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Saga of the Iron Dragon #4

The Legacy of the Iron Dragon

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The war against the implacable Cho-ta'an carried a desperate group of humans 1300 years into the past, but the fight for humanity's future is just beginning!

Mankind's future among the stars now rests on a ragtag band of Vikings who have taken to the stars. The Norsemen's only hope is to ally with the mysterious people called Truscans, who possess the technology to defeat the aliens. But where did the Truscans come from? What do they want? Can they be trusted as allies against the Cho-ta'an?

The Legacy of the Iron Dragon continues the story began in the Dragon Award-nominated The Dream of the Iron Dragon in a sweeping saga that carries us from war-ravaged planets in the twenty-third century to first century Judea, where the fate of the Roman Empire is being decided.

389 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2020

50 people are currently reading
33 people want to read

About the author

Robert Kroese

70 books632 followers
Robert Kroese's sense of irony was honed growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan - home of the Amway Corporation and the Gerald R. Ford Museum, and the first city in the United States to fluoridate its water supply. In second grade, he wrote his first novel, the saga of Captain Bill and his spaceship Thee Eagle. This turned out to be the high point of his academic career. After barely graduating from Calvin College in 1992 with a philosophy degree, he was fired from a variety of jobs before moving to California, where he stumbled into software development. As this job required neither punctuality nor a sense of direction, he excelled at it. In 2009, he called upon his extensive knowledge of useless information and love of explosions to write his first novel, Mercury Falls. Since then, he has written 18 more books.

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5 stars
85 (55%)
4 stars
42 (27%)
3 stars
23 (14%)
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4 (2%)
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Jeffrey Schmieder.
220 reviews12 followers
December 8, 2020
The last outpost of mankind is being attacked by ruthless aliens. Man's last hope is to hold out long enough to launch three space arks to distant corners of the universe. If you have read the trilogy before this, you find out the Allison has given some hope and guidance to the survivors. If you haven't read the trilogy before, please do before attempting this novel because they are great books too. Robert does his research and he covers everything from genetics to ancient Roman battle tactics.
Profile Image for Richard Myers.
509 reviews11 followers
January 14, 2021
Great book

This book helps to e plain how the Ninth Legion disappeared. A very interesting story about the Jewish Revolts and the Roman legions stamping the revolts out.
317 reviews3 followers
March 7, 2021
Kroese, continues to excite with his take on time travel to save humanity while battling the Loki effect. This time weaving in the Lost Ninth Legion of Rome. He delves deeper into the metaphysics of time travel and time itself. This tale of saving humanity delves into some of the more difficult aspects of saving a dying species, and the challenge of them not knowing they're already doomed. What is done is done... says it all.
Profile Image for Niels.
111 reviews2 followers
April 9, 2025
A brilliant theory of how time travel could actually work. Takes place in two times. Part of the story takes place about 250 years from now and the part takes place in 1st AD Judea. Very interesting read.
465 reviews17 followers
April 29, 2021
OK, I'm going to admit I was a little cheesed, reading this at first. "Where are my Space Vikings? What's with all these bloody Romans and Jews?"

It's a good story, and a gripping one, but also one that doesn't feel like it's part of the same book. That is, up till now, I'd felt books one through three were one long book broken up for economic reasons, a la Lord of the Rings.

And I feel kind of dumb for this, but I cracked book five and though, "Oh. Riiiiiiiight!" because book 3 ended with a big question mark and book 4 answers that question, so book 5 picks up where book 3 left off. (At least part of this is because I didn't really bat an eye at the book 3 ending. For me, book 4 could've been left out and I would have had no issue with the story, at least as far as I know. We'll see how book 5 finishes things off.)

Besides the geeky hard SF Kroese excels in, and the taut action sequences, the author is continuing to tease the reader with the concept of LOKI (limits of known information) which allows the characters free will even though the events have already occurred. And just when you start to think maybe they CAN change history, one of the characters dies in what is simultaneously the most meaningless—and most meaningful way—well, let's just say I practically lost it at that point.

