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The Tribune and other fiction
#1
anyone else enjoy this book by paul larkin. im always looking for good roman military fiction. Ive read scarrow also, any recommendations of books I might be missing that are very realistic ?
Dan Tharp

Sicarii Sam distant cousin to Yosemite Sam. I\'ve iced a few politicos and a good number of gauls and brits. Have dagger will travel !! Confusedhock: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_eek.gif" alt="Confusedhock:" title="Shocked" />Confusedhock:
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#2
If you like crime novels I definitely could recommend the series SPQR by John Maddox Roberts and Sub Rosa by Steven Saylor. They describe very detailed and as far as I can judge it also very realistic the life in Ancient Rome.

I don't like the books by Lindsay Davis, her language is too modern so you don't get the feeling of reading a plot which is set in Ancient Rome.
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#3
I often wonder about the lack of good roman military fiction. It might be becaue on must be intimately familiar with the time, soldiers, langauge and mental reasoning of the time period. Though the average guy wouldnt notice.

One of my favorites is The Roman by mika waltari. I cringed however when there was a small sentence about the character adjusting the saddle stirrup. other than that Its a fine long book with the hero not being much of a hero at all.

out of print but amazon has copies. READ IT. cracking good story
Dan Tharp

Sicarii Sam distant cousin to Yosemite Sam. I\'ve iced a few politicos and a good number of gauls and brits. Have dagger will travel !! Confusedhock: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_eek.gif" alt="Confusedhock:" title="Shocked" />Confusedhock:
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#4
The author Wallace Breem wrote two books which play both in a military context, one during Augustus reign, the other in late antiquity about the crossing of the Rhine by Germanic tribes:

The Legate's Daughter
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159071 ... oding=UTF8

Eagle in the Snow
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002N ... oding=UTF8
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#5
If you are interested in the late Republic don't forgot Colleen McCullough's series. The first book concentrates highly on the carreer of Gaius Marius while esp. the later ones concentrate only on Caesar and got too lengthy. But esp. the first two volumes are definitely an entertaining read and from my knowledge about Rome I have the feeling that she did a good research on the topic.
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#6
The book by the Italian author Valerio M. Manfredi "The Last Legion" is highly fictional where a Roman soldier saves the last emperor Romulus Augusus and is a fast packed adventure story of their flight to Britannia. But nonetheless I enjoyed reading it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002N ... oding=UTF8
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#7
Military fiction vs. other? Scarrow is military, Maddox Roberts and Lindsey Davis (I preorder all their books no matter where published first) are more detectives, which is an entire genre in Roman fiction. Lindsey Davis is one of my favorites and the Latin teachers hereabouts universally love her. In Legio XX we generally favor her 'metal' series (Silver Pigs, Iron Hand of Mars, etc).
One Roman author not to miss that I feel is among the most accurate in the time, is an otherwise children's author Caroline Lawrence. Her's are a group of four 12 year olds who sleuth mysteries and run into the real and brutal life of the time period. One of the children has had their tongue cut out, another starts the series as a slave, one is Jewish. Death occurs frequently and is not glossed over, which is unusual for a children's series.
Richard Campbell
Legio XX - Alexandria, Virginia
RAT member #6?
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