Exiles of Arcadia: Legionnaire by James Gawley - Review
rating: 4
Primus Seneca has lived most of his life in exile. Ten years ago his father led an army against the ruthless dictator Tiberiusand was crushed. Now the general plans his revenge from the snowy heart of the Boreal forest, and sixteen-year-old Primus is eager to join his fathers legion. But once he is sworn in, Primus begins to unravel family secrets that will shake his faith in the cause, his father, and the very nature of the gods.Its no secret that its difficult to write historical fiction, not only must you write a compelling and interesting story, as with any other genre, you also have to make it believable and ensure that it comes across as historically accurate. Thankfully, James Gawley accomplishes this with ease in his book, Exiles of Arcadia: Legionnaire. The prologue for the book sets the scene, with Rome in trouble, at risk of collapsing due to cheaply coined currency, a plague raging through the city, and a senate that spends most of its time arguing, it allows the reader to get a feel for the story, before being introduced to the main characters. When used correctly a prologue can be a powerful tool, and its nice to see this as the case with Legionnaire. After our initial interest is piqued, we are introduced to legionnaire, Primus Seneca of the Dead Men, the son of a general and soldier in his own right, despite not being amazingly skilled as a warrior, he has his friends in the legion and a story ahead of him, Gawley does a good job of making us relate to the character in the first few pages, by making him late for work. Primus, along with Sextus and Lepus, two other members of the legion, give us insight into the daily grind of a solider from the period, and give a depth to the story through the descriptions of the work being done. As with any good story based around Rome, death is a common theme, and none of the characters, friend or foe, are safe from the grip of the gods. Primus is an interesting character, seeming to find conflict without trying, it appears that this is mostly due to his standing, and the fact his father, Marcus Seneca, is a general. His family history causes him to fall foul of one Varro, a particularly well thought out character, with considerable depth that the reader is only allowed to glimpse. Throughout the book our hero must prove himself, in the face of great loss, a brothers desertion, and the inevitable conflict that simmers in the pages. Primus comes across as someone whos simply out to make his father proud, and he gets his chance when hes told hes to ride with the Extrodinarii, on the road to his fathers camp. Gawley crafts the story to a crescendo, with the final couple of chapters being so gripping that it becomes difficult to put the book down, as I was reading my Kindle started to warn me about being low on battery and it became a race to see who could finish first, myself, or the Kindles power supply, I won. Despite the setting of the book, and the time period that it takes place in, it has a modern feel to it, so much so that its easy to become invested in the story and the characters, you feel like youre marching in a Roman Legion, fighting with Barbarians, and praying to the Gods. I urge everyone to read this book, if youre a fan of history or not, it really doesnt matter when it comes to good storytelling. The book is available for purchase on the Amazon Store: Exiles of Arcadia: Legionnaire The book is available for purchase on GoodReads: Exiles of Arcadia: Legionnaire The author can be found on Twitter: @JamesGawley The authors website can be found here: ExilesofArcadia.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zFgh5But88&feature=player_embedded