raw recruits become tough, hardened soldiers, and we know each as individuals and mourn their loses. The final 100 pages will bring tears to your eyes and joy to your heart as this brave group of men and one brave woman, both fail and suceed in their mission. And they changed the fate of half the world as well. This is an outstanding novel that left me at 4 am, with my mouth hanging open, saying "Wow". I couldn't sleep for hours, remembering all these characters who became my friends and being happy they had entered my life and allowed me to know them. This is truly an epic work. One of the best. Read it.

An adventure story about a Roman Legion sent on a suicide mission to find information about survivors of Crassus's defeated legions in ancient Parthia (modern Afghanistan and Iran.)

The story is told mostly from the eyes of a young Roman woman recently married to a "recruit" captured by a Roman press gang and by the commander of the legion who learns that he was sent on the mission out of jealously by the Emperor Caligula of the commander's popularity and lineage.

The material of daily Roman life is pretty well fictionalized and it is easy to suspend belief as to some of the improbalities and licenses taken.

Why isn't it still in print? It was a pretty good read.

I used to visit Harold every week-end, and he read to me this entire novel. It was the work of his lifetime, perhaps too ambitious, but he put his heart & soul into the researching and writing of it. He would oft times become extremely emotional while reading certain passages, his eyes brimming with tears. He felt this tale in the core of his soul, as he did with his other book, THE BANNER OF JOAN, a long poem devoted to his beloved Joan of Arc. I have read the book twice since Harold's death, & it continues to enthrall me as it did when I heard it read by its amazing author. I'm certain that he got some of the historical aspect wrong, or neglected aspects thereof; but he was, first and foremost, a storyteller--and this is one amazing tale, richly yet simply expressed. It is a beautiful book penned by a beautiful soul, a writer I so respect and love and miss with all my heart.

The prior review gives you details regarding the book. If you enjoy epic books with many climaxes, turns and twists, this is a book for you. It's as good as any book I have ever read.

Warning-This review contains spoilers!

"The Lost Legion" is a well-written tale incorporating some interesting characters and plot lines. The story concerns the fate of a crack Roman legion (the Thirteenth) whose commander, Manlius Varro, has fallen out of favor with the mad emperor Caligula. To get Manlius out of the way, Caligula sends him and his legion on a quest deep into Asia to recover the standard of the Lost Legion, a Roman army that disappeared without a trace on that frontier 100 years earlier.

Notwithstanding the book's imposing length at 621 pages, there are several issues that made reading this book a less than satisfying experience. One is the author's use of certain technical terms that I found unfamiliar and may be unfamiliar to most readers. Another is the author's long-winded, idiosyncratic style. Also, the first few hundred pages are basically concerned with its heroine "Lilia" finding her way out of Rome in order to follow her husband Tibullus, who has just unwittingly joined the legion. I found myself struggling to maintain my interest at the author's insistence in documenting her every little exploit out of Italy. Much of this exposition could have been done away with without sacrificing the book's integrity.

However, my real problem lies in the motivations of some of the central characters. For example, I had to wonder why Manlius Varro, the commander of the Thirteenth Legion, would obstinately continue to follow Caligula's orders even when he had learned that the emperor had been assassinated and the orders were no longer valid. What was Manlius trying to prove? In his refusal to modify his course of action in spite of this new knowledge, he seems to be just as insane as Caligula. Worse yet, it is not just his fate that is at stake, it is the fate of the legion itself. In addition, why should Manlius care one bit about the fate of the soldiers of the Lost Legion, who after a full century, had been assimilated into the local population? Without Caligula's valid directive, why put himself and his men at risk for some obscure standard? But this is exactly what he does, bringing disaster to all concerned.

Lilia's motives, too, must be questioned. Tibullus, for the most part, treats her indifferently, often harshly, even though he says he loves her. Yet, she slavishly follows the naive belief that a woman should go where her husband goes. This attitude is inconsistent with her otherwise intelligent and strong-willed nature. When she finds herself thinking romantic thoughts about Manlius despite herself, and berating herself for feeling that she is betraying her love for Tibullus, it is almost laughable.

For me, the most disillusioning part of the book was its conclusion. In a final battle with the Huns, the Thirteenth Legion is utterly destroyed. The only survivors of the encounter are a small scouting party of twenty men who did not take part in the battle, Lilia who is pregnant, and Eitel (a Hun fighting on the side of the Romans and enamored of Lilia). Lilia and Eitel are taken in by the Huns. Lilia has her baby and remains with Eitel. It is insinuated that Attila is the direct descendant of her progeny. The small band of 20 Romans is decimated shortly thereafter by a horde of Tartars in a brief skirmish outside the walls of a local town. Tribune Quintus is the only one who survives and is taken in by the townspeople who previously refused to let the Romans enter. We learn only on the very last page of the book that these townspeople are indeed the descendants of the men of the Lost Legion--Roman/Asiatic hybrids who still retained some vestiges of their Roman past.

In the final analysis, all these people have sacrificed their lives for nothing. With Commander Varro's unflinching devotion to duty at all costs, he dooms himself and his men to certain death. It is obsession bordering on madness. The final payoff, that Quintus has discovered the remnants of the long-forgotten legion and will live to return to Rome to tell his fellow Romans of his adventures, is small satisfaction in light of an expedition as hopeless as unnecessary as the search for the Lost Legion.

I picked this up without expecting too much... it was the find of the year, easily. Very well written, and if you loved the Gor novels, you'll love this. All the best of that which was Rome, is here...

Not really a full review, but would like to point out that there are inaccuracies in the research. For example, spinning wheels are found in Armenia during the reign of Caligula whereas this invention didn't start appearing until the 15th century. Chariots are depicted as smashing into enemy lines but in reality they were normally used to quickly move archers about. Then too there are larger inaccuracies such as a Roman legate deciding to make war on other nations on his own initiative. Not to mention their blind continued obedience of the orders of the mad Caligula, even after they know he has been assassinated and his policies entirely repudiated. Near the end, the group travels through the terrible Taklamakan desert, but no mention is made of their using camels, without which such was impossible even in the 19th century. At the same time, the author appears to have spent too much time reading under the oil lamp. Highly technical terms, especially military terms, are strewn everywhere and only rarely explained for the ordinary reader. What good is all this learning if it is not clearly communicated? I think ideally such an ambitious book (and this one, wanting to be the next Ben-Hur clocks in at 621 pages) should be written by a team of authors as what individual can really expect to hold in their heads so many details of ancient life in the Roman empire, Armenia, Parthia, the Xiong Nu, China and the ancient Tarim basin? One of the unfortunate consequences is too much attention on the Roman empire and too little on the Silk Road oases of the Tarim basin, not to mention Han Dynasty China. So congratulations to the author on the valiant attempt, but there is still plenty of room for a successor to do better.