The Capsarius

Legion XXII, Book 1

By: Simon Turney

Narrated by: Colin Mace

Warrior and combat medic, Titus Cervianus, must lead a legion and quell the uprisings in Egypt in a new Roman adventure from Simon Turney. Egypt.

25 BC. Titus Cervianus is no ordinary soldier. A former surgeon from the city of Ancyra, he's now a capsarius—a combat medic. Cervianus is a pragmatist, a scientist and truly unpopular with his legion. The Twenty Second Deiotariana have been sent to deal with uprisings and chaos in Egypt. Yet the Twenty Second is no ordinary legion either. Founded as the private royal army of one of Rome's most devoted allies, the king of Galatia, their ways are not the same as the other legions, a factor that sets them apart and causes friction with their fellow soldiers.

Marching into the unknown, Cervianus will find unexpected allies in a local cavalryman and a troublesome lunatic. Both will be of critical importance as the young medic marches into the searing sands of the south, finding forbidden temples, dark assassins, vicious crocodiles and, worst of all, the warrior queen of Kush....

©2022 Simon Turney (P)2022 W F Howes

Starts slowly but ends with great action

This is y first book by Simon Turney. I enjoy both historical fiction and action/adventure stories and so I added this to my reading list. I found that the story began slowly with a meandering story line, as if the author was taking his time in setting the stage for a longer series. I took a liking to the protagonist Cervianus but I kept waiting for something to happen. Sure, we learned that he was bullied by his contubernium, and that he met some friends but it wasn’t captivating my interest, then the legion began to march to battle and things became fast paced and interesting. The battle scenes were exciting and things became interesting as we learn that the legionary tribune is a bit nuts. Cervianus develops into a solid soldier and a smart one whose tactical counsel is welcomed. The book ends very obviously with an attempt to draw you into the next book in the series. I definitely plan to continue.

Fantastic start to a series

I’m a huge fan of the Marius mules series and found Capsarius to be an even more engaging and fun listen.

Characters are great, setting is amazing, narration is perfect, all in all this book is 5/5. Can’t wait for next in series.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction, don’t hesitate to spend a credit on this book, It’s fantastic!

Amazing start

I'm a huge fan of the author. His last series of Marius Mules was fantastic. This is a very promising start. The book kept you interested. While MM focused more on senior commanders, this book focuses more on the rank and file. I'm extremely exited for the next book to come out!

The narrator is very good. But, I miss the Narrator from MM.

A different look at the legions

Really enjoyed this look at the legions and the setting in Egypt. A slight mystical aspect from a basically agnostic character in a very mystical country. Just finishing book one,going right to book 2 and hoping this develops into a long series.

Great story, but too short!

Annoyed the heck out of me when it was over in the middle of the story.

Outstanding!

I enjoyed this book very much. It was quite different from other Roman historical novels that I have read. The mysticism, seen of Ancient Egypt, seen through the eyes of a legionary, was fascinating. I look forward to the next book in the series.

The details about Egypt

Good narration. It is the first time I read about Rome and Egypt. Liked it very much.

Just an installment

I don’t do books with cliffhangers. I love series, but the conflict should be resolution each story. This book was short and incomplete.

Not what I had come to expect from Simon Turney

I loved Simon Turney's story of Marius' Mules but found the story line of Capsarius hard to get excited about. Not a big fan of the narrator either.

Not his best work

Was worth the listen as I like the author, but definitely not his best work. Story highly unbelievable - the tactics don’t make sense and battle outcomes don’t seem to follow what happened in the battle whatsoever. Then characters get killed off that you know absolutely nothing about because there was zero character development for all but 3 characters, and even those are extremely light.