The Lost Legion: A Novel of the Roman Empire

by H. Warner Munn

His first historical fiction. Dust jacket art by Paul Bacon. A story of the Roman empire.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

621 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Deren Kellogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Out of the thousands of fiction books I have read during my lifetime this is my absolute favorite. I'm not saying it's a classic that deserves to rank with "War and Peace" or "Moby Dick", but it is the most entertaining novel I have ever read.

The book takes place in the Roman Empire during the reign of the Emperor Caligula. There is a macro-plot and a micro-plot. The macro-plot: because of his fear of revolt, the Emperor sends the elite XIII Legion and its commander Manlius Varro on a suicide mission. They are sent beyond the eastern boundaries of the empire to search for rumored Roman survivors of the disastrous defeat at Carrhae a century before. The mission will take them across the heart of the territory of Rome's greatest enemy, the Parthian Empire. Because it is ordered to leave immediately, with no time to recall soldiers given furloughs, the legion is forced to top up its numbers via gathering a small group of "recruits" some willing, others unwilling. They are to be trained on the march.

One of the unwilling recruits is a young plebian poet. Thus comes the micro-plot. His patrician fiancee, Lilia, decides to follow the legion to be with her lover, no matter what the cost. If she cannot convince Varro to set her fiancee free, she will share the hardships and danger of a Roman legionary.

Thus we follow Varro, Lilia, and the recruits through an epic journey of thousands of miles, far beyond the world they know. Poignant personal stories are combined with incredible battle scenes and vignettes of ancient military life in a perfect mixture. Some characters are engaging, others are hateful, but they are all vividly drawn. As in "A Song of Ice and Fire", the reader cannot predict which characters will survive and which will meet untimely ends. I love books which really keep one guessing about what will happen next, to the extent that they keep one reading compulsively. For me, this is the ultimate example of that type of book.

I first read this book after checking it out of the library in Urbana, IL in the 1980s. For years, I unsuccessfully prowled used bookstores, looking for my own copy, since it is definitely the kind of novel I can read again and again. I finally found it through the Internet and now it is one of my most prized possessions.

[Mark Muckerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very solid story. A compelling, entertaining and engrossing story around the legendary "Lost Legion" story. The Lost Legion is centered on the core premise of an expeditionary force sent from Roma to search for and find the Lost Legion of legend. Ultimately a narrative telling of the journey, Munn builds in a plausible premise to launch the story, and does a solid job of both character development and capturing the flavor and imagery of the peoples and places encountered. Action sequences are well told, and Munn avoids the oft-seen lure of providing too much technical detail of the Roman Legions, which would bog down the flow of story. Ultimately if there is one criticism it is that there are minor gaps in the connectivity of story lines and plot development of individual characters and the story as a whole. Each main character does have a key role in Munn's greater drama, but could another 30-50 pages have been written that more fluidly develop and link key characters for more integrated harmony of character? Overall a very good read, and strong enough that I'll look for other works by him.

[Paula Hebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a pretty decent tale of the search for the legion that disappeared into the east without a trace, during the time of marius, I think it was. really good descriptions of what war must have been like then, and what the average legionaire's life was like; what he ate, how he trained, and how honor was such a living breathing thing for him. I liked it.

[Riq Hoelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Wilson Dadisho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am on page 34, this book is very interesting. I enjoy the book because the ancient history and the Roman Empire in the book. My favorite part so far is pages 23-26 where they explain how the thirteenth legionary is different from all the other legions in the army.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the history. The intertwining stories were interesting and not confusing. The book was a bit long and left me feeling that there must be plans for a sequel. As far as fulfilling my desire to know more about life in Ancient Rome, I was fulfilled.

[Faye56]

very good

[Mhoram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty damn good, really. Another prime example of how historical fiction can in fact be excellent.