Sextus Valerius: Varusgold

by Michael Kuhn

9 n. Chr. Varus ist tot, seine Legionen sind vernichtet. Nur Wenige entgehen dem Tod auf dem Schlachtfeld. Einer von ihnen ist der junge Optio Sextus Valerius. Es gelingt ihm, auf die andere Rheinseite zurückzukehren, um einen Neuanfang zu wagen. Doch die Vergangenheit lässt ihn nicht Er verstrickt sich in die Machenschaften seines Freundes Lucius Poblicius, der als Kriegsgewinnler und Waffenschieber von der Niederlage profitiert. Selbst findet er sich inmitten der Parteigänger des von den Truppen geliebten Feldherrn Germanicus wieder, der das verlorene Prestige und die rechtrheinischen Gebiete zurückgewinnen will. Tiberius, der Nachfolger des Augustus, will das aus politischer Selbstbehauptung unter allen Umständen verhindern … Eine packende Story um Freundschaft, Pflichterfüllung und die großen politischen Fragen zu Beginn unserer Zeitrechnung. Der Romanhandlung ist der Reiseführer-Anhang "Spurensuche" angegliedert, der die Leser an die Truppenstandorte und Schauplätze im "wilden" Nordwesten des Imperiums diesseits und jenseits des Rheins führt.

493 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2015

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting story of a young optio, Sextus Valerius, who, along with others, survives the Battle of Teutoberg, 9 AD. The signifier, Kaeso, is greedy and steals the "Varusgold", which I interpreted as the intended salary for Varus' legions.
"Why should the natives have it?" is his defense. This money overshadows the whole novel and is a motivation for much of the action and emotions of the characters: the three officers who wish to use the gold for their own nefarious purposes, including an illegal trade scheme: buying weapons and selling them to tribesmen beyond the Rhine, in exchange for pelts, amber, and blond girls they can sell as slaves. One, an evil centurion, Fabricius, falsifies the personnel roster of Sextus' old unit, even writing he's gone over to the enemy, attempting to bar his entrance into another legion. This plot is foiled and the personnel roll completely destroyed. With the help of other officers and a young legionary, Quintus, who wish to ferret out the truth, Sextus searches for convincing evidence of those three officers' guilt. One is a former friend, Lucius. It's also the story of two women with whom Sextus becomes involved; he finds he has been blinded by a selfish one and finally falls for the better one, the tribeswoman, Hildiko. The story ends on a cliffhanger: will Kaeso convince the tribesmen he can lead them to the gold before they kill him? It sounds like there will be a sequel.

This was an interesting angle to the Teutoberg aftermath. We root for Sextus as he tries to overcome any obstacles in his way. A few of the characters are two-dimensional, for instance the villains and Lucilla, the tavernkeeper and Sextus' mistress. But Lucius, his former friend, is torn: he still has a core of goodness, now covered by greed. This novel explores friendship, betrayal, double-cross, revenge and devotion to duty. A bit disconcerting was the layout: Sextus' first-person narration in regular type, AND third-person action of other characters, in italics. I wish instead of italics, those parts of the book could have been bolded or even a different color. A well-drawn map on each of the endpapers traces Sextus' journey. A section after the novel, with pictures and text, gives us information about museums in the areas that figure in the story. The optio on the cover--the man wearing the black fore-and-aft feather crest--might be the the author's son.

Highly recommended.

[Doros Lesesofa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spannende Abenteuer anstatt drögen Geschichtsunterrichts!

[Christina Widmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein packender historischer Roman. Nebenbei lernt man die Soldatenränge in einer römischen Legion kennen, besucht ein Germanendorf, begleitet Sextus Valerius in Tavernen und Schreibstuben. Spanung bis zum Schluss. Ich habe gleich den zweiten Band bestellt.
Ein Stern Abzug für einen holprigen Anfang, wo Michael Kuhn die selbe Szene zweimal bringt, und die vielen Tippfehler. Man merkt den Kleinverlag.
Rezension auf meinem Blog: https://nouw.com/cwidmann/michael-kuh...