Apologies in advance but I’m going to over-write a bit with this post and most of it isn’t going to be relevant to the book. I took a chance on this one and I feel the need to explain why I picked it – particularly given the fact that it’s not a title which most would have thought to buy and read.
Anyone who follows the blog knows that my primary genre is Science Fiction & Fantasy. I probably give it 70% of my total reading time. I do have a second love, however, and that’s history – particularly classical history – something that started when I read Gibbon’s “The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire” in High School. I’ve spent a lot of time over the years digging into Greek and Roman history and I’ve put together a pretty decent collection of some great work. I’ve posted pictures from my Library before but I have a dedicated bookshelf in the Office just for my classical history titles:
For anyone who’s interested in these topics, I’d highly recommend the three titles by Peter Green (one of my old College Professors) – “The Greco-Persian Wars”, “Alexander Of Macedon” and “From Alexander To Actium” – as a great overview of Greek History from the rise of Athens to the Roman conquest of the Grecian city states – it’s a great starting point and the books are actually very easy reads. If you’re interested in learning more about Roman military history and the history of the Legions that served the Empire, I’d recommend a truly beautiful book called “Legions Of Rome”. Not only does it chronicle the military history of both the Republic and the Empire – it also provides a pretty detailed TOE for a standard legion AND details the history of every Legion that was ever put into the field. It’s a book that deserves a place in the library of anyone with an interest in Rome.
Needless to say, when I see a title that brings these two loves together, it’s an easy decision to give it a try. I’ve read several speculative fiction / alternate histories of Rome and my favorite – by far – is Thomas Harlan’s 4 volume “The Oath Of Empire” consisting of “The Shadow Of Ararat”, “The Gate Of Fire”, “The Storm Of Heaven” and “The Dark Lord”. I read these about 15 years ago and remember them as exceptional reads that I’d enthusiastically recommend to anyone.
Amazon offered up “Stiger’s Tigers” at the same time that it suggested “Hammers On Bone” and I made a bit of an impulse buy. It’s Volume #1 of a series called “Chronicles Of An Imperial Legionary Officer”. Here’s why it caught my eye and made it onto the nightstand when I have so much other stuff I really want to read:
- Fantasy / Speculative Fiction: Check
- Roman Alternate History: Check
- Military / Legionary Focus: Check
- Winner of the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Bronze Award for Fantasy: Check
- Strong Reviews On Amazon: Check
Low risk buy for someone with my profile – right?
All the normally satisfying tropes were there for this type of novel: notoriously harsh but effective and dutiful servant of the Empire arrives to take command of an undisciplined, ineffective unit – duplicitous, political appointee senior officers – inexperienced but well meaning junior officers – tough and capable NCOs – break them down and build them up training sequence – a fragging attempt that Stiger foils and then turns into an esprit building event – and a series of engagements that escalate in criticality. On top of this, throw in an Elven Ranger and a Paladin cleric right out of D&D and you have a mix of elements that might have led to something enjoyable.
Sadly, the whole thing never really got off the ground. The quality of the writing was average – stilted and tortured in places. The tropes – really dependable components of this type of story – were poorly executed – instead of satisfying, they were mundane and boring. The addition of the fantasy elements felt like a bolt on, weren’t used to good effect, and were probably more of a distraction than anything else. Also frustrating for me with respect to a book that teased thematic linkages to Rome and her Legions was the fact that the Author never made much of an attempt to embed the structure and terminology of either into his book. Seriously…how hard would it have been to use some of the actual Legionary terminology to describe rank structure and / or kit. I’m sure it’s just me but it felt like the author left an easy and relate-able element lying on the table. I’m not sure if he didn’t do his research or if he just decided that doing so would only appeal to history nerds like me – far too small an audience. For whatever reason, it left me feeling let down.
Short to long – this one was average, unremarkable and represents two days of reading time that I wish I could get back. Honestly, I probably should have known better so shame on me. Needless to say, I won’t be buying any of the rest of the books in this series.
I can send your way. Thanks for reading and for the comment. Have a great weekend. Brian
Hmm. Think I have Steiger’s Tigers, but haven’t read it yet.
Thanks for the recommendations on Greek history. I feel like there’s a large gap in my knowledge for about the time of Alexander.
I didn’t have much interest in Roman history until I read Colleen McCulloch’s Masters of Rome series. That was historical fiction and dealt primarily with the last ruling consuls and dictators and Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar (and their allies and rivals). But since warfare was a major pastime of all of them, there were some good sections on the legions in there as well.
Let me know if you’d like more recommendations on Rome and what you might be interested in – I have a ton