Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36066 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-07
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Synopsis
The story opens on the day that the Western Roman Empire collapses finally in 470AD, with the city itself over-run. In the preceeding months a small group of British Roman soldiers, led by a true hero, have journeyed to the city and have arrived just before the final climax. The task they have set themselves is to save the spirit of the empire by rescuing the young son of the last Emperor, Romulus Augustus. Having found him and taken him away they decide to journey across northern Europe as there are strong rumours that an entire Legion of the Roman Army has remained loyal to Rome and has become an independent unit. They hope by finding the Legion and establishing the boy as the legitmate Emperor a stand can be taken and the Empire revived. However, their search is fruitless and eventually the leader and the child return to the Britain of the Dark Ages, where they re-emerge in legend as Merlin and Arthur Pendragon

Customer Reviews

Utter drivel
It's hard to know whether to blame the author or the translator for this awful book. Suffice it to say that it's appallingly badly written, with a prose style that makes Dan Brown seem like Henry James. To be fair, it must have required some degree of skill to compose such a long and turgid book entirely in cliches, without even a single concession to originality or imagination.

The empire fell in 476 ? I Don't think so...
This is the first attempt to bring the 476 AD events in to the light but although the story is great is also more fiction than reality.
First of all the roman empire did not collapsed in 476 and odoacer send the imperial insigmia to zeno in new rome axcepting him as sole roman emperor of east and west. This important move is not described in the book.
Romulus never rebelled against odoacer who had suceeded the general ricimer and orestis as the patrician of the italians.
Anyways it's a fan read there are things which happened in reality like the existense in gaul of the roman general syagrius who was the last roman governor of gaul and there is a movie which will be about this book called the last legion.
Read this book but u will not learn much about history.

A bit weak
The characters are not particularly interesting and the events lack punch despite being well thought out. You end up wanting the story to end and Manfredi must have known this and thrown in a 'big suprise' at the end that does nothing but cheapen aa already tame plot. Not terrible but you can find much better Roman novels.