Marcus Takes Command by Gilbert M Stack

Format: Audible
Obtained from: Author
Listening time: 17 hours 13 minutes
Publisher:
ASIN: B084B8DPWJ
Narrator: William L Hahn

I like historical fiction. A lot. In fact, I probably like HF better than fantasy (and I love fantasy), but there seems to be less around to sate my need. Seriously, look up best historical fiction and it’s predominately romance. Anyway, Marcus Takes Command has all the hallmarks of a good Roman historical fiction. Except it’s not. It’s a historical fantasy, in a Rome-like world. Should you/read listen, you will probably feel the same way. Only the names have been changed, and so forth.

Anyway, the audiobook is a collection of the first three books of the Legionnaire series. Marcus is a lesser tribune, posted to the remote Fire Islands courtesy of his father’s transgressions. However, there is unrest, as some of the locals rally against Imperial rule, and the dead start to rise from the grave to help the insurgents. Marcus taking command is about his rallying the troops, and the compliant locals, to fight back, and his subsequent adventures. Here’s my take on the book:

• I liked Marcus and his story, as he moves from not-Roman soldier to merchant (I kid you not). He’s likeable, if a bit of a know-it-all, He’s a proud member of the army, despite his somewhat shoddy treatment. What I like most about him is his unorthodox approach to soldiery, such as bringing in local troops despite the reservations of his comrades. He doesn’t have all the answers and regularly calls on others for advice. When he becomes a merchant and realizes he knows nothing about the trade, he gets is wives (just roll with it) to teach him and run the show while he learns.
• The world is very familiar (walking dead aside), but it’s also different enough to make it worth discovering. The Fire Islands seem to have an African vibe, while later on he travels to alternate Spain (all in my opinion). Despite the obvious prejudice the majority of Romans/not-Romans hold for their subjects, the author goes to great pains to show these prejudices are baseless. The lengths can be a little too great at times, almost as if throwing them in to the story just to show unbiased Marcus is. What I really liked, and it was only apparent in book one, and that was the animosity between the different classes of legionnaires. In fact, I wish this could have been more of a factor in this trilogy.
• The story-lines each have their own subplot, with an overarching plot running throughout (and beyond, I guess). The structure’s a bit formulaic, with an introduction to each books’ individual plot, the journey, and the final battle. I found this somewhat irritating, but this could be due to my listening to three books in a row. If you read them in between other books, it would be less glaring, I guess. The books are short and entertaining though, so they could be good for “palate-cleansing” during a more complex series such as The Stormlight Archives.
• Finally, I have to mention about the audio. The narrator’s pretty good, but some of his accents border on parody, but then none of us are perfect. The recording though, is very spotty, with the volume all over the place, and sometimes it sounds, like the narrator is in a shed. If you want a laugh, you should listen to some of the Audible reviews.

Verdict

A fun short read/listen.