Fun stuff. Book five is a short 300 pages...let's see if he can stick the landing.

Profile Image for Francis S. Poesy.
Author 4 books14 followers
March 18, 2021
This book takes us back to the future that characters in previous books came from providing great story background but also giving an even more rich view of the universe they inhabit. And of course there is more time travel that puts the future of humanity in danger of complete annihilation once again, both from external and internal forces. Kroese's weaving of story, history, philosophy, science (real and theoretical) makes for a very satisfying read and another great entry in the Iron Dragon series.
Profile Image for Becky L Long.
732 reviews7 followers
May 23, 2023
Audiobook. Six stars ..... weekend binge listen. Even stayed up till 1 in the morning. I never do that. The first 3 books were my favorite listens from last year (ok ok I can't decide between this series and War of Lost Hearts by Carissa Broadbent for top spot. I recommend both write often but to totally different audiences). If you are even remotely interested in Sci-Fi and/ or history and/ or time travel you have to listen to this series; it's amazing.

Different narrator from first 3 books but she did pretty good. Hard to beat jd Ledford though.
Profile Image for J..
Author 8 books102 followers
February 3, 2023
Yeah, this entry got pretty dark. Which I guess is to be expected, as it brings us back to the "present" from the start of book 1 with the IDL in a very tight spot. I really enjoyed the dive into the logistics of the seedships and their mission, but other parts echoed book 1 pretty darn closely - considering the whole series is about time travel, that might be intentional. Still enjoyed it, I just think I enjoyed the rest of the series so far more. On to the conclusion!
Profile Image for Bill.
2,436 reviews18 followers
January 14, 2021
The war with the Cho-ta'an calls for desperate measures. Survive and grow by hiding in the past. The final Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire provides the backdrop for the Legacy, the fourth in the Iron Dragon series.
Profile Image for Gene Holley.
15 reviews
December 27, 2021
More hair width escapes to save humanity

The fun continues with our unlikely time travel saga. Will the distant survivors manage to keep the struggle alive? You’ll have to read the next book. Enjoy
32 reviews2 followers
July 22, 2022
Wow, this story just gets better with each book.

A truly engaging full distance saga. I'm not going to ruin the plot for you, but if you enjoy a really good gritty sci-fi with meat on its bones, try this one. This author is fast heading for one of my top 5
Profile Image for Onionboy.
555 reviews2 followers
February 28, 2023
It feels like the story arc really ended with book 3, and book 4 got added later, which I think is exactly what happened. It veers off in a different direction. The story is ok, not great, and not bad enough to quit. I am going to see it through to the last book.
63 reviews1 follower
November 21, 2020
Entralling

Couldn’t stop reading this book. excellent story by Mr Kroeser. Can’t wait to read the following chapter of this story
112 reviews1 follower
February 4, 2021
Awesome. Kroese is a brilliant story teller

A complete change from books 1-3 and just as good. Bring on #5 Mr Kroese. Would enjoy more time travel books from you
Profile Image for Shawn.
191 reviews
March 31, 2021
A little more dragging than the first three but still a great adventure.
617 reviews6 followers
June 25, 2021
Great backstory book

This book answers a lot of questions and give some background on key points. Anxious to see how it all wraps up in the final book.
1,628 reviews12 followers
September 24, 2021
4.5 stars. Good continuation of the series as it takes a new turn with new characters.
2 reviews
March 10, 2023
Hard Sci-Fi with a dash of Fantasy

This book is so, so good. Unexpectedly better than the first trilogy books. I can’t wait for the next two!!!!
Profile Image for Eddie D. Moore.
Author 73 books9 followers
August 7, 2023
Four awesome books in a row... Need I say more? Okay, I'm ready for the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Jeffrey Nelson Reiland.
12 reviews
November 20, 2025
Keeps getting better.

Love how the timeline keeps getting woven together and all the little Easter eggs that keep getting dropped in as the story develops.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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