The Legion Awakes

The Sleeping Legion, Book 1

By: J. R. Handley

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

A century ago, all but two members of Lance Scipio's unit were executed for bringing dishonor to his regiment.

Now, he is woken into a strange new time, and tasked with whipping into shape the worst squad of misfits in the entire Human Marine Corps.

The price of failure: Death!

AD 2565. Tranquility-4 near the frontier of the White Knight Empire. Guided by mysterious orders, the authorities at the Human Marine Corps base of Beta City thaw Lance Scipio. In 2441, an entire Marine company was executed with the exception of Captain Grimgerde and Sergeant Lance Scipio, the usual punishment for running in the face of the enemy. But these two were preserved...as if they would be required in the future.

Scipio is not expected to escape execution for long, but he has been given a slim chance. For a Marine, a chance can be all that's needed to change the fate of worlds.

The Sleeping Legion is an action-filled sequence of military science fiction novels set in the worlds of the hit series The Human Legion by Tim C. Taylor.

©2016 J. R. Handley (P)2017 Podium Publishing

Solid Military Sci-Fi

This is a very fun and tactically accurate military science fiction book with active and colorful prose. J.R. uses his first personal knowledge of infantry tactics to weave a believable and action-packed tale. I loved the dialog and banter between the characters. If you're a veteran, you will recognize it immediately.

Scipio is a solid protagonist, his arc of an infantry NCO pushed to assume greater responsibility is engaging. But I think my favorite character is Basil. His arc is deeply satisfying.

The world of The Sleeping Legion is fascinating and very well thought out. Without giving too much away... It's interesting to see a sci-fi world where humans are subservient to alien races and are not the master of the universe...yet. I jumped into this series not knowing it was set in a universe written by another author. (Tim C. Taylor's The Human Legion series) So, of course, I'll have to check out that series now, once I finish this one.

Jeffery Kafer is an outstanding voice actor. His skill clearly adds to the written word.

Interesting story

Pretty good but there's a lot of perspective changes that can make it a little confusing to follow along as the context keeps changing.

Action, for action sake

The Sleeping Legion is a full speed ahead battle. From the first book in the series to the last there is no let up in the action. Players come and go, targets change - get added and then subtracted after bloody conflict.

This was interesting

I enjoyed this book however I was having some difficulty tracking all the races and history that was being built. It didn't take away from how it feels to be a veteran having to deal with people that are supposed to be what you are but are not. You could really feel the tension between all the competing factions. This was a pretty entertaining book, I just wish they spent more time building up the world.

Interesting

The story is improving with each book and there is enough mystery/suspense to keep me interested in the next section. The writing style is similar to past science fiction, but can present itself as frustrating/confusing if one is unfamiliar with the style.