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  • The Capsarius

  • Legion XXII, Book 1
  • By: Simon Turney
  • Narrated by: Colin Mace
  • Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (71 ratings)

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The Capsarius

By: Simon Turney
Narrated by: Colin Mace
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Summary

Warrior and combat medic, Titus Cervianus, must lead a legion and quell the uprisings in Egypt in a new Roman adventure from Simon Turney. Egypt.

25 BC. Titus Cervianus is no ordinary soldier. A former surgeon from the city of Ancyra, he's now a capsarius—a combat medic. Cervianus is a pragmatist, a scientist and truly unpopular with his legion. The Twenty Second Deiotariana have been sent to deal with uprisings and chaos in Egypt. Yet the Twenty Second is no ordinary legion either. Founded as the private royal army of one of Rome's most devoted allies, the king of Galatia, their ways are not the same as the other legions, a factor that sets them apart and causes friction with their fellow soldiers.

Marching into the unknown, Cervianus will find unexpected allies in a local cavalryman and a troublesome lunatic. Both will be of critical importance as the young medic marches into the searing sands of the south, finding forbidden temples, dark assassins, vicious crocodiles and, worst of all, the warrior queen of Kush....

©2022 Simon Turney (P)2022 W F Howes
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What listeners say about The Capsarius

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Good listening

Kept me entertained all the way through. Similar to Simon scarrow in Reading and layput

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thank you Simon

Another series under way, can’t wait for the next book and of course Marius’s mules XV.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good story; mediocre delivery.

A very very good story, written from an interesting perspective with a non standard hero mocked for his wisdom and knowledge, rather than applauded for his martial attributes, which are latent and kept firmly in check.

My only problem was with the narration. His voice is fine and he makes a reasonable effort to speak dialogue with different accents and tones so we know who's talking, although he falls short of the standards set by Peter Noble et.al.
What stands out is his long pauses almost always in the middle of the sentence where there shouldn't be a coma or full stop. They were prolific at the start.
of the book and really spoiled the listening experience. [Get my point?]. It was as if he was reading it for the first time and hadn't familiarised himself with the story or the writers style.
He got better, and I began to forget about his mistakes, but every now and again they would slip in again, distracting me from enjoying the story.
I began listening to ST's Marius's Mule series and stopped after three books because of that narrator, who made all the characters sound the same with a sneering contemptuous tone to their speech. It's a real shame because ST's knowledge of his subject is first class and his imagination also.
For all that, I've bought the second book in this series despite the same narrator; let's hope he's improved - a lot. Mick the Hick🫤

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Typical excellence!

I was looking for something to keep me entertained & I was not disappointed.
I agree that some of the narration pauses seem long & unnecessary, however they do not get in the way of the foundation of what could be an excellent series.
More please!!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent read

Well written and performed, I really enjoyed the book . It grabbed my attention from start to finish

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not a bad start

This is a new series. I’ve enjoyed Turvey’s other work and I quite enjoyed this one without loving it. I’ll be interested to see how, in the second book, he manages to keep his foot soldiers in situations where they have pretty constant access to senior officers otherwise someone is going to have to get promoted pretty quickly if there’s to be anything but walk and fight to the stories.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Awsome

I really enjoyed this audio book, and cant wait until the next installment.
I thought the narrator was excellent, the story was slow to start but Built and built, the detail is excellent,
Highly reccomended

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent as always

the genius that is Simon turney embarks on a new journey, following a capsariuus more qualified than his senior medicos, down the nile from alexandria to Cairo to thebes and aswan, fighting not only kushites but rival legions, local religion, black clad nomads, and crocodiles.
the research is impeccable, especially the medical requirements of a capsarius' equipment,
a senior tribune leads the xxii, more interested in fame and glory than the welfare of his men.
the last battle on the edge of Egyptian/kushite territory at the 2nd cataract, leads the tribune to strange tactics and dissent in the ranks, a cliffhanger for book 2 into the desert and further south, and I can't wait!!
I'm not 100% with the narration, but 95 is good enough, and he sells the story with vocal tones and accents.

beware Sobek, stop at the first cataract, but definitely do not pass the 2nd!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A new saga is born.

As a fan of historical novels, this is by far one of the best I've read in recent years. Simon Turney has the writer's gift of transporting you to a place and time long ago. With a sweating brow and a dry mouth, you'll be marching through the Nile delta with the rest of the contubernia heading towards Kush. Simon's interweaving mix of characters engages you from the start and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the story. The author is up there with Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane and Simon Scarrow.
I for one, can't wait to read the next instalment, so get writing Simon!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

"All hail, the legion of fools."

Servianus is a Capsarius, a trained healer, part medicus, part legionary with special privileges, serving with the XXIi legion which has just arrived at Alexandria. An educated man, he is unpopular with the others in the 22nd and is constantly afraid of the physical injury their cruel 'pranks' can cause. A loner, trusting more in science than prayer, he finds a most unlikely friend in another soldier, short where he is tall and foolhardy with fists where Servianus would prefer not to be noticed. Together they go into war...

A different Roman military story, well narrated by Colin Mace. However, one star has been deducted overall.because the story is not complete: book two continues where this one stops - frustrating and irritating if not known before hand.
Apart from that, a good read. I've just purchased the next episode, Bellatrix.

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