Enjoyable read. Good action scenes and interesting characters. Good start to a series.

Relatively entertaining and as salacious as one expects after reading the description. It's nothing new but it serves its purpose as a fast, light historical read for those who want to dip a toe into the Republic.

Yet another entry in the recent host of action books set in ancient Roman times. What sets this apart from others is that the main characters are all relative nobodies--slaves, peasant, war captive-turned gladiator. This gives us a glimpse into the seedier side of Roman life, and into the hopes and dreams of men and women who don't share the typical patrician Roman attitudes handed down to us by those whose writings have been preserved. A nice change of pace.
None of these characters has any authority, power or control over the events that surround them. (Well, by the end two of them have gained some measure of power, but you get my point)
The title notwithstanding, this is not a book about the forgotten legion, it is a book about the four main characters (three of whom do eventually leave with Crassus's army on his ill-fated attempt to attack Parthia.) It takes half the book to get the characters to the army, and only the final pages are truly about the forgotten legion--because this is only the first installment of the whole story.
So be warned, don't start this book unless you are willing to continue on.

ACLARACIÓN: A este libro le di 3.5/5 estrellas, pero debido a que Goodreads no permite que se

Un libro interesante, con una trama novedosa y llamativa, que realmente toco mi parte curiosa. Basado en una historia verdadera y una hipotesis actual, el libro se centra entre los años 70 a.C y 53 a.C siguiendo a sus protagonistas, cuatro esclavos, durante el desarrollo del mismo. Es interesante de ver como premoniciones que se oyen al comienzo de la historia comienzan a cumplirse a lo largo de la misma, y como individuos que no tenían vínculo alguno entre si terminan reuniéndose.
Recomendada!



Frase favorita: **Estaban vivos. Por el momento, eso era suficiente**

Ben Kane transports his readers back in time to Ancient Rome, where the capital was built on slavery and each day was a fight for survival in his book, The Forgotten Legion. Following the stories of four individual characters, Kane explores how hard life was for slaves back then and how their destiny was in the hands of whoever owned them at the time, whether they be working on a farm, in a pleasure house or as gladiators.

Connected by blood and friendship, the four young characters must battle to find their place in the world. Twins, Romulus and Fabiola are sold to the gladiating school and into prostitution respectively after their owner becomes tired of having them around at just the age of thirteen. Both driven by the desire to see each other again and save their mother, they strive to not only survive, but be the best they can be in their respective new careers. The added incentive of tracking down their father only fuels their fight, for they both desire revenge on the nobleman who raped their mother so many years ago.

Romulus ends up befriending the most feared and respected gladiator of them all – Brennus – after he helps saves Brennus’ lover. Respecting the courage of the young warrior, Brennus takes on Romulus and tries to teach him all he knows about survival and how to fight in order to win in their harsh life. It helps him make up for his past, when he had been unable to protect those he loved and watched his whole village be slaughter by the Romans. Eventually, the two end up joining the Roman army, where they are joined by Tarquinius. Being able to read the signs of fate has led the soothsayer on a journey to inflict his own revenge on his former master, Tarquinius is there to make the duo a three as they battle against impossible odds on one of Rome’s campaigns east.

Kane creates captured and engaging characters. None of them are without their flaws and weaknesses, yet their drive to have more in their lives than just being a slave is a truly gripping story. The bonds of friendship and loyalty are forged in such a way they become unbreakable, and the reader has no desire to see those bonds broken for anything.

The first few chapters of the story was a little hard to follow as the timings seemed to jump around a lot, not to mention the characters and places as we are introduced to all of the characters. Yet when their stories start combining, Kane’s ability to effortlessly pull all of the pieces together is truly a marvel. Despite it being set in Ancient Rome, Kane explains the traditions in an understated way so the reader never feels lost about what is going on. For having no expectations of this book, it was truly a gripping read and has inspired me to find more of his books through the way he captures the hearts and minds of his audience.

Ben Kane is one of those authors that I discovered by accident back in 2015 when I read and reviewed a book of his that I had discovered on NetGalley. I've read at least one book by him every year since then and I haven't been disappointed yet. The Forgotten Legion is a book that I randomy found in December of last year (2018) at a secondhand store. I never ever expected to find a Ben Kane book there so obviously my excitement knew no bounds. It still took me six months to finally get around to reading the book but now it's one of my favorites for sure!

The Forgotten Legion is a favorite of mine now but it took me one or two chapters (and these are pretty long chapters) to really get into the book, to be honest. I think I had to get used to the writing style but as soon as other characters got introduced and the story really started going I was hooked. It's a pretty big book at 659 pages but I finished it in only four days because I just couldn't stop reading and that's not something that happens very often to me lately.

There are a couple of different characters that feature in this book. They were all pretty different and that's why it really worked for this book. First of all there's Tarquinius who's a Etruscan soothsayer who also knows how to fight. He was probably my least favorite character but in the end I managed to start appreciating him more. Romulus and Fabiola are twins who are slaves who were born after their mother was raped by a nobleman. They're sold when they're thirteen. Romulus ends up at gladiator school and Fabiola ends up in a brothel. And last but not least there's Brennus, a Gaul. His whole family and tribe got murdered by the Romans and he became one of the strongest gladiators and mentor to Romulus.

