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The Blood Dawn Trilogy #1
The Hidden Legion (1)
A bold new historical fantasy of God and monsters, of Heroes and Soldiers. A story of the Roman Empire as never before.
The year is 34CE. Tiberius rules the empire, and the events of Teutoberg forest are long forgotten... by almost everyone. A small band of highly specialised soldiers, scholars and rogues, run by priestess Mater Populi of the Vestal order, goes on secret operations to find and kill monsters. There are only 145 of them, and they are the Legio Occultis - the most hidden legion, or what’s left of it. Twenty years ago they were the Seventeenth Legion, but after they were led into an ambush by Armenius the Traitor and decimated by barbarians the survivors came back to find that rather than being lauded by the empire they had brought shame on Rome. Nobody was willing to listen to their account of what actually happened – which was that the Barbarians were aided by a score of horrific monsters summoned by Armenius.
The 17th was officially disbanded, and it was only through the intervention of the Vestal Order that the remaining soldiers were spared execution for treason. The priestesses believed, and formed the Legio Occultis to hunt down enemies of Rome from other realms.
In the twenty years that passed, sightings of monsters grew gradually fewer. The Legio got good at what it did, and the empire slowly crushed all resistance.
But now, the diviners and the scryers are sensing that evil is marching again.
Rome is under threat.
The year is 34CE. Tiberius rules the empire, and the events of Teutoberg forest are long forgotten... by almost everyone. A small band of highly specialised soldiers, scholars and rogues, run by priestess Mater Populi of the Vestal order, goes on secret operations to find and kill monsters. There are only 145 of them, and they are the Legio Occultis - the most hidden legion, or what’s left of it. Twenty years ago they were the Seventeenth Legion, but after they were led into an ambush by Armenius the Traitor and decimated by barbarians the survivors came back to find that rather than being lauded by the empire they had brought shame on Rome. Nobody was willing to listen to their account of what actually happened – which was that the Barbarians were aided by a score of horrific monsters summoned by Armenius.
The 17th was officially disbanded, and it was only through the intervention of the Vestal Order that the remaining soldiers were spared execution for treason. The priestesses believed, and formed the Legio Occultis to hunt down enemies of Rome from other realms.
In the twenty years that passed, sightings of monsters grew gradually fewer. The Legio got good at what it did, and the empire slowly crushed all resistance.
But now, the diviners and the scryers are sensing that evil is marching again.
Rome is under threat.
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2023
9 people are currently reading
375 people want to read
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November 5, 2023What's going on here?
2 ratings in 2 months, for a hardback release by a well known publisher?
Are Solaris marketing this by placing all the copies in a basement behind a locked door bearing a sign saying "beware of the leopard"?
2 ratings in 2 months, for a hardback release by a well known publisher?
Are Solaris marketing this by placing all the copies in a basement behind a locked door bearing a sign saying "beware of the leopard"?
January 14, 2024
What is there to dislike about this book? If you like magic and different sorts of magic, and Romans, then this is the book for you.
I wasn't as happy with the reader, but that is personal choice (he is American with American pronunciation, I am English). Saying that though, I knew which character was speaking at any one time as his voices are very distinct.
Roll on book 2, I am eager to find out the next episodes in the legions varied career.
I wasn't as happy with the reader, but that is personal choice (he is American with American pronunciation, I am English). Saying that though, I knew which character was speaking at any one time as his voices are very distinct.
Roll on book 2, I am eager to find out the next episodes in the legions varied career.
November 12, 2023
6.5/10. It would be a 7 but there are some real detailed food descriptions that include tomatoes, peppers, and a mention of potatoes. This doesn’t sound like a big deal except it takes place in Rome and none of those foods would have been available since they all come from the New World about 1,200 years after the book takes place.
Now on to the book. We have a secret group in Ancient Rome whose job is to kill all of the mythical creatures that most Romans think are nothing but legends.
Aemilius is a young Roman noble who is almost killed by harpies as the book begins. He’s not a great fighter and will spend much of the book pissing himself every time he gets into a fight but he serves as our eyes as the rest of the Hidden Legion kills monsters and slowly uncovers a sinister plot.
