Written by: Jason Born
Submitted By: April Born
(Submitted by the Author's wife, but don't take my word for how great these books are) Here is the review submitted by the Historical Novel Society *Steve Donoghue*)!
In AD 9, a massive Roman force of three legions under the command of a general named Quinctilius Varus were shadowed, surrounded, and almost completely annihilated by a large force of German tribesmen under the command of a man named Arminius. It was a devastating defeat, and, as Jason Born points out in his hugely entertaining new historical novel Wald Vengeance, “never again did Rome tread with authority east of the Rhine.”
Born’s “Wald” series – The Wald and Wald Afire – have been steadily building toward that climax in the life of Arminius; we met him as a little boy named Ermin, and we followed him through many encounters, both hostile and collaborative, with the Roman invaders of Germany. As he himself reflects at one point in Wald Vengeance, “Take twenty years off me and I’m sure the vision General Drusus had as he approached us on the battlefield was more comedy than tragedy – a spindly boy and a few thousand men with wicker shields.”
That formerly spindly boy has now become a calm and effective leader and general, and although he dominates Born’s concluding volume, there are plenty of other well-drawn characters, from General (and future emperor) Tiberius to Augustus Caesar to Varro himself. The dialogue is colorful and believable, and perhaps most importantly, the actual battle between the forces of Arminius and Varro in the great Teutoburg Forest is a thrilling set-piece of action writing. The entire series has been excellent, but this third volume is particularly recommended.
