The Fire Islands

Legionnaire, Book 1

By: Gilbert M. Stack

Narrated by: William L. Hahn

Lesser Tribune Marcus Venandus, Legion officer exemplar, was exiled to the disease-ridden hell hole known as the Fire Islands as punishment for the failed political machinations of his father. While the days of the powerful witchdoctor kings throwing skeletal armies against the shields of the legion have faded into history, all is not right at the edge of the world. Unrest is boiling once again as long dead darkness seeps back into the islands. With the legion more concerned with its personal rivalries than with its duty, it will fall to Marcus and his small, highly disciplined, command to put the horrors of the past back in their graves, and literally save Aquila from a fate worse than death.

©2017 Gilbert M. Stack (P)2019 Gilbert M. Stack

A solid start to a new world of adventure.

Life is not simpler for good men in a world that is in constant peril from incompetent politicians and embolden rebels. Now throw in the mix that the rebels have magic and your boss has paranoia and has his gazes fixed on you. The Lesser Tribune Marcus just wants to do his job well for the glory of his country. Assigned to a collection of islands, where a generation before Marcus' countrymen crushed all resistance, is now losing control and no one is listening to you. What does a man with a clean reputation, military discipline and honor do? He trains his men, keeping discipline in his ranks while he watches that discipline, the very discipline that led to them conquering these islands become malignant and irrelevant. Marcus is the type of military leader that looks at what he faces, what he has and makes the best of it. He is of an earlier generation. One that has not become lax in its duties, understanding that it takes a firm discipline hand to rule. Not a hand that believes these islands are now their home and they no longer need to stay vigilant.

Gilbert Stack brings a great understanding of the Roman world, while he transports it to a different reality. A reality that does have magic, but still has that same fabric running through it, human corruption. It is nice to listen to a book where the writer has done his research. Although the book is solid, the narration does take a bit to get used to. The cadence is a little faced at the start and the limited use of sound effects caught me by surprise and was used at odd times.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Nice historical fiction

I was voluntarily given this book in exchange for a review.

Pretty good historical fiction. Characters are interesting and the story keeps you wanting more. A little short but this is the first in a series. Will Hahn did a great job with the narration.

Short but enjoyable!

Enjoyed the book. Interesting plot, good characters, esp the MC who was a very idealistic guy. Great blend of alternate reality, zombies and historical. Well worth listening to, a little short for a credit but a great sale book. Be interesting to see where the series goes.

This book provided at no cost for a fair and honest review.

Roman Legionnaires meet Haitian necomancers

I hadn't come across Gilbert M. Stack's "Legionnaire" series before, but I'm glad there was an offer to review one of the other books in the series and I ended up buying the first audiobook myself.

There aren't many books that deal with the 'science' of being an elite soldier within a low magic fantasy setting. The care with which various reasons were explained for the training and the explanations of the legion, its history and various ranks were essential to the enjoyment of the story.

I really like the narrator and the added special effects to the narration. The small inconvenience was that there were announcements of the following chapters made about 3 times during the book. It was slightly disconcerting as for a second I thought there were other parts to buy.
All in all a great novella listen if you like fantasy with a historic bent. Definitely a must for those who appreciate their military fantasy!

Highly recommend it!

Swords and Sorcery!

This is one of my few attempts at historical fiction. I’ve read several mashup series such as Destroyermen, Lost Regiment, and Axis of Time. “Legionnaire” feels similar, with Aquila resembling Rome and the Roman Legions, including some high fantasy aspects which were a nice twist. The intro volume is a bit short but interesting and packed with action. There is little background on the characters, especially the main character Marcus Venandus. In the story, a lot was made of the fact that Marcus’ leadership and training were different than the other Tribunes and that his men were more physically fit than the others. Additional background on why this was would have been helpful. Based on the local names and the language, I tried to figure out if the locale was Hawaii or South America. Neither could I recall if the Roman Empire spread out to those locations; just something that crossed my mind as I listened to the story. All-in-all a pretty interesting tale, and I note that the following volumes are of a longer length. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Solid Beginning

This world is reminiscent of the Roman Empire with an influx of magic and possibilities. The story follows a moral, likable, protagonist who follows the rules, unless it jeopardizes the well-being of his men. Will Hahn brought the story to life with his unique voice and the inclusion of an array of sound effects. Looking forward to the next installment!

Well written adventure story

This story opens well with different points of view on each characters conversations well thought out and displayed.
The narrator is clear and has good vocal pressure. The light touch of foley work is a good accent to the narration.
I recommend this audiobook for ages 16 and older due to some violence
I was given this audiobook for free and I freely give it my rating and opinion

Loved the sound effects

the sound effects brought the story to life! unusual for an audiobook to contain sounds... but felt it enhanced the experience. the story was good... Cant wait to see where Marcus goes next

Voodoo vs Gladius

When a superior officer believes he is sleeping with his wife Marcus is sent to certain death against a witch doctor and an undead army. great story but the sound drops in and out in chapters. Still, a lot of fun
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

a nice series

A good story with good characters. The bad guys all die which is nice for a change. I hope the rest of this series is put on audible and the pricing needs to stay reasonable. I would not have bought it if the 3 1/2 hours were priced at the price of a full book.