The book is entertaining but I found it hard to get into in the first place because there are 7 other members in this squad of the Hidden Legion and the other 7 have been together for quite some time and there is a ton of dialogue. By the time I was 1/2 in I had everyone figured out but the playful banter was confusing before that as I had no idea who was who to start.
There is plenty of action and they seem to be in a fight every day. It does feel like they travel from place to place awfully fast but I could be wrong about the distance traveled each day.
This is a book that I enjoyed and think that people who like a book with a ton of action and a small squad of fighters, including mages, will enjoy but would have benefited from a little more research to be more historically accurate on the non magical details.
Now on to the book. We have a secret group in Ancient Rome whose job is to kill all of the mythical creatures that most Romans think are nothing but legends.
Aemilius is a young Roman noble who is almost killed by harpies as the book begins. He’s not a great fighter and will spend much of the book pissing himself every time he gets into a fight but he serves as our eyes as the rest of the Hidden Legion kills monsters and slowly uncovers a sinister plot.
The book is entertaining but I found it hard to get into in the first place because there are 7 other members in this squad of the Hidden Legion and the other 7 have been together for quite some time and there is a ton of dialogue. By the time I was 1/2 in I had everyone figured out but the playful banter was confusing before that as I had no idea who was who to start.
There is plenty of action and they seem to be in a fight every day. It does feel like they travel from place to place awfully fast but I could be wrong about the distance traveled each day.
This is a book that I enjoyed and think that people who like a book with a ton of action and a small squad of fighters, including mages, will enjoy but would have benefited from a little more research to be more historically accurate on the non magical details.
January 25, 2024
Although I was irritated by some dumb anachronisms in this story (Peppers and tomatoes in Classical Rome: Really?), I still liked the high concept Kristjansson came up with, and the note he ended this book on, so that I expect that I'll read the second book.
November 3, 2025
3.5/5
A fun read, really enjoyed the dialogue. Will definitely read more of the series.
A fun read, really enjoyed the dialogue. Will definitely read more of the series.
July 12, 2024
This book felt so poorly written. The characters were cliches. And not fun or intentionally tongue in cheek. Just like stock archetypes with little internal complexity.
September 17, 2023
Before Vienna, before Manzikert, before Ain Jalut, there was another battle where a monolithic military machine, used to grounding every opponent in it path to fine dust, met its match and was resoundingly defeated. That battle was the one fought between the Romans and Germanic tribes in Teutoburg Forest from September 8 to September 11, 9 AD. It also happens to be the starting point for Snorri Kristjansson’s excellent historical fantasy The Hidden Legion.
Chroniclers and historians have attributed the complete destruction of three Roman legions to the Germanic leader Arminius who was educated in Roman ways of warfare. But in The Hidden Legion, Arminius had help of the supernatural kind – a horde of eldritch creatures massacred the Romans. Out of the ashes of that defeat rose the Legio Occulti, a top-secret, black-ops outfit comprising sorcerers, centurions, ghosts, and warriors, who fight the dark forces so that the common people of the Empire might live in peace – even though, many of them loathe the institution of the Empire.
Kristjansson has crafted taut yarn about the adventures of one of the cells that make up the Legion.
The story begins when the cell members rescue a callow Roman youth from a harpy attack under instructions (it’s not clear whose instructions or the reasoning behind the instruction in this book, though readers can hazard a guess after reading the last chapter). It accelerates from there, as our intrepid band of monster-hunters travel the length of Spain’s eastern coast, with stops in the Balearic Islands and Seville (Kristjansson uses the Roman name, Hispalis, for Seville), then crosses the Mediterranean and goes to Alexandria for a showdown with a mysterious enemy that wants to kill them and destroy Rome.
Along the way they slay harpies, a cyclops, several hydrae, a vampire-witch, a kraken-like thing, and a snake god; carry out impressive feats of magic, swordsmanship, and knife-throwing; and partake in a number of sumptuous feasts. Kristjansson’s loving description of these feasts made my mouth water.
The book’s main strength, in my opinion, is its condensed nature. There’s nary a wasted word. In only 15 chapters, Kristjansson introduces the main characters, builds the world, and writes a story that moves with the speed of a Bugatti Veyron. Perhaps fittingly, it’s published by Solaris, whose sister outfit is 2000 AD – which has more world-building, depth, characterisation, and all-out action in its eight-page stories than most 22-page, 5-issue American superhero comics.
