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The misplaced legion by Harry Turtledove
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The misplaced legion (original 1987; edition 1987)

by Harry Turtledove

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535645,143 (3.63)12
The legion was far from Caesar's Gaul and Rome, banished to a world of magic and dark sorcery. Book One of The Videssos Cycle As they faced one another in a duel of survival, the Roman tribune Marcus Scaurus held the spell-scribed sword of a Druid priest, and the Celtic chieftain Viridovix held a similar sword, bespelled by a rival Druid sorcerer. At the moment they touched, the two found themselves under a strange night sky where no stars were familiar and where Gaul and Rome were unknown. They were in an outpost of the embattled Empire of Videssos--in a world where magic and dark sorcery would test their skill and courage as no Roman legion had ever been tested before.… (more)
Member:MDTLibrarian
Title:The misplaced legion
Authors:Harry Turtledove
Info:New York : Ballantine Books, c1987. 323 pages : map ; 18 cm.
Collections:Your library, Science Fiction and Fantasy
Rating:*****
Tags:Fantasy, Videssos, Videssos Cycle, Roman legion, Magic, read, contains map(s), WorldCat science fiction

Work Information

The Misplaced Legion by Harry Turtledove (1987)

  1. 00
    Ranks of Bronze by David Drake (DemetriosX)
    DemetriosX: Both books involve a Roman legion from around the same time period being whisked away from Earth. Ranks of Bronze is more SF, while the Turtledove is fantasy, but the Romans remain Romans
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» See also 12 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
Fantastic! Not once did things ever drag and I found myself just speeding along this tightly written book. I've read some Turtledove's alternate history and found them full of excruciating detail that bored me out of my skull [I'm not a history buff, so I wasn't the intended audience] but nothing like that occurred here.
Highly recommended. ( )
  BookstoogeLT | Dec 10, 2016 |
This is good Turtledove, with a Caesarian Legion flung out of Primetime into Comnenian Byzantium. It's a good quality pulp novel, well paced and suitable for a Spielberg treatment. So, I may read it again. ( )
  DinadansFriend | Mar 10, 2014 |
This was a great start to a great series. A Roman Legion and one Gaul are magically transported to a different world in a similiar time, the Empire of Videssos. Through some desperate political maneuvering they assume the same role they had back home, the front line troops of the Emperor. After that they must try to survive but internal and external enemies of the Empire of Videssos. Very realistic with enough fantasy elements (but not too many) to be very interesting. ( )
  Karlstar | Mar 3, 2013 |
Frankly I was bored reading this book. I kept hoping it would stir my imagination but sadly it started fine but never went to the next level. His description of the setting was like looking through a cloudy lens, he even said Romans played hockey at one point(???!). There was an annoying habit of referring to a character by their first name and also their last name making you believe there was two different people in the scene when there was only one.

This was my first Turtledove book...it will probably be my last. ( )
  Lynxear | Sep 7, 2012 |
Not bad, not wonderful. The setup is great, but they accept stuff too easily and get into local politics way too fast (for all of Marcus' disclaimers). The politics are quite nasty, too. And it ends in pretty much a cliffhanger - they're not still _in_ the battle, but that's all they've gotten out of. Both physical and political morasses still surround them. I enjoyed reading it, but I'm not sure I'm sufficiently interested to go hunting for the second book. I probably will (re)read it at some point - if only because I have the third and fourth books waiting - but despite the cliffhanger I just don't care very much about the story. ( )
  jjmcgaffey | Jul 29, 2010 |
Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (1 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Harry Turtledoveprimary authorall editionscalculated
RomasCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Shapiro, ShellyMapsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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In various ways, this book is dedicated to L. Sprague de Camp, J. R. R. Tolkien, Speros Vryonis, Jr., and above all, Laura.
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The legion was far from Caesar's Gaul and Rome, banished to a world of magic and dark sorcery. Book One of The Videssos Cycle As they faced one another in a duel of survival, the Roman tribune Marcus Scaurus held the spell-scribed sword of a Druid priest, and the Celtic chieftain Viridovix held a similar sword, bespelled by a rival Druid sorcerer. At the moment they touched, the two found themselves under a strange night sky where no stars were familiar and where Gaul and Rome were unknown. They were in an outpost of the embattled Empire of Videssos--in a world where magic and dark sorcery would test their skill and courage as no Roman legion had ever been tested before.

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