The story takes place over a lot of years so we see the characters have bad things happen to them but they grow and learn as well along the way. This is a trilogy so there's a whole lot more to come that I just can't wait to discover. I don't have the books yet and since I'm on a book buying ban I'm going to have to wait until I can buy them but I'm already wondering about where the rest of the characters' different journeys will lead them.

At best, I have a layman's interest in Ancient Rome. But I came across this novel in the downtown bookstore a few weeks ago, thumbed through its contents, was intrigued, and bought it.

This is the first novel in a trilogy. There are 4 principal characters who are at the heart of the story. Tarquinius is an Etruscan proud of his heritage, who has been schooled in the ancient arts of divination by Olenus, a wise and resourceful teacher and mentor. He lives with his parents as slaves on a large estate on what was the ancient Etruscan lands, now firmly incorporated into the Roman Republic. His master is Caelius, a selfish, pompous, and impetuous red-headed fellow.

Eventually, the life that Tarquinius has known is turned upside down because of the hated Romans and he has to leave home. He wanders for many years, spends some time as a legionary in the East, and eventually makes his way to Rome, where he eks out a living for several years.

Romulus and Fabiola are twin brothers and sisters born in slavery in Rome. Their mother devotes her life to protecting and nurturing them as best she can. Romulus, as a young teen, befriends a tall and powerfully built Nubian slave, who teaches him in secret some special fighting moves. But one night, he is found out by another slave, who tells Gemellus, Romulus' fat and arrogant master, of what he has seen. Consequently, Romulus is sold to a gladiator school and Fabiola is sold into prostitution in one of the most prestigious brothels in Rome, which is frequented by the most distinguished members of Roman society. Their mother is grief-stricken.


While learning through trial and error how to survive as a gladiator, Romulus makes the acquaintance of Brennus, a Gaul who had been a proud and most courageous warrior who was captured (following the destruction of his tribe and homeland) and sold into slavery.

Brennus, in comparison to most Romans, is a giant of a man, with long blonde hair and a powerful physique. He makes a name for himself as one of the most successful and celebrated gladiators in Rome.

One night, Brennus and Romulus sneak out of the gladiator school and have a night on the town in a bar with all kinds of characters, legionaries and citizens alike. Unfortunately, both got into trouble, which led to the death of a rich Roman who had accosted them at the entrance to a brothel. So, they fled from Rome and travelled far to the south, to Brundisium, where they enlisted in the Roman Army under the command of Crassus, one member of the triumvirate that rules the Republic. (Crassus, though no military leader on the level of the other 2 men forming the ruling triumvirate of the Republic --- i.e. Pompey Magnus and Julius Caesar --- is anxious to win a major battle in the East and thus displace Pompey and Caesar and become the sole ruler of Rome.)

Shortly before sailing from Italy, Romulus and Brennus make the acquaintance of Tarquinius and through their subsequent trials and tribulations in Parthia, form a deep and indissoluble bond.


This is a story of epic scope, well-paced, which leaves the reader anxious to know what will happen in the second novel of the trilogy. For that reason, I recommend "The Forgotten Legion" to anyone who wants to lose him/herself in a story that is a grand adventure with a rich and diverse variety of characters. (What's more: for those readers who are fans of Ancient Rome, the author uses, from time to time, a variety of Latin words unique to the period whose meanings are explained in an accompanying glossary.)

The story of the disastrous defeat of the Roman general Crassus, as viewed from the perspective of three unimportant people.

The young Julius Caesar rapes a slave girl, who subsequently bears twins, a boy and girl. The girl grows to be a classy hooker, her brother a gladiator. The third principal character in the novel is a young Etruscan, who had been taught the wiles of ancient Etruscan divination. Due to various difficulties the gladiator and the Etruscan are forced to flee Rome, and join Crassus' doomed army. The two men survive the embarrassing defeat, and with their comrades, are marched to the eastern borders of the Parthian Empire, where they are stationed far from their home, guarding the territories of their former enemies.

The story is alternatively told from the perspective of each of the three main characters. The plot moves quickly, it is clear and consistent, with a few twists and turns. I would not say great fiction, but certainly entertaining.

What was amusing was the unusual interpretation of historical characters. Caesar, for example, is portrayed less heroically than he usually is (vastly different from McCullough's Caesar). Also the Roman institution of slavery, and its malign social and economic affects, are highlighted and disparaged.

Worth reading, I look forward to the following two novels in the series.

I enjoyed the story very much and liked many of the characters as well as Kane's depiction of Rome and the Legion in his time period. Kane takes us to a little known series of event for the Legion as well as into the world of the courtesan.

I gave it 4 Stars because his two main characters rang hollow to me. There over quick 'ability' to accept and succeed against the predicaments Kane placed them in seemed too pat. Theirs were extreme situations and, to me required a more difficult learning curve for the characters to be a bit more believable. I much prefered his secondary characters, an Etruscan seer and a Gallic gladiator. These seemed more - well, human I guess despite their mastery of their various arts.

The book remains a page turner for all of that. Therefore, it's worth the read if you like Roman historical fiction in the times of Brutus and Julius.