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The Forgotten Legion: (The Forgotten Legion Chronicles No. 1) [Paperback]

Ben Kane
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
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Book Description

6 Jan 2011 The Forgotten Legion Chronicles (Book 1)

Romulus and Fabiola are twins, born into slavery after their mother is raped by a drunken nobleman. At thirteen years old they are sold - Romulus to gladiator school, Fabiola into prostitution, where she will catch the eye of one of the most powerful men in Rome. Tarquinius is an Etruscan, a warrior and soothsayer, born enemy of Rome, but doomed to fight for the Republic in the Forgotten Legion. Brennus is a Gaul, his entire family killed by the Romans, and he rises to become one of the most famous and feared gladiators of his day.

The lives of these characters are bound and interwoven in an odyssey which begins in a Rome riven by political corruption and violence, but ends far away, at the very border of the known world, where the tattered remnants of a once-huge Roman army - the Forgotten Legion - will fight against overwhelming odds, and the three men will meet their destiny.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Arrow (6 Jan 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099556286
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099556282
  • Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 3.3 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 20,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"I thoroughly enjoyed The Forgotten Legion - so much so that I stayed up until 2am to finish it. Where others play in the rarefied world of senators, legates and upper class merchants, Kane delves into the grim underbelly of slavery, prostitution and gladiatorial carnage; a place where life is cheap and the thirst of the conquerors for the blood of the conquered knows no bounds. Here, we smell the grime, lie on the cold floors, face death daily with little to live for beyond the faint spark of hope that one day there might be revenge. His creation of the Etruscan Haruspex is fantastic - a man of a defeated nation who can yet give hope, and does so, to both Roman and captive alike . . . and the conclusion leaves us waiting for the sequel." (Manda Scott, Author Of The 'boudica' Novels )

"Historical fiction has never been more visceral and engaging than Ben Kane's debut novel The Forgotten Legion. Bloody, fast-paced, thrilling . . . what Wilbur Smith did for Egypt, Kane does for ancient Rome. Written in a cinematic style, Kane paints his lost world with such fervency that you'll swear you hear the thunder of the colisseum and the roar of the lions in the pit. Here is a masterful debut that shouldn't be missed!" (James Rollins, Bestselling Author Of The Last Oracle )

Book Description

The Forgotten Legion - fighting for honour, freedom and revenge

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting offering 21 Jun 2010
By Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
With a great many titles in the Historical Fiction genre being set within the Roman era, an author has to come up with something very special to stand out from the others. What Ben has done with this offering is take a different approach by utilising an interesting snippet from history of the possibility of a Roman Unit within China. Its interesting, its got some controversy but above all the author has cleverly considered what difference this ancient war machine would make to an Army from the East.

The characters were reasonable, the plot outline not only fascinating but intriguing and brought together with some descent combat sequences. It's a title that will either have a great many readers loving or loathing but its definitely a title that stands out and will, above all else find the readers staying up late to read the next chapter. Which is a great way to keep the author's characters and arc in mind. I'll eagerly await the second offering.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Republican Rome's underbelly exposed. 1 Aug 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
Republican Rome's underbelly exposed.

Ben Kane's novel 'The Lost Legion' is a gripping novel set in ancient Rome. Kane writes about the last days of the Roman Republic but with an unusual approach. He chooses his main characters from people on the margins of Roman society, those who inhabit the underbelly of the Republic and provide the essential services to keep the wealthy in a life of luxury. This means that the society they describe is almost as much of a mystery to them as it to the reader of two thousand years later.

Kane opens the book by giving us Tarquinius, a character from the long-conquered Etruscan society, moves swiftly to introduce Brennus a giant of a Gaul and then to Romulus and Fabiola, slave siblings who are sold into two of the most awful worlds of Rome, the brothel and the circus.

Kane chooses to develop different streams of his novel, never an easy task but one which he manages with skill. I never felt I had to go back to re-read what was happening to one of the characters even when there had been a gap since I had last read about them.

I particularly liked his portrayal of the clever, beautiful Fabiola. Many epic historical novels tend to side-line female characters but Fabiola is not a woman content to be side-lined by anybody, (including, I suspect, the author.) I look forward to seeing how she will develop.

