Turtledove, Harry

About the Author:

Born in Los Angeles, USA, in 1949, Harry Turtledove has a Ph.D in Byzantine history from UCLA.  He is married to fellow novelist Laura Frankos and they have three daughters; Alison, Rachel and Rebecca.

AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:

3 out of 5

(1 book)

The Misplaced Legion

The first book of the Videssos Cycle.  The premise behind this book is that a group of Roman soldiers, from the time of Julius Caesar, are transported to a fantasy realm, where they have to try and find a place for themselves. 

The way Turtledove brings about these events is rubbish, to be blunt.  A Roman tribune and a Gaul chieftain both happen to have magical swords crafted by rival Druids, and when these swords clash there's a flash of light and suddenly the Romans and the Gaul are somewhere else.  There is little or no explanation of why these swords should do this or why a Roman tribune would have a Druid sword in the first place. 

However, once that contrived nonsense is out of the way, things pick up rapidly.  I really enjoyed reading about how the displaced soldiers bring the ideas and tactics of Rome to the fantasy Empire of Videssos, which in itself is a very well-realised creation.  I also enjoyed the unusual ending in which the outnumbered heroes have to make the best of a defeat rather than overcome overwhelming odds, as happens in most other fantasy, and I enjoyed reading the scene of the fighting withdrawl. 

Aside from the daft beginning, one other thing brings the quality of this book down; the character of Viridovix.  I simply found him to be a constant irritant, with his little pearls of barbarian wisdom, and the sudden dissipation of animosity between him and the Romans is just too hard to credit.

3 out of 5

Read more...

Fantasy (here)