My favourite character is Rivkah, a sarcastic knife-fighter with a very, very short fuse. Her parkour-chase across the rooftops of Hispalis is awesome. I kept picturing Sofia Boutella as Rivkah while reading her scenes.
The Hidden Legion wraps up its main story but leaves enough threads dangling for the upcoming books. And when Book 2 comes out, I’ll be there, eager to read how my favourite band of monster-hunters are faring.
Chroniclers and historians have attributed the complete destruction of three Roman legions to the Germanic leader Arminius who was educated in Roman ways of warfare. But in The Hidden Legion, Arminius had help of the supernatural kind – a horde of eldritch creatures massacred the Romans. Out of the ashes of that defeat rose the Legio Occulti, a top-secret, black-ops outfit comprising sorcerers, centurions, ghosts, and warriors, who fight the dark forces so that the common people of the Empire might live in peace – even though, many of them loathe the institution of the Empire.
Kristjansson has crafted taut yarn about the adventures of one of the cells that make up the Legion.
The story begins when the cell members rescue a callow Roman youth from a harpy attack under instructions (it’s not clear whose instructions or the reasoning behind the instruction in this book, though readers can hazard a guess after reading the last chapter). It accelerates from there, as our intrepid band of monster-hunters travel the length of Spain’s eastern coast, with stops in the Balearic Islands and Seville (Kristjansson uses the Roman name, Hispalis, for Seville), then crosses the Mediterranean and goes to Alexandria for a showdown with a mysterious enemy that wants to kill them and destroy Rome.
Along the way they slay harpies, a cyclops, several hydrae, a vampire-witch, a kraken-like thing, and a snake god; carry out impressive feats of magic, swordsmanship, and knife-throwing; and partake in a number of sumptuous feasts. Kristjansson’s loving description of these feasts made my mouth water.
The book’s main strength, in my opinion, is its condensed nature. There’s nary a wasted word. In only 15 chapters, Kristjansson introduces the main characters, builds the world, and writes a story that moves with the speed of a Bugatti Veyron. Perhaps fittingly, it’s published by Solaris, whose sister outfit is 2000 AD – which has more world-building, depth, characterisation, and all-out action in its eight-page stories than most 22-page, 5-issue American superhero comics.
My favourite character is Rivkah, a sarcastic knife-fighter with a very, very short fuse. Her parkour-chase across the rooftops of Hispalis is awesome. I kept picturing Sofia Boutella as Rivkah while reading her scenes.
The Hidden Legion wraps up its main story but leaves enough threads dangling for the upcoming books. And when Book 2 comes out, I’ll be there, eager to read how my favourite band of monster-hunters are faring.
November 26, 2023
A large ensemble, it took me half of the book to finally get a handle on who characters were. I kept intending to put the book down and move along, but for no reason in particular I kept going, and I'm glad that I did.
The book takes a while to get going. To grip the reader. To make you care. Upon finishing this book I flipped it back to the cover in order to start over again - not because it's that incredible, but to get the experience I felt I ought to of had the first time through.
The first half of the book is 6/10.
The second half of the book is 8/10.
All in all, I'll read the sequel.
The book takes a while to get going. To grip the reader. To make you care. Upon finishing this book I flipped it back to the cover in order to start over again - not because it's that incredible, but to get the experience I felt I ought to of had the first time through.
The first half of the book is 6/10.
The second half of the book is 8/10.
All in all, I'll read the sequel.
January 29, 2024
It was fine. A fun romp with a compelling plot. A secret legion protects the Roman world from monsters and the forces of myth, even if they don't all believe in the Roman empire.
The problem I had was that the descriptions were poor and some of the characters felt flat. They all had distinct personalities, but they became one note to help you understand them.
It was short and I liked the ideas, I just wish it had been better fleshed out.
The problem I had was that the descriptions were poor and some of the characters felt flat. They all had distinct personalities, but they became one note to help you understand them.
It was short and I liked the ideas, I just wish it had been better fleshed out.