Kane seems to me to be historically accurate, adept at capturing the essence of Romans such as Caesar, Crassus and Brutus. This dedication to authenticity led to one of my few niggles. He uses the accurate Roman words for weapons, almost all of the time. This gave me pause; I'd rather he dispensed with the Latin and said swords and shields for ease of reading.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful stuff! 20 Aug 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
First of all I have to declare an interest (and a concern) here. Ben Kane and I are colleagues in the historical fiction genre, and friends to boot. He's recently reviewed my first book and been kind enough to make some positive comments - and I suppose the praise of our peers always means a lot to any professional - and I therefore approach this review in the interesting situation that if I take a positive view of 'The Forgotten Legion' it can 'only be' as an act of mutual back scratching. Indeed I thought long and hard before setting finger to keyboard at all on the subject, but decided that not to comment on Ben's debut novel would just be counter productive, given the way I reacted to his work. So...

Ben often says that 'The Forgotten Legion' would be a better book were he to write it now, and think we can all say the same about our early work. We mature as writers, learn what works best and become more skilled at plot and characterisation (you can either write dialogue or you can't, and no amount of literary study will change that in my opinion). So if Ben were to re-write TFL he might produce a more 'polished' work, but might also run the risk of losing the energy that I found in the book, that sheer sense of 'what if...' that has a fan of alternate history like me stroking his chin and thinking.

Ben holds a sizeable audience in the palm of his hand, and it's easy to see why. The risk with historical fiction is that we tend to know more or less what's coming.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Forgotten Legion! 4 Feb 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book when it first came out and it's sequels but for one reason or another, didn't get round to reading it (them) until now. Being an avid fan of Simon Scarrow, Douglas Jackson, Conn Iggulden and more recently Anthony Riches (and others) I was keen to find another author of equal story telling skill that mixed historical fact with fiction.

Knowing it to be a tall order, I always have reservations as to whether someone can live upto their extremely high standards and I'm pleased to say that Ben Kane does that superbly in this book with intriguing characters and a storyline that keeps you turning the pages. Some say the market in this genre is flooded etc etc but you can never have too much of a good thing.

The Forgotten Legion has four principle characters; Romulus and Fabiola, who are twins sold into slavery after their mother is raped by a nobleman, Brennus a Gaulish warrior and Tarquinius an Etruscan Soothsayer and warrior. Tarquinius has 'seen' that their destinies will bring them together through the brutality that is ancient Rome.

Caught training with sword by his owner Gemmulus, Romulus is sold to a Gladiator school where he meets Brennus who was captured in Gaul and eventually made to become a Gladiator. Fabiola is sold into prostitution to an upper class house in Rome, the playground for noblemen. Events see Brennus and Romulus coming together as friends against common enemies that develop at the Gladiator school.

Ben Kane produces a story that isn't just engrossing, it also enables the reader to easily indentify with the characters and to 'see, smell' what life was like in Rome for those sold into slavery, how little their lives were worth and the vile stench of the back streets where murderers, robbers and rapists prey on the weak.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Something appealing, something revealing
I've read a number of historical novel series, many of them are set in the very popular period of the Roman Empire. Read more
Published 1 month ago by M Poole
5.0 out of 5 stars The Forgotten Legion, Ben Kane- Book Review
The Forgotten Legion is based around one of the most infamous eras of Roman history, the triumvirate of Pompeii Magnus, Crassus and Julius Caesar. Read more
Published 2 months ago by adam-p-reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive reading.
Just discovered this Authur, Ben Kane. Once started, I found it very difficult to put it down. As a result I have his other titles lined up ready for the follow on. Read more
Published 2 months ago by john williams
1.0 out of 5 stars Uninteresting
I'll be honest from the outset, I bought this because I've finished all of Simon Scarrow's "Cato" and Rob Low's "Orm/Crowbone" series, and I wanted a new set of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mark D
5.0 out of 5 stars A good start.
I'd read Simon Scarrow's books andMC Scott and was looking for a replacement. These definately fit the bill. Lots of action and a good story.
Published 3 months ago by mike stott
5.0 out of 5 stars Non-Stop read!
I'm a fan of Ben Kane! This is the second book I've bought. I haven't been able to put this book down!!! It's exciting, well written and easy to read. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Alanna Cheshire
5.0 out of 5 stars The Forgotten Legion Masterpiece!
This fantastic book by Ben Kane is the 1st part of the "The Forgotten Legion" trilogy and it's certainly a very impressive debut. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Clemens Schoonderwoert
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Brilliant book been a while since I read a decent book. Just could not put it down,would definitely recommend this book. Now for book 2
Published 5 months ago by joanne
4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping historical yarn
This novel is a very good example of the historical novel genre. The main protagonists are well characterised and the research into life in Roman times and warfare in the middle... Read more
Published 5 months ago by John D
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Really good book to read, couldn't put it down once I started it . Can't wait to read the next book
Published 5 months ago by Rprice
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