Lost Legio IX: The Karus Saga

While waiting patiently for the next in the Stiger’s Tigers series, I came upon this latest offering from it’s author. I found it a fascinating read almost impossible to put down. Mr. Edelheit starts with a known piece of Roman history and mystery; the fate of the IX Legion, just prior to the building of Hadrian’s Wall. As is usual with the author’s impeccable research he developes the Legion and his characters with a style the lets the reader easily identify with the main character in this story line. He presents a plausible start to the fate of the IX and then moves into the realm of fantasy. We find that Karaus and the legion are players in an age old struggle between two factions and are chosen as the unit who has the drive, determination, and training to champion the side who represents the good guys in this story. The people who populate this book are well drawn and the author’s attention to the details of everyday life in the legion as well as their famed fighting style adds to the storyline. When I finished I was left wanting more immediately. This series I feel will be a great companion to the Stiger’s Tigers books. I heartily recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy military historical fiction.

Disclaimer: I am a beta reader for this book, but this review is entirely my own and was in no way influenced by the author. So let's get down to it. Marc has taken the mysterious disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion and spun his own story about what might have happened to them. I was sucked in immediately and it never let me go. Where they went and how they got there is well written and very creative. Marc seems to have such a good handle on the minutiae of the Roman legion (in my, admittedly uneducated opinion). You can taste the grit and feel the dirt seeping into every pore. I won't discuss exactly how the Ninth disappeared but it is a doozy. Plus there are dragons, any story that can combine the Roman legion and dragons perks my interest immediately. I'm looking forward to Karus and the Ninth's further adventures. Well done Marc.

A fantasy Dream come true
As a ancient veteran RPGer.....we had this campaign setting ....the romans and dwarves......and.....gamed many battles with and against
in a greater greater fantasy world....well thats a lifetime of stories.
Thank you....for doing it....and doing it well....and epic ......big one from my bucket list

Awesome characters....awesome stories.......awesome setting
just devoured several audible books....in a week....and lacking sleep (all 5 stars)

cant wait for book 4...or 10......and Podium Publishing to get er done

a CON
no maps...
just found the map.......ya need a cartographer as good as the late great karen wynn fonstad

Disclaimer: I am a beta reader for this book, but this review is entirely my own and was in no way influenced by the author. So let's get down to it. Marc has taken the mysterious disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion and spun his own story about what might have happened to them. I was sucked in immediately and it never let me go. Where they went and how they got there is well written and very creative. Marc seems to have such a good handle on the minutiae of the Roman legion (in my, admittedly uneducated opinion). You can taste the grit and feel the dirt seeping into every pore. I won't discuss exactly how the Ninth disappeared but it is a doozy. Plus there are dragons, any story that can combine the Roman legion and dragons perks my interest immediately. I'm looking forward to Karus and the Ninth's further adventures. Well done Marc.

A fantasy Dream come true
As a ancient veteran RPGer.....we had this campaign setting ....the romans and dwarves......and.....gamed many battles with and against
in a greater greater fantasy world....well thats a lifetime of stories.
Thank you....for doing it....and doing it well....and epic ......big one from my bucket list

Awesome characters....awesome stories.......awesome setting
just devoured several audible books....in a week....and lacking sleep (all 5 stars)

cant wait for book 4...or 10......and Podium Publishing to get er done

a CON
no maps...
just found the map.......ya need a cartographer as good as the late great karen wynn fonstad

I had read all the so far published Stiger books. I figure I knew everything I needed to know about this milieu. Now I know I don't, not even close. There is no Stiger without Karus. And Karus is a huge and exciting man. I'm not going to say too much more about him. You've got to read this book for yourself, read it and ingest it. It's good, really good. Starting with the first half which is all in 1st Century Roman Britain, Well done Marc, I've read many "historical novels" set in the Isle and your tale tells it like it should be told. But, that's just the beginning. Like I said, read the book. It's worth it. It's that good. And expect the unexpected.

Excellent new story giving the background of just how the Roman Empire was moved to a planet with elves, dwarves, and monsters. Great characters who make the story move and provide excellent insight as to how a Legion actually worked. Superior knowledge exhibited of the Roman Empire and the Legion as well as history of the Roman Empire. Then to take all of that experience and incorporate it into a Sci-Fi/Fantasy tale - outstanding. Can't wait for the next installment

I’m writing this after finishing all four books. I think they are great! I enjoyed all four and I am looking forward to the next one. I am not a history scholar and cannot attest to the in depth accuracy of the depictions of Roman soldiers. I can only say it is good enough to sustain the stories and I will be back for more. I plan to copy his review for each of the books I’ve read. Yeah, I know it is a lazy way of doing it but this tells you how I like the stories and keeps me from “sawing sawdust”.