February 6, 2024
3 Estrellas por el “rollo romano” pero es mas un libro de 5/10 perfecto. No es malo, no es bueno, es suficiente como para disfrutar de algo directo y sencillo e incluso como para leer una o dos secuelas.
November 27, 2023
entertaining light reading :-)
February 27, 2024
Rome gets the dark fantasy treatment in Snorri Kristjánsson’s latest release, The Hidden Legion. Full of mythical creatures and action and found family, this is definitely the cozy dark monster hunting fantasy you’re looking for.
In The Hidden Legion Aemilius is a young, well off Roman noble, with few cares in the world. Playing in the hills with his friends, Aemilius is taken from his life of certainty and comfort and thrown into a world of danger when he meets a group of misfit soldiers and they charge headlong into chasing down the growing presence of monsters in Roman occupied Greece.
Aemilius’ found family are the foundation this story is built on. Thrown together from the conquered lands of Rome, and including the gruff and fatherly Quintus, to Rizkah the angry, snarky assassin, to a cold Carthaginian noble, two wizards, and a Gaul barbarian. The soldiers have an easy friendship in that common way soldiers are written—full of rough ribbing bordering on danger, knowing each other in a way bought with blood and survival. This for me is the best part of The Hidden Legion. It feels easy and familiar, and a strong foundation around which to enjoy the rest of the story.
This goes for all but Aemilius himself, who, for me was a bit of a wet blanket to the story. He didn’t feel like he had a lot of agency to the point that where he actually did something it felt a bit forced and not natural. His character is an inexperienced boy among professional soldiering adults, really, and this aspect of the character is really well put together and explains the lack of agency. But when you have this youth amongst soldiers it just seems so odd when he shouts an idea and they all jump to it and that saves the moment. His is definitely the starting of a character expected to grow in books two and three–probably in to some sort of commant and tactician role–and it makes this book feel like it’s aimed at more of a YA or cozy fantasy audience.
The fantasy aspect of The Hidden Legion is really imaginative and a little Tolkien-esque, with a focus on monsters and food and fey-like characters. One scene about food, in particular, had me salivating for lunch a mere 30 minutes after having breakfast. Kristjánsson deserves the very crispest of high fives for his magic system and world building in this one. As a history fan of all things Roman, I massively enjoyed this aspect of the book.
For the grimdark fan, I’m afraid there isn’t much in The Hidden Legion for you. The antagonist is quite comical in the end, the lines are clearly drawn between good and evil, with the only aspect maybe worth looking at being Aemilius’s understanding that the Rome he thinks is the world’s saviour, isn’t in the eyes of those he thinks they are saving. However, if you’re just a fan of Roman legions and history, like I am, and a cozy dark-ish fantasy seems up your alley, which isn’t really my jam, then this might scratch an itch for you.
In The Hidden Legion Aemilius is a young, well off Roman noble, with few cares in the world. Playing in the hills with his friends, Aemilius is taken from his life of certainty and comfort and thrown into a world of danger when he meets a group of misfit soldiers and they charge headlong into chasing down the growing presence of monsters in Roman occupied Greece.
Aemilius’ found family are the foundation this story is built on. Thrown together from the conquered lands of Rome, and including the gruff and fatherly Quintus, to Rizkah the angry, snarky assassin, to a cold Carthaginian noble, two wizards, and a Gaul barbarian. The soldiers have an easy friendship in that common way soldiers are written—full of rough ribbing bordering on danger, knowing each other in a way bought with blood and survival. This for me is the best part of The Hidden Legion. It feels easy and familiar, and a strong foundation around which to enjoy the rest of the story.
This goes for all but Aemilius himself, who, for me was a bit of a wet blanket to the story. He didn’t feel like he had a lot of agency to the point that where he actually did something it felt a bit forced and not natural. His character is an inexperienced boy among professional soldiering adults, really, and this aspect of the character is really well put together and explains the lack of agency. But when you have this youth amongst soldiers it just seems so odd when he shouts an idea and they all jump to it and that saves the moment. His is definitely the starting of a character expected to grow in books two and three–probably in to some sort of commant and tactician role–and it makes this book feel like it’s aimed at more of a YA or cozy fantasy audience.
