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The Lost Legionary #1
The Lost Legion
74 BC. Pompey Magnus holds sway in Rome.
Caesar is beginning to make a name for himself, and in a few short months Crassus will face the slave army of Spartacus.
In the east, Lucius Licinius Lucullus is conducting a war on Rome's behalf against the renegade King Mithradates.
It is into this theatre that our hero Petro, a young soldier from a seaside town on the Neapolitan coast, finds himself, and he is in trouble almost from day one.
He dreams of returning to his girl back home covered in glory, but on his first expedition his patrol are attacked by a tribe of nomads, and all are killed while he flees for his life.
He falls into a ravine and is found half-conscious the next day by the women of the tribe as they go to wash their clothes in the river at the bottom of his ravine.
It is only because the chief's daughter takes pity on him, and the mysterious prophesy of their tribal shaman, that he survives.
Her friend Chione, whose husband was killed by the Romans, would have murdered him on the spot and takes every opportunity she can to exact her vengeance.
Now his life is on a knife-edge, but he learns their language, their horse-riding skills and their culture as they deliberate his fate, thus unwittingly becoming a valuable asset to the army when and if he eventually returns.
Pursued by Chione, he is almost killed by his own comrades, the High Priestess of the Snake cult and of course the King's army.
Alone in a hostile world, despite the dubious support of a group of Amazons, can he survive to return home to his girl?
And if he does will she still want him?
Nick Swyft has been writing for over twenty years, mainly for his own pleasure and that of friends. Having won a number of prizes for his short stories, he decided to write a novel for a wider audience. 'The Lost Legion' is intended to be the first of a trilogy following Petro's life to an explosive conclusion.
Caesar is beginning to make a name for himself, and in a few short months Crassus will face the slave army of Spartacus.
In the east, Lucius Licinius Lucullus is conducting a war on Rome's behalf against the renegade King Mithradates.
It is into this theatre that our hero Petro, a young soldier from a seaside town on the Neapolitan coast, finds himself, and he is in trouble almost from day one.
He dreams of returning to his girl back home covered in glory, but on his first expedition his patrol are attacked by a tribe of nomads, and all are killed while he flees for his life.
He falls into a ravine and is found half-conscious the next day by the women of the tribe as they go to wash their clothes in the river at the bottom of his ravine.
It is only because the chief's daughter takes pity on him, and the mysterious prophesy of their tribal shaman, that he survives.
Her friend Chione, whose husband was killed by the Romans, would have murdered him on the spot and takes every opportunity she can to exact her vengeance.
Now his life is on a knife-edge, but he learns their language, their horse-riding skills and their culture as they deliberate his fate, thus unwittingly becoming a valuable asset to the army when and if he eventually returns.
Pursued by Chione, he is almost killed by his own comrades, the High Priestess of the Snake cult and of course the King's army.
Alone in a hostile world, despite the dubious support of a group of Amazons, can he survive to return home to his girl?
And if he does will she still want him?
Nick Swyft has been writing for over twenty years, mainly for his own pleasure and that of friends. Having won a number of prizes for his short stories, he decided to write a novel for a wider audience. 'The Lost Legion' is intended to be the first of a trilogy following Petro's life to an explosive conclusion.
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Published December 15, 2016
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About the author
Nick Swyft
4 books1 followerI've been writing for years, but my novel The Lost Legion is my first attempt at real publication. My second attempt Where Gods Die is the sequel to this. Look out for the final book in this trilogy: Where Men Weep.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 25, 2017
Rome’s wars against the eastern king Mithradates is a fascinating historical period. The king, his body fortified against treachery by taking small amounts of poison daily, waged an unrelenting war against the Roman Republic for three decades. Three great Roman generals, Marius, Sulla and Lucullus tried and failed to end the war, until finally the general Pompey finished off the aged and worn out king. On the Roman side Lucullus achieved success against Mithradates, but was deprived of success by the young rabble rousing aristocrat, Publius Clodius, and a legion of veteran Roman soldiers who were prompted to mutiny against their commanding officer. These soldiers, once commanded by the Marian general Fimbria, are presumably the ‘Lost Legion’ of the title.