This book contains a lot of historical facts about the ancient Roman army; it's organization, operations and fighting techniques. It also details a lot of information about its leadership. The story is good and a very good beginning for understanding the complex set of world's, wizards, God's, dragons, magically infused artifacts and the characters that populate the author's universe. This is history fused with fantasy. It is a fun and enjoyable read.

Hands down, this is my favorite fantasy series of the past ten years, combining a great story with detailed and rich combat scenes. In this book, he's continued to expand the universe that brought these Roman soldiers to a fantasy world of elves, dwarves and dragons. You don't need to have read the other books in the series (and in fact, when all is said and done, this one might be best to read first).

Now there are three series in this series that I'm looking forward to.

I like this author and love his writing. Not overly dulled with details but enough to keep even arm chair historians entertained. Fast paced but still get full character development. I have read his stuff via the store unlimited since the day they were available. All his books have been great, my only wish is that he would get them out even faster! However I would rather have quality over quantity. I heard the author still has a day job, I do hope he quits and starts writing full time. You do not need to read the others before reading this but you will miss key names and references if you do.

This is an extremely entertaining book written by an excellent author. Somehow, the author masterfully manages to combine Roman military history and fantasy. The author, as in his other books, creates a narrative around a powerful central character. Although he excels at character development, he does not do so at the sacrifice of a spell binding plot, which is a trap that all too many authors fall into. I eagerly look forward to the next book in this series and other series that the author has in progress.

I like history. I’ve studied the Roman military as a hobby for decades. So a SF novel based on an actual Roman Legion that vanished is a natural fit. The action is slow because the author builds a good framework about life as a Legionary without getting too deep into the weeds. By “slow” I mean that he sets the stage and fights the battle and sets up for the next act.

This aint Conan the Barbarian that is all muscle and kill without any kind of nod to the support structure needed to do that. This is a very general class on the ways and means of the old Roman Legions. And, it also highlights what they did best - utterly destroy anyone foolish enough to oppose them.

This is the first of several books, and all that extra detail will come in handy elsewhere. The book is worth the price and the time.

This book is cleverly written by a great author from the start of this book .I was astounded at the design of this story line and character development .the pace of the story is never boring or lackluster. the author shows the reality of war and why the Roman empire was so successful at it ,it's been a long time since I've read a book that has kept me so immersed to point of losing my sleep.You will get your money's worth and more with the purchase of this book.

Great blend of historical fiction and fantasy. The book starts off as a good gritty historical tale of a Legion marching into danger, and could well stand on its own in that genre as the author brings a frontier legion alive for the reader. And then comes the twist as a worlds spanning war of the gods sends our main character and the Legion it falls to him to command after a disastrous campaign against the Celts into a new world of magic, orcs, demons and dragons. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

Seriously, another great read from Mr. Edelheit. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction. But I love the elements of Roman military history woven in with a touch of fantasy. As a big fan of his other series, I wasn't sure where this was headed. But Karus, the protagonist, is a lot of fun to follow. And I'm dying to see where this series goes.

I highly recommend this book. It's a page-turner with great action, plotting and suspense.

Even when the scenes changed, the action continued and came back to join with other scenes instead of breaking off into a thousand parts. Karus doesn’t find everything or know everything and the other characters can develop more. A hidden antagonist (religion, jealous suitor, power mad,...) within the Legion who is unknown to the readers, sabotages efforts or sells out to enemies. One critique, not enough explanation (from the first instance) of Orc, which are bigger than a normal Roman, appearing without anyone explaining - magic, open tunnel that couldn’t be seen at that angle, dark recess, sliding door ...). I know the one in the dungeon was explained from the hinged wall and chain, but the others were left to the Orc came out of the darkł. Overall, ready for the next one.

I couldn’t put this story down until I finished it in the wee hours of the morning. This wasn’t the typical going from one battle to the next. It portrayed the dreary slow march to the fight, and how one leader reacted to both normal and then unexplainable events. And how his thoughts were on taking care of all the people he was leading. Now I have to wait for sequels for both the Stiger stories, and Karus. Keep up the good work.