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Give Me Back My Legions!: A Novel of Ancient Rome Audiobook
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(2.97) - 254 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Publius Quinctilius Varus, a Roman politician, is summoned by the Emperor, Augustus Caesar. Given three legions and sent to the Roman frontier east of the Rhine, his mission is to subdue the barbarous German tribes where others have failed and to bring their land fully under Rome's control.
Arminius, a prince of the Cherusci, is playing a deadly game. He serves in the Roman army, gaining Roman citizenship and an officer's rank, and learning the arts of war and policy as practiced by the Romans. What he learns is essential for the survival of Germany, for he must unite his people against Rome before they become enslaved by the Empire and lose their way of life forever.
An epic battle is brewing, and these two men stand on opposite sides of what will forever be known as the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest—a ferocious, bloody clash that will change the course of history.
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"A stronger-than-average Turtledove selection. Liked: gives depth (through well developed characters) of a real historical incident (this is not a contrafactual), doesn't flip among too many character story lines--a Turtledove habit, doesn't let the battle overwhelm the story line. Disliked: Characters endlessly repeat some mantras (e.g. "one day this will be a proper Roman province")---a bad Turtledove habit. Even better than *Fort Pillow*."
— David (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“The fantastic action scenes and taut narrative make this a fine addition to the ancient Roman battles canon.”
— Publishers Weekly -
Turtledove's searing account clears the cobwebs off this ancient and nearly forgotten disaster, and brings it to vivid and startling life for modern [audiences].
— Michael Curtis Ford, bestselling author of The Ten Thousand
Give Me Back My Legions! Listener Reviews
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" Harry Turtledove normally has a style I enjoy. Found this one to be very repetitive. "
— Brian, 2/1/2014 -
" I'll post a better review once I'm done. It's another Harry Turtledove takes a bit of history and gives a fictional account of what happened. This time, it's Germany in the time of the Roman Empire. "
— Brian, 2/1/2014 -
" Overly long and complex. A straight up Harry Turtledove novel. "
— Christopher, 1/14/2014 -
" A quick look at how Roman tried to 'Romanize' the Germanic Tribes and how their legions were destroyed. Nothing great but nothing bad either. "
— Jason, 12/31/2013 -
" It was a decent historical fiction read, just not as gripping as he often is. "
— Ron, 12/2/2013 -
" Interesting historical fiction, however I found it to be very repetitive - to the point of being annoying at times. Still and all, worth the read I guess. "
— Rich, 11/30/2013 -
" Gave it a second star only because of the historical references at the end which allowed me to find much more entertaining and informative books on this subject. My first and possibly last Turtledove. "
— Michael, 7/22/2013 -
" A bit drawn out and very crude at parts, but well written. "
— Paul, 3/24/2013 -
" Retelling of how Rome was stopped from making Germany part of the empire. Well written, but alas, I knew the ending "
— Rob, 11/15/2012 -
" With few facts to work with, Turtledove puts together a good fictional account of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the high watermark of Roman expansion into central Europe. "
— Bill, 8/10/2012 -
" Build up, Build up, Build up and then mehhh. "
— Tamer, 7/28/2012 -
" good. tortledove shows how human nature doesn't change even when it is a deadly trap. "
— Patricrk, 4/16/2012 -
" This was disappointing and overly repetitive. I think Turtledove does alternate history better than the real thing. I was glad to finish it. "
— Michale, 2/5/2012 -
" Novel based on the fascinating Battle of Teutoberg Forest. Horrid title, interesting plot, some humorous culture-clash moments between the Romans and Germans, uneven in tone and writing. "
— Robin, 9/7/2011 -
" Historical novel about Rome's failure to bring the Germanic tribes into the empire. Good narration. Plausible characters. "
— Dave, 8/8/2011 -
" Interesting history and well-written. But,they ought to have included an historic map of the Europe to help illustrate the story. Also, I think the author's point "how this loss changed history" was explained well. Still, am glad I read it. "
— Carol, 6/14/2011 -
" A quick look at how Roman tried to 'Romanize' the Germanic Tribes and how their legions were destroyed. Nothing great but nothing bad either. "
— Jason, 1/25/2011 -
" I'll post a better review once I'm done. It's another Harry Turtledove takes a bit of history and gives a fictional account of what happened. This time, it's Germany in the time of the Roman Empire. "
— Brian, 4/25/2010 -
" Interesting historical fiction, however I found it to be very repetitive - to the point of being annoying at times. Still and all, worth the read I guess. "
— Rich, 10/24/2009 -
" Interesting view of the legions in Germany. The author has created his novel from actual historical events recorded by Roman historians. <br/>I particularly like historical novels that are very closely based on true historical events. "
— Ross, 8/7/2009 -
" Harry Turtledove normally has a style I enjoy. Found this one to be very repetitive. "
— Brian, 7/28/2009 -
" It was a decent historical fiction read, just not as gripping as he often is. "
— Ron, 5/13/2009 -
" Interesting history and well-written. But,they ought to have included an historic map of the Europe to help illustrate the story. Also, I think the author's point "how this loss changed history" was explained well. Still, am glad I read it. "
— Carol, 5/10/2009
About Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove, known as the “Master of Alternative History,” is the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of a number of bestselling series and standalone novels. He received his PhD from UCLA in Byzantine history and worked as a technical writer for the Los Angeles County Office of Education before becoming a full-time fiction writer. He also served as the treasurer of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He has written a number of successful series, including the Crosstime Traffic series, the Darkness series, and the Worldwar I Colonization series, among others. His standalone works include Ruled Brittania, Every Inch a King, Conan of Venarium, Household Gods, and Justinian.
About Simon Vance
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.