Romans, Battles, Zombies?

Any additional comments?

In Michael Whitehead’s Legion of the Undead we are transported back to ancient Rome. It’s a time of expansion, war, emperors and zombies?

I have to say the premise of this had me cautiously curious right from the get-go. Zombies in ancient Rome? What would that be like? Would it work? Would I care? I dig the history channel and some novels about history, but this isn’t a subject I knew much about, so I feared being lost and maybe not caring. The outcome was a bit surprising to me. I even found myself googling a fact at one point to see if it was accurate. Answer: I’m not entirely sure, but I had to laugh when I realized I was engaged in the story enough to care.

The story opens with hints that something is wrong on the Legion’s front lines in Germania. They are prepared for a big battle that they are almost certain to win. All is going as planned for the well trained legionnaires when the dead start to rise. Not only those of their combatants but their fallen comrades as well. In moments, a sure thing becomes lost in chaos and a retreat is sounded.

From there we follow a dwindling number of survivors as they attempt to reach Rome and warn the emperor.

What did I like about this story?
For the first quarter of the story, I mostly just listened with interest as the main elements were being revealed and we met our main characters Vitus and Lucia. Vitus is an archer in the Roman legion’s and as his fellow soldiers and commanders fall, finds himself rising in both rank and responsibility and before long, he is tasked with escorting a small band of survivors back to Rome to warn the great city about the looming threat.

The zombies, or Risen as they are called, seem to be everywhere, in fact not only are they behind Vitus, they and other threats appear in front of him as well. Vitus is a noble and valiant hero who fights for his friends and the empire. He is swept up in a chain of events that push him along the heroes journey to not only face the threat of the Risen, but a threat from inside the empire itself.

It was this aspect of the story that I didn’t see coming and that by the end had me on the edge of my seat with shock and excitement as the various elements the author had been weaving came together in a rather startling climax. This sets the tone for an exciting series that deals with much more than just the threat of the Risen.

What didn't I like about this story?
There was one major aspect I struggled with during the listen, stemming from something that I suspect was unavoidable, but grated on me at times. That was, -us! Everything and everyone seemed to be named something that ended in -us. Our main character, Vitus, his fellow solider Regulus, their weapons, Gladius. It was a bit much, but like I said it was probably unavoidable as I suspect it was historically accurate. You couldn’t name the characters John and Greg and have it make sense with the period it was placed in, nor were their weapons probably called swords at the time. By the end I mostly got over this peevish irritation, but it was a distraction for me personally during the first half of the book.

Narration:
Many audiobooks can be made or broken by the narration and this is one of those cases where the narration makes the story even better. Terry F. Self does an excellent job of narrating, bringing the characters to life with the proper tone, authority and dignity that you would expect from the way it was written. I can almost imagine him getting caught up in the way of speaking after a narrating session and people trying to figure out what time machine he had just gotten out of. That thought makes me laugh.

Conclusion: (Aka: Would I listen to more by this author?)
Yes. I’m very much looking forward to checking out the next book in the series to find out how the dramatic events of the climax are resolved and what new challenges await our heroes!

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Enjoyed

First time I've felt the need to leave a review. Enjoyed already got 2+3, Cannt wait to listen to them both.

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Great junk food book

It is about what it states on the cover and doesn't do much more a fun listen

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Intriguing storyline awful British Accents

The idea of a zombie apocalypse in the Roman Empire in the reign of Vespasian is a novel take on the genre. I rather liked the American narrator, when he narrated, the story flowed well, but wasn’t as imaginative as it could have been.
Here’s the big showstopper but...his attempts at British accents were simply awful, many sounded like posh idiots and the regional accents were even more grating.

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1 person found this helpful

Historical zombie fiction.

Great characters and storyline. Natrator did a great job at doing different character voices. Lots of zombie action. Legionaries are cool; if Vitas dies I’ll be devastated. Will be diving into book 2 straight away.

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Brilliantly original story

A fantastic idea for the genre. Excellent writing makes this story flow very well and the pacing of the narrative is well done.

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2 people found this helpful

Great story brought to life by a great narrator!

If you could sum up Legion of the Undead in three words, what would they be?

Original, gripping, enjoyable

What did you like best about this story?

It's a great story and the author has obviously researched the period well. Because of the time period it is set in it is different to all the other zombie books I've been through.

What does Terry F. Self bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He brings all the characters to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I almost did listen to it all in one sitting. Had to take a break for some sleep though!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone.

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Rome Vs Zombies

This was a change from the usual zombie story choose, but I was surprisingly entertained by the idea of Roman Centurians taking on hordes of Zombies! The back stabbing politics and betrayals were engaging and addictive, I definately want to find out what happens next!

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great

this book was really good, I enjoyed the charater and loved the setting.
two of my favourite things zombies and the roman legion

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