Marius' Mules II: The Belgae: Marius' Mules, Book 2

Fabulous book,great read Was very enjoying and pleasant to read. Many battles an wars in this book. I recommend this book to Ancient zoomed Lovers like me

Another great historical novel of Caesar's Gallic Wars. As I read it seemed to me that, in the first two volumes of this series, Marcus Falerius Fronto, legate of the 10th legion, actually won the Gallic Wars as much as did Caesar. Then, of course, I realized anew that one of the attributes of a great commander is choosing great subordinates and considering their advice. Lee and Jackson at Chancellorsville come to mind. One of the failures of a commander is choosing poor subordinates and/or failing to control them. Think Napoleon at Waterloo and Lee at Gettysburg.Master politician, manipulator, master of intrigue, leader of men - the Caesar of this novel is not so much likeable as he is a man of destiny who makes his own destiny.A great novel of Caesar, the Gallic Wars and the last gasps of the Roman Republic.

This is the second in the Marius' Mules series. It continues the adventures of Fronto and his friends as they follow Julius Caesar in his second year of campaigning in Gaul. There is plenty of excitement and an occasional tear as a sad sequence takes place. Some of the scenes make for some hard reading but the main points of the campaign are accurate. All in all a great read.

On to Gaul follow Fronto and the legions of Caeser as they move north to take on the Gauls and Belgae

I liked the series of books, and bought all of them. I actually would have given it 3 1/2 stars if that option was available.The stories are well-developed, historically accurate and good reading.It's a pity that there are so many typos, and that the author doesn't understand good grammar and (in particular) the the use of punctuation marks when used with quotation marks in conversation, and consistent use of numbers ('"I'll do that" said Fronto.' needs a comma- consistently absent) The rules are simple, and can be found either by a couple of minutes looking at a professionally produced book, or by free on-line resources. Failure to use those rules is either ignorance or laziness, neither of which are acceptable and detract from the reading experience.The author needs to perform a good re-proof of each book, or get somebody else to do it, and learn how to use English grammar.The formatting problems are the result of the Kindle file conversion process, not the author's fault.Some maps would be good.A good series of books, and could justify 4 stars if the author spent a couple of days correcting the typos/grammar in each book.

The author's sense of humor had me literally doubled over with laughter when one of the tribes marched out to meet Caesar and his legions playing what I assume were very early bagpipes'. Romans apparently never heard the sound before, and when Caesar exclaimed 'what the hell is that sound?' one of his staff replied, 'sounds like a hundred men farting in a cave.' I laughed for a good ten minutes, tears rolling down my cheeks. Even now, as I write this, two days later, I still can't stop chuckling whenever I think about it. Nevertheless, the book is outstanding, worthy of several re-reads in the future.

This second book in the series develops further the main characters and while some of these developments are obviously tainted by the author's perceptions from his research it is refreshing to be given glimpses of the human traits (a lot not so pretty) of the bigger than life characters from history. The sad part from all the reading I have done from historical fiction is that man's greed, lust for power and disregard for other humans beliefs and ways of life has not changed over history. It seems that as a race we have not been able to look beyond our desires and mankind seems destined to keep making the same mistakes - perhaps to different degrees.

For those that have read the first Marius' Mules: The Conquest of Gaul, you will definitely enjoy this book. It is written with the same pace as the first, but with less character development, since most of the characters either return or are mentioned again in passing since they may not play a role in this particular arena. While there are still numerous typos, there are fewer than the first and it is easier to overlook them than in the first book. I definitely enjoy Turney's style and though some are put off by the "modern" language used by the main characters, I find it refreshing since the humor/sarcasm and all are easier for me to digest and I don't have to look at it with my English class glasses on. Overall, very well done once again and I hope there are more to follow.

Once again, the series continues to be better and better. The storylines are great and the characters are strong and interesting. A must read for anyone who enjoys a story about the Romans and their conquests!

I finished this book and I was worn out. The battle scene was large and engrossing. Swapping between all your favorite characters and yes, as in times of war we do lose some and feel their pain and loss. Caesar as usual is brutal and unforgiving and only Fronto is willing to stand against his ways.Like I said the battle scene is large and it puts you right in the middle of action. Making a stand against thousands.S.J.A. Turney is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and this series of books drags you right in and holds you there.The characters are made to feel real and not unbelievable.It is easy to read, flows well and keeps you hooked.Now all I want for Xmas is the next two books!!!If you have never tried him give it a go and I think you won't be stopping there!!

I would recommend this book for any high school history student It brings life to Caesars conquests in north west Europe

I look forward to following the life of Fronto in the rest of the series

A terrific follow up to book 1