The fantasy aspect of The Hidden Legion is really imaginative and a little Tolkien-esque, with a focus on monsters and food and fey-like characters. One scene about food, in particular, had me salivating for lunch a mere 30 minutes after having breakfast. Kristjánsson deserves the very crispest of high fives for his magic system and world building in this one. As a history fan of all things Roman, I massively enjoyed this aspect of the book.
For the grimdark fan, I’m afraid there isn’t much in The Hidden Legion for you. The antagonist is quite comical in the end, the lines are clearly drawn between good and evil, with the only aspect maybe worth looking at being Aemilius’s understanding that the Rome he thinks is the world’s saviour, isn’t in the eyes of those he thinks they are saving. However, if you’re just a fan of Roman legions and history, like I am, and a cozy dark-ish fantasy seems up your alley, which isn’t really my jam, then this might scratch an itch for you.
January 14, 2025
Another book that looks to be up my alley - Roman times, skilled warriors, and terrifying creatures from myth. Nope. I had a hard time not falling asleep.
October 8, 2024
I was a big fan of David Gemmell back in the day, and the first couple of chapters could have come straight from the pen of the 'heroic fantasy' master.
The book rattles along at a breathtaking pace, from one monster slaying set piece to the next, and I was reminded of some of the RPG sessions I've participated in, or the campaign of a computer game, unfortunately, very quickly it becomes a bit predictable.
Indeed, at various points I was able to draw comparison between moments when as a GM, I lost control of the action in an RPG I was hosting, and moments in the book where the action is resolved with the main protagonist passing out so that the resolution to what should be a tense life or death scene concludes in a rushed and untidy manner. In fact, much of the book reads like the transcription from a RPG session, especially some of the resolutions to the fights scenes. The supernatural threat is meant to be endanger all of mankind, but the threats are finished off so quickly, and so easily, it's hard to believe that there's any danger at all.
Most of the characters resemble the fantasy tropes we're familiar with in RPGs and I wasn't expecting heaps of back story or character development, but the survival of the protagonists fighting the existential threat of the supernatural doesn't grab in the same way that Gemmell writes his characters; midway through the book a new 'powerful' character is introduced who then dies OFF SCREEN within a chapter. It feels less like the death of someone important and more like a story thread that the author decides not to pursue. It's a weird misstep in the book and from that point on I found it hard to care whether these characters won or lost, lived or died. Which kind of defeats the point of heroic fantasy, right?
I really liked the proposition of a hidden legion fighting the monsters from our nightmares and folk tales, and there's a lot to like here. But I'd have preferred a darker tone, the 'grimdark' of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay universe perhaps.
The book rattles along at a breathtaking pace, from one monster slaying set piece to the next, and I was reminded of some of the RPG sessions I've participated in, or the campaign of a computer game, unfortunately, very quickly it becomes a bit predictable.
Indeed, at various points I was able to draw comparison between moments when as a GM, I lost control of the action in an RPG I was hosting, and moments in the book where the action is resolved with the main protagonist passing out so that the resolution to what should be a tense life or death scene concludes in a rushed and untidy manner. In fact, much of the book reads like the transcription from a RPG session, especially some of the resolutions to the fights scenes. The supernatural threat is meant to be endanger all of mankind, but the threats are finished off so quickly, and so easily, it's hard to believe that there's any danger at all.
Most of the characters resemble the fantasy tropes we're familiar with in RPGs and I wasn't expecting heaps of back story or character development, but the survival of the protagonists fighting the existential threat of the supernatural doesn't grab in the same way that Gemmell writes his characters; midway through the book a new 'powerful' character is introduced who then dies OFF SCREEN within a chapter. It feels less like the death of someone important and more like a story thread that the author decides not to pursue. It's a weird misstep in the book and from that point on I found it hard to care whether these characters won or lost, lived or died. Which kind of defeats the point of heroic fantasy, right?
I really liked the proposition of a hidden legion fighting the monsters from our nightmares and folk tales, and there's a lot to like here. But I'd have preferred a darker tone, the 'grimdark' of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay universe perhaps.
October 28, 2024
Please don't have your ancient Romans eating tomatoes, or mentioning potatoes! They could just as well be eating something from McDonalds.
Otherwise a very middling adventure book.
Otherwise a very middling adventure book.
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