Casca #07: The Damned

For what is a pulp fiction series, this novel had a greater depth of character feeling than many of this genre. There are two memorable moments in this story where pathos and deep sorrow overtake the protagonist. The Gothic plundering of Rome is witnessed by Casca, a child of Rome, a man who has grown up and seen the empire at its best and worst, and it profoundly affects him. Riven by depression he leaves the dying empire and retreats to the deserted northlands where he once lived and reverts to a savage cannibal, losing his mind and all track of time. He is haunted by his past and the sadness of a man fated to be alone forever is palpable. Two threads weave their way through this story; the first is Casca's continuing life story, having to recover from his burns received in the preceding novel (The Persian) and dealing with an empire now converted to Christianity. Casca again endures being a slave-gladiator, and thanks to his prowess with the blade earns his freedom, albeit as a member of the ineffectual Imperial Guard. After his return from the northlands he joins up with the Roman army once more and comes face to face with the Huns and Attila. This is the second story. An escaped Chinese sage with the writings of Sun Tzu trains the Huns to wage war the way of Sun Tzu, who surely wrote the most comprehensive treatise on warfare ever in the history of mankind (recommended reading). When the two sides clash the effect is in essense a draw, although it seems like a defeat to the Huns. The ultimate effect is Attila turns on his sage but then dies through intrigues, prompted by the sage, who is in turn executed by Attila's successor, a neat and beauitful twist. Casca surveys the burial of Attila from afar, which is where the story ends. Very nicely written.

The bedrock of the Casca series is built on a firm foundation of easy to read passages, strong characters and an exotic historical setting. Some of the series lacked some or even all of these points, but the Damned had them all. The added fact it was set in the dying days of the Western Roman Empire made it more interesting. Sadler wasn't the greatest writer but he was able to draw you into his stories and one of the peaks of his writing came in this book when Casca, tired of the fighting and emotionally wrecked by the sight of the Visigothic sack of Rome, retreated from civilisation and found himself drawn back to the place he last felt at home, Helsfjord (see Casca 5: The Barbarian). This part of the book brought home the fact Sadler could write pathos and was capable of projecting sadness and solitude, a lesson surely to us all that immortality isn't something to aspire to, but is in fact a curse. Sadler's style was developing all the time and here he had a sub-plot which was missing in many of his novels. The sub-plot involved a Chinese courtier teaming up with the Huns under Attila and taught them the wisdom of war as taught by the scrolls of Sun Tzu. This is something anyone with an interest in warfare ought to study. The two plots converge later on when Casca is roused out of his depression and rejoins the Roman army in time to fight in the Battle of Catalunian Plains, one of the most important fights in history, when Attila is finally stopped. The book slightly unravels at the end when Attila is concentrated on, and we see his death and burial. The last paragraph has Casca viewing the burial and this then leads the reader onto the start of Casca 9: The Sentinel. A good, interesting and very competently written story.

Barry Sadler will forever be known for this magnificent series of an immortal soldier called - Casca! This one was awesome in scope for the first half of the book. Casca goes utterly insane and runs in the wilds as a madman with wolves. This was expected from a man damned by Christ, having seen and gone thru horrific events. Memorable and fun series to read.

An interesting account of the Huns invasion of Western Europe in the 5th century, told through the eyes of Casca, fighting for the last time for the Roman Legions. The account of the battle between Attila's Huns and the legions under Aetius is well written. There is a poignant part early on when he returns to a favourite place we read about in an earlier novel, and one can't help but feel for the character. Certainly well worth a read.

I liked this book for a couple of reasons. The first, and most obvious is that it is just a plain old well written story.The second is the feeling of familiarity in some of the things Casca experiences here. Twice in the story he goes back to places that meant something to him in the distant past. This is something I think all of us have felt when walking through the halls of the school you attended as a child or driving by the house you grew up in. Places, by themselves, are nothing without the people that made them special. The way Sadler relates this feeling really stands out in this book.