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Per altres autors anomenats Geraint Jones, vegeu la pàgina de desambiguació.

Geraint Jones (1) s'ha combinat en Rees Jones.

5 obres 75 Membres 2 Ressenyes

Sèrie

Obres de Geraint Jones

Les obres s'han combinat en Rees Jones.

Blood Forest (2017) 18 exemplars
Siege (2018) 10 exemplars
Legion (2019) 5 exemplars

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Membres

Ressenyes

I had thought the first volume was complete in itself and was surprised the author put out a sequel. Following on the action in the first volume, the novel was just as exciting and kept me glued to the pages. Felix and the other members of his contubernium who are left alive after Teutoberg, escape slavery, along with three Batavians. They reach the fort of Aliso, which is putting up stiff resistance to Arminius' army, while other forts have been completely destroyed. They are taken in and become part of a unit, in the century led by the pragmatic and fair Centurion Hadrianus, nicknamed H, a good soldier. The novel details the progress of the siege, fighting Germans outside and also contending with unrest and rationing inside, including murders of women and girls. The Syrian archers, a large part of the defense force, are blamed. There are raids, two successful and one an absolute debacle. Finally, H, Felix, and Titus scout out a route to avoid Germans, to try to reach Vetera. The whole population of the fort, military and civilians, set out under the cover of a severe storm hoping to avoid any German interference.

The novel was just as bloody and gruesome as The first volume, BLOOD FOREST. Some of the soldiers were stereotypes: the greedy opportunist who runs a black market; the arrogant, tactless malingerer, whose mouth is his downfall ; the innocent, dim-witted boy soldier; and the complainer with the sarcastic sense of humor. The action in some parts affected me deeply. I was able to get into the soldiers' heads and understand their feelings and reactions to events. Hints are given as to Felix's life prior to his being in Germania through either memories or more often, nightmares: PTSD? The dialogue was coarse. At first I thought the Prologue something tacked on: merely a "hook" to get the reader interested in the novel, then wondered if "the [unnamed] soldier" was Felix himself, because of a broken sandal mentioned in both novels. Could this have been his entry into Germania? The author leaves room for the possibility of another sequel to further the narrative.

Highly recommended.
… (més)
 
Marcat
janerawoof | Aug 16, 2019 |
Powerful, intense novel on Teutoberg Forest Massacre, 9 AD, as told from the viewpoint of a legionary, rather than the officers'. They are only tangential to the story, except for Arminius, who drives the action, and to a lesser extent Prefect Caeonius, whose actions bear on the protagonist, Felix, several times and whose final decision concerns the whole army. Although the Teutoberg incident has been recounted several time in novel form recently, it's always interesting to see how each author tells the tale.

A soldier is found in a grove, his companions all having met gruesome death at the hands of the Germans. He claims to have remembered nothing before. Rescued, he is sent to one of the fateful legions as a casualty replacement and is given the name Felix, meaning "Lucky". The story concerns him and his contubernium [called herein a "section."] The novel smolders until the final conflagration--battle with the Germans near a defensive wall of withy branches the Germans have built and the shattering denouement in the Romans' last marching camp. Through the novel, we get tantalizing bits of Felix's past and how he came to be there until the final reveal. In the final scene, he has a choice to make that will affect the rest of his life.

The action was gruesome and blood-saturated all through but I felt nothing was gratuitous. The author went overboard on the profanity, and I wish it could have been toned down somewhat, e.g., not so many f-word as adjective over and over. I did get a view of a common soldier's life back then in all aspects, in garrison life and group dynamics, on the march dodging Germans' hit-and-run tactics, traps, and obstacles, not only fighting in battle. I also got into the soldiers' heads--their thinking, psychology, and emotions. The members of Felix's section fit the stereotypes of a group of soldiers: the brute and bully but de facto leader; the raw recruits; the disillusioned, dispirited old soldier; the super-religious and ultra patriot; the loving family man; and others. The story easily could have been moved to another era, say, World War II. The author lays out the possibility of a sequel, but I feel the story could have ended here. The writing was top-notch and the cover fantastic. The symbolism of the crow becomes apparent on reading the story. I felt the whole prologue was a waste and added nothing to the story, which could have begun easily with Chapter One, dispensing with the prologue entirely.

Highly recommended.
… (més)
 
Marcat
janerawoof | Aug 14, 2017 |

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Estadístiques

Obres
5
Membres
75
Popularitat
#235,804
Valoració
4.2
Ressenyes
2
ISBN
44
Llengües
4

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