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+--- Thread: CENTURION - A novel of Ancient Rome... (/showthread.php?tid=1964)
CENTURION - A novel of Ancient Rome... - Anonymous - 07-18-2002
An author (Peter W. Mitsopoulos) out of San Diego has asked me of all people, to proof read (not for errors) a novel he has written about a centurion that fought during the Varus Disaster of AD 9. It is fiction based on fact. I am going to start reading it tonight (Thursday, July 17th). Did anyone else get this book? Anyway, once I delve into it a bit, I'll post my thoughts here. <p>"Remember, pillage first....then burn."</p><i></i>
Well!!! - JRSCline - 07-18-2002
Good for you, Magnus. Perhaps he'll mention you in the credits, if there are any. If you find any issues we could discuss them and possibly be of some help.<br>
<br>
Cheers<br>
Jenny <p></p><i></i>
Re: Wow.... - Anonymous - 07-18-2002
The only thing historically I could find wrong was his reference to using the gladius for purely slashing. Although at this point it's use is still being debated.<br>
<br>
Otherwise, I couldn't put the book down last night. I read about 40 pages of it, and his manner of writing pulls you into the story. I am not sure if the author has actually served in the military, but he writes as though he was a soldier once. I believe he has done his research on tactics and equipment, he uses these two elements very accurately in the story, and the manner in which he uses them is on par with what has been discussed here by our own experts.<br>
<br>
So far this is an excellent read. More to follow. <p>"Remember, pillage first....then burn."</p><i></i>
Re: Wow.... - Anonymous - 07-18-2002
Sounds like you have your hands full, so to speak...I look forward to seeing the book in print...Do we have a title yet? <p>Marcus Bruttius Romulus<BR>
Optio<BR>
Legio III Augusta</p><i></i>
good but... - Goffredo - 07-18-2002
I will certainly buy the book once it becomes available!<br>
But why all this insistance on slashing? Although the stabbing theory might have been over stated there is plenty of evidence in scuptures and mosaics of glatiators and legionaries in stabbing stance. Most likely all kinds of things happened in a battle so to really insist there was a rigidly prescribed way of fencing is, in my opinion, not realistic. Whether the romans prefered stabbing or not is maybe an interesing topic to debate for some, but in general I tend to think an effective writing style allows each reader to imagine his own fine details. Anyway... enjoy the read keep us updated! <p></p><i></i>
Re: gladius slashing... - Anonymous - 07-18-2002
Hey goffredo,<br>
<br>
I finally have some evidence to back up something i've said. In A. Goldsworthy's "Roman Warfare", on pages 126-127, there are 4 pictures of legionarys using their weapons in various ways. One of them clearly shows a legionary slashing a Dacian. These pictures are from the Adamklissi monuments. Anyway, you are likely right about them using their weapons in different ways during a battle. These pictures confirm this.<br>
<br>
I'll be reading more of this book tonight, so I'll post again tommorow on this.<br>
<br>
Marcus, the title is "Centurion, A Novel on Ancient Rome". <p>"Remember, pillage first....then burn."</p><i></i>
Re: gladius slashing... - Anonymous - 07-18-2002
Thank you, sir...I appreciate that information...that way I'll be able to do a search on Barnes & Noble.com when it's released... <p>Marcus Bruttius Romulus<BR>
Optio<BR>
Legio III Augusta</p><i></i>
Re: CENTURION REVIEW, night #2... - Anonymous - 07-19-2002
So far the author depicts his characters very well, in my opinion, from the centurion/optio types, and what I believe is the praefectus castrorum or primus pilus as being the soldier's officer, to the pompous, arrogant and disdainful fresh faced tribunes from Rome looking to further their careers. My only beef so far, is that the book isn't long enough.<br>
Peter (the author) relates the story of the Varus disaster as being mostly the fault of Varus, and the push to colonize the germanic area east of the Rhine. He depicts him as a higher ranking senator/general seeking only fame, and glory in the eyes of Augustus, and thus pushes the "East of the Rhine" campaign while disregarding the warnings his staff. (they caution against sending the legions out without being properly trained, as well, there seems to be a conspiracy of the gauls against the romans, but Varus ignores this).<br>
The hero, Glaxus Claudius Valantinius is a senior centurion of the 5th cohort, who is up for the position of Chief Centurion, but is retiring in a year, and has a love interest in Rome he wants to go home to.<br>
