An Emperor for the Legion

"An Emperor for the Legion" is the second of four volumes in the Videssos Cycle. At the end of "The Misplaced Legion", the Emperor had been killed by the Sorcerer of Yezda and the Videssan army had been routed due to the failure of Ortaias Sphrantzes to hold his section of the line. The army has been split into several parts, each with no contact with the others. Ortaias has one part, the Thorisin Gavras has another. Gavras is viewed by many as the rightful heir to Videssos. The rest of the army is under the command of Marcus Scaurus, the misplaced Roman Legionary. The plot of the first book in the series took a Roman Legion and through an accident of magic transported the legion to another world. They hired on with the Empire of Videssos as a mercenary company and with the murder of the emperor, Marcus is seeking the one man he is willing to follow: Thorisin Gavras. Much of "An Emperor for the Legion" is one long march. Marcus and his Romans, plus the rest of the army, is on the march through lands controlled by the Yezda and have to deal with random attacks. After finally meeting up with Thorisin, they return to the capital city of Videssos only to find it occupied by Ortaias, claiming to be the new Emperor. Marcus and Thorisin need to decide if they can accept the rule of Ortaias, or if attempting to assault the nearly impenetrable fortress city is worth the cost. This book is the logical extension of the story after "The Misplaced Legion". We do not see much character development of the Romans (or anyone else), but by spending more time with the Romans we get a better sense of who the men are. Call it "character explanation". The initial intrigue of sticking a Roman legion in a completely alien world in which magic is fairly commonplace has worn off by this point, but Turtledove is able to tell an interesting story with these characters. After this novel, the focus seems to be on the politics of Videssos seen through the filter of the Roman Legion. It's good, and very detail orientated. "An Emperor for the Legion" is a slower moving tale, but the series is an interesting one. -Joe Sherry

Harry Turtledove has said that his life was shaped and molded by reading "Lest Darkness Fall" by L. Sprague De Camp. To my mind this first series by the master of alternate history is a time travel book based loosely upon that previous classic. Elements of one of Caesar's legions are transported forward in time to the Byzantine Empire. Only it's not the Byzantine Empire, it's the Videssos Empire in another universe where magic works. Aside from that, it's the Byzantine Empire written by a Byzantine historian. Aside from just surviving, the hero must prevent his new homeland from being overrun by barbarians "Lest Darkness Fall". For this reason I consider this the best time travel series to a fictitious universe ever written, as well as the best series about a Roman Legion. It is a must read for anyone interested in the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, or time travel.One of the many things which make this series interesting is that the heroes are from Caesar's Rome. Rome is young energetic vibrant and, most of all, expanding at this time. They are transported to the Byzantine/Videssos Empire while it is in a period of decline. (If it were the real Byzantine Empire, it would be the final decline, but we can still hope for a revival of the Videssos Empire.) The decadence brought by a thousand years of Empire is sharply contrasted with the vibrant patriotism of our heroes who remain unknowing that this is the destiny of their empire too.This isn't just a military book where the legion moves from battle to battle. This is a much more realistic and complete world where the hero is thrust into the middle of court politics, and has to fight to overcome the shear inertia of the Empire's slide towards collapse. The hero spends more time facing corruption, political intrigue, distrustful monarchs, intolerant monks, and tax collectors than he does facing mounted cavalry units.I don't want to repeat the excellent review about the warfare in this series written by Robert, 12 MAR 99, under "The Misplaced Legion" (Videssos Cycle, Book 1). I would like to add though, that this is not a series about a general. This is not a David Drake/S.M. Sterling series about Belisarius. As Robert points out, the hero of this series stands in the middle of the battles, and seldom knows more of what's going on than immediately to his left and right. The battles themselves are mostly standup fights where two sides hack at each other. This is really much more realistic though. Most battles, especially in the Roman era, were fought this way. Even though nowadays it seems like every book we read is about Belisarius, brilliant generals with innovative battlefield ideas come along only once in a thousand years or so. Most battles are fought without them."The Misplaced Legion" (Videssos Cycle, Book 1) is followed by "An Emperor for the Legion" (The Videssos Cycle Book, 2), "The Legion of Videssos" (Videssos Cycle, Book 3),

I am truly enjoying this series. I am now working on Swords of the Legion and I have to say that this is a great series. "An Emperor for the Legion" is simply another outstanding addition to it. The characters are not super heroes, the Magic is not overpowering, and the story is humorous and interesting.

The epic story started in "The Misplaced Legion" continues with this book. Absolutely none of the energy driving this story was lost

After the pivotal battle that ended the first book, the legion is embroiled in the topsy-turvy politics after the Emperor is killed and a coward, backed by his influential uncle, claims the crown from the Emperor's brother and heir. Civil war spreads across the nation as the nomads push deeper into the westlands. Turtledove is a master at seeing intrigue, and creates a convincing story as bureucrats, nobles, and the military maneuver for power