Soldier of Rome

By: James Mace

Narrated by: Nigel Patterson

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

Rome's Vengeance. In the year A.D. 9, three Roman Legions under Quintilius Varus were betrayed by the Germanic war chief, Arminius, and destroyed in the forest known as Teutoburger Wald. Six years later, Rome is finally ready to unleash her vengeance on the barbarians. The Emperor Tiberius has sent his adopted son, Germanicus Caesar, into Germania with an army of 40,000 legionaries. They come not on a mission of conquest, but one of annihilation.

With them is a young legionary named Artorius. For him the war is a personal vendetta; a chance to avenge his brother, who was killed in Teutoburger Wald. In Germania Arminius knows the Romans are coming. He realizes that the only way to fight the legions is through deceit, cunning, and plenty of well-placed brute force. In truth he is leery of Germanicus, knowing that he was trained to be a master of war by the Emperor himself.

The entire Roman Empire held its collective breath as Germanicus and Arminius faced each other in what would become the most brutal and savage campaign the world had seen in a generation; a campaign that could only end in a holocaust of fire and blood.

©2006, 2012 James Mace (P)2014 James Mace

No research whatsoever went into this book.

What disappointed you about Soldier of Rome?

At least read an entire Wikipedia article about an event before writing about it. The historical inaccuracies in this book are just astounding. I am 1 hour in and can not go on because of the poor research. 1. They were fighting Germans, not Celts, the Germans did not paint themselves blue. 2. The battle was 3-4 Days, not one afternoon. 3. 14,000 dead, not 20,000. 4. Tiberius did not rush madly to the Rhine in 4 days to stop the Germans, hell he did not go there for almost a year. 5. The soldiers who survived the battle lost their Roman citizenship, and could not re-enter the Italian peninsula. So the scene where the soldiers go tell the family of the fallen soldier could not have happened either.

I found 5 massive glaring errors in the first hour of reading.

What was most disappointing about James Mace’s story?

The incredible lack of research.

What didn’t you like about Nigel Patterson’s performance?

Hum drum at best, not inspired.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Soldier of Rome?

Most

Any additional comments?

I realize that its historical fiction and is not peer reviewed, but some effort could have been made, this book feels like the author just vaguely heard of the battle of Kalkriese.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable story but lacking in sophistication

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I like the Roman historical novel. This one was interesting but do not expect a refined literary style. Descriptions are simple, characters predictable.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Full Metal Jacket for The Roman era

If you could sum up Soldier of Rome in three words, what would they be?

Authentic, real,

What did you like best about this story?

It was about the average foot soldier. These were the men who won the empire for Rome. Most books are about the leaders.

Which character – as performed by Nigel Patterson – was your favorite?

Macro

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but I do this while driving, mostly. I helps keep me calm.

Any additional comments?

I have read countless novels about the Rome and the Roman armies. To me this book was similar to the movies about the Vietnam war movies; Full Metal Jacket and Platoon. It gives you a look at the common foot soldiers who actually won the empire for Rome. I read in one of the reviews that said the author was a returning war vet. It shows in his writing. The only thing I would say is that in the real Roman army they probably cursed a lot more than this book. :-) I understand why he avoided the cursing. I get a fair amount of grief in my own novels about language. It doesn't bother me but it does limit the audience. I don't care about that either.

I hope James Mace continues writing his books and when I see them I will buy them

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Best Series about Rome in Years!

This is a great book. I can't wait for the next one. If you like Roman history at all you will love this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

James Mace Does It Again. Great Book On The Roman Legions

I have yet to read anything of James Mace that wasn't excellent. I love books about the Roman Legions and Mace is one of the best in his thorough research and his scene setting descriptive writing. It's like he was there in person witnessing the event he's describing. Great job Mace.

Enjoyable story

I enjoyed this book. It seemed to be historically accurate, in describing the Roman army's methods of fighting and living.

The story flawed for me as a Roman history buff.

While the action of the story wasn't too bad, there were some inaccuracies that distracted me as I listened it.

Great story, narrator needs work

This book reminds me of the thoracic viscera of Braveheart. Astounding action, the character development is good and appears to go into more depth with future books. I am hungry to read More... Then.. The narrator has the Exact Same voice for Everybody!! Good thing I Loved the book, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. On to book 2, more later.

Rome's Revenge for its most Humiliating Defeat

If you could sum up Soldier of Rome in three words, what would they be?

The story of a legionnaire's quest to avenge his brother's death

What did you like best about this story?

The battle descriptions and Roman Army's organization were top notch

What does Nigel Patterson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Patterson evoked the main character's emotions, desires and fears very well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. It was a pleasant read that provided many details about how the Romans and the Germanic Tribes approached battle,

Great!

Great story of Ancient Rome. Full of action. Well written. Well worth the the price. Looking forward to listening to the next episode.

Worst listen so far!

What disappointed you about Soldier of Rome?

I love historical fiction (Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow etc) and have been very lucky so far with those I have bought from Audible. I started with really high expectations for this but Soldier of Rome disappointed me. The author switches between modern and 'Shakespear' English which breaks up the narration and some of the historical background is doubtful. I was certainly under the impression that the rank 'of 'Sergeant' is relatively modern but the legion seems packed with them and it doesn't work for me.

The narration also gave me problems. This is the first book I've heard done by Nigel Patterson and I can imagine how difficult it is to get a dramatic flow going when the source material you are reading from is poor but Nigel's voice just seemed too forced, often I felt with emphasis in the wrong places.

Has Soldier of Rome put you off other books in this genre?

Not at all. I would pay more attention to listening to samples beforehand though.

How could the performance have been better?

It needed a more authorive, deeper voice in my view. Nigel's just came across as too bubbly.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment and confusion.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Good story

narrated too quickly at times ,difficult to keep up with who is talking or jumping to paragraphs, story also has not enough research into era, surprising as his Zulu books are excellent. I did however enjoy the story.