The nice thing about this book is the author has obviously done his research as far as battle tactics, legion command structure, and the geographical and political situation during AD 9. Also, he does not use latin terms, except "legate, centurion, tribune and optio", which is nice since this makes the book a lot more readable to people witout our knowledge of common latin terms pertaining to the Roman army. The story itself is also an interesting view on the disaster itself.<br>
<br>
More to follow... <p>"Remember, pillage first....then burn."</p><i></i>
Re: CENTURION REVIEW, night #2... - Guest - 07-20-2002
Salve,<br>
<br>
Then apparently he uses only oneLatin term (<i> optio</i>): the rest are anglicised versions of Latin words (<i> legatus</i>, <i> tribunus</i>, <i> centurio</i>).<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Sander van Dorst <p></p><i></i>
The Other Side of the Story - Thiudareiks Flavius - 07-20-2002
I'd be interested in how this author depicts the Germanics in his novel. I found the weakest parts of Tony Clunn's book on the Kalkriese finds were the 'fictional interludes'. Clunn isn't a bad non-fiction writer, but his fiction style was pretty woeful.<br>
<br>
The other problem was his depiction of the Germanics. He knew his stuff - more or less - on the Romans, but his Germanics were ridiculous. The names were all wrong, the social structure was vague and he had Arminius wearing a 'winged helmet'!<br>
<br>
Lindsay Davis' <i> The Iron Hand of Mars</i> with its 'Celtic' speaking Germanics wasn't much better. Unfortunately these writers rarely bother to research 'the other guys' and rely on cliches or guesses.<br>
<br>
I sincerely hope your author has done his homework.<br>
<br>
Cheers, <p>Tim O'Neill / Thiudareiks Flavius
<BR>
<P>
Visit 'Clades Variana' - Home of the Varus Film Project</p><i></i>
Centurion: A Novel of Ancient Rome - Anonymous - 07-24-2002
My name is Peter Mitsopoulos. I wrote the novel "Centurion" that Magnus has been kind enough to read for me. I appreciate the interest in it and wanted to mention how to obtain a copy, if anyone wants to. It's available at www.xlibris.com or amazon.com. It's less expensive if ordered through the Xlibris site. Thank you. <p></p><i></i>
Re: Centurion: A Novel of Ancient Rome - Anonymous - 07-24-2002
After reading the small exerpt on the Xlibris site, I must admit that this appears extremely well written and I will not hesitate to get a full copy for myself.<br>
<br>
Peter, you are to be commended for some excellent work, and good research. I thank you for your contribution. <p>Marcus Bruttius Romulus<BR>
Optio<BR>
Legio III Augusta</p><i></i>
Re: Centurion: A Novel of Ancient Rome - Thiudareiks Flavius - 07-25-2002
The extract I read at xlibris.com was interesting, but there were several things which caught my attention:<br>
<br>
(i) Why is Thusnelda wearing a 'leather dress'? Unless she's on her way to a bondage party or something, I think she should be wearing what Germanic women of the period wore - dresses of linen and wool.<br>
<br>
(ii) Arminius' Germanic name wasn't 'Hermann'. Eighteenth Century German nationalists 'Germanicised' his Latinised name by changing it to 'Hermann', but it is not likely that this was his name or anything like it. To begin with, its a modern High German name and quite different to the Common Germanic which would have been spoken by the Cherusci in this period. Secondly, if 'Arminius' was a Latinised version of a Germanic name (and this is not certain) the prototheme is most likely to be '*Ermana-' The prototheme of 'Hermann' is descended from the Common Germanic '*Harjoz' and the two words aren't related. His Germanic name was likely to have been something like 'Ermanameras' or 'Ermanas'. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't 'Hermann'.<br>
<br>
(iii) The use of the expression 'Germanic Gauls' is very puzzling. What does this mean? It's like calling Varus a 'Roman Greek'. The Gauls were mainly Celtic peoples living on the west side of the Rhine. The Germanics were generally not Celts and were definitely not Gauls in any sense of the word. Arminius was a Cheruscian - they were a purely Germanic people: not Celts and not Gauls. They were as different to Gauls as the Romans were to the Greeks.<br>
Cheers,<br>
<br>
<p>Tim O'Neill / Thiudareiks Flavius
<BR>
<P>
Visit 'Clades Variana' - Home of the Varus Film Project</p><i></i>
Centurion: A Novel of Ancient Rome - Anonymous - 07-25-2002
Thank you for your positive comments on the excerpt, Marcus Bruttius. I hope you enjoy the entire book. When you finish reading it, I'd be happy to know what you think.<br>
<br>
Respectfully,<br>
Peter <p></p><i></i>
Re: Centurion: A Novel of Ancient Rome - StrategyM - 07-25-2002
So how do you feel about the XLibris service? <p>Strategy<br>
Designer/Developer<br>
Imperium - Rise of Rome</p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/ustrategym.showPublicProfile?language=EN>StrategyM</A> at: 7/25/02 9:58:42 am<br></i>