DisappointingThe novel "Give me back my legions" by Harry Turtledove is disappointing. The author concentrates on the psychology of the two main characters Varus and Arminius, which starts to repeat after a while. Besides this the author forgets a lot of other important things. For example I would have liked to see how Arminius managed to bring together the different Germanic tribes to common action. From a historical or novellist point of view the book is less than moderate. The novel ends with emperor Augustus reducing his plans to conquer Germany, but the fate of Arminius (murdered) and his wife and child (captured) is not part of the novel. Why? This is an integral part of this part of history! Just another disappointment. What was more interesting is the description how different cultures cannot cope with each other and fall into systematic misunderstandings on each other without escape. This could teach us something. Funny was Varus' statement that Germans and Jews are the most stubborn peoples in the Roman empire. I gave up on it. The overall plot seemed intriguing, which is why I picked it up. But I couldn't stand the writing. I don't think I even made it through a 1/4 of the book. I didn't care about any of the characters and I hated having everything explained to me like it was a young adult novel. I'm an adult, I appreciate writing that is at my reading level. Many of the literary devices were so obvious and blase that I actually had to put the book down every once in a while in order to make it as far as I did.I really don't recommend unless you are looking for very very light reading.
good. tortledove shows how human nature doesn't change even when it is a deadly trap.
—Pat
Harry Turtledove normally has a style I enjoy. Found this one to be very repetitive.
—sgtcarter0606
Interesting subject. The book did drag at times but overall I enjoyed it.
—nashleah