There is the meat here for a terrific story, but Swyft’s novel is sprawling and unstructured and veers wildly between the impressive and the ludicrous. It cannot make up its mind what it wants to be: an historical military epic, perhaps an allegory of the war on the ‘Axis of Evil’, or a Roman legionary buddy novel, or a fantasy involving Amazon warriors and demonic creatures. Less is often more and this book could have done with a thorough edit – its published form does the author few favours. However, there is just enough here to have kept this reader reading to the end. The first in a projected trilogy, I think I will stop now.
There is the meat here for a terrific story, but Swyft’s novel is sprawling and unstructured and veers wildly between the impressive and the ludicrous. It cannot make up its mind what it wants to be: an historical military epic, perhaps an allegory of the war on the ‘Axis of Evil’, or a Roman legionary buddy novel, or a fantasy involving Amazon warriors and demonic creatures. Less is often more and this book could have done with a thorough edit – its published form does the author few favours. However, there is just enough here to have kept this reader reading to the end. The first in a projected trilogy, I think I will stop now.
October 14, 2017
From the first line, the story drew me in. The suspense is palpable, fear and surprise following each other as Petro fights to avoid being killed by the hostile members of the alien tribe who have taken him prisoner. His hope of escaping and returning to his old life in Baiaie motivates him but each twist of the plot makes it seem a more impossible dream. Setting his story in the region of Pontus close to the Black Sea, Nick Swyft has created a harsh wild world of nomads and invading Romans, a world that is fully credible both in the scenery and the societies depicted. The sense of the period comes across well. This is a truly gripping read, with much to enjoy, and some humour in among the realistic brutalities and terrors of life in all the various groups as Petro does his best to survive.
August 23, 2017
Waste of time
The author obviously didn't spend much time working out a plot; just made it up as he went along. His protagonist experiences unbelievable assaults and is miraculously saved. All his characters are one-dimensional puppets and half of them vanish without any explanation or resolution. Don't waste your time or money on this turkey.
The author obviously didn't spend much time working out a plot; just made it up as he went along. His protagonist experiences unbelievable assaults and is miraculously saved. All his characters are one-dimensional puppets and half of them vanish without any explanation or resolution. Don't waste your time or money on this turkey.
March 12, 2020
A rambling, disjointed book that jumps between story lines and is hard to follow. Gave up around the 75% mark.
There are many other novels of ancient Rome (e.g. the Gordianus novels of Saylor) that are much better plotted and better written.
There are many other novels of ancient Rome (e.g. the Gordianus novels of Saylor) that are much better plotted and better written.
sff-ok-bx
July 15, 2025Bx,Rokp
February 8, 2017
An exciting unputdownable story set in Ancient Roman times.
There are twists and turns galore and the characters are well written and believable.
Very highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
There are twists and turns galore and the characters are well written and believable.
Very highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
April 5, 2017
War and Roman politics from a soldiers point of view. This is authentically gritty, the characters sympathetically drawn and elegantly illustrated. It offers viewpoints from both sides of the conflict, paints the enemies of Rome clearly and highlights that war is never good whether you are in the front lines or the civilians left behind.
Sent off to fight in foreign lands, seeing the destruction wrought by the advance invaders. How would you survive? Would you accept help from unusual sources?
How would you feel when you got home? What would you expect to find when you got there? This is one soldiers story which beautifully encompasses the evils of power and politics.
Sent off to fight in foreign lands, seeing the destruction wrought by the advance invaders. How would you survive? Would you accept help from unusual sources?
How would you feel when you got home? What would you expect to find when you got there? This is one soldiers story which beautifully encompasses the evils of power and politics.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews