The Wald (The Wald Chronicles) Paperback – May 21, 2013

The Sugambrian tribes under the leadership of a chief Adalbern cross the Rhenus (Rhine) river into Gaul, an ally and protectorate of Rome, to murder, rape and plunder. The Romans retaliate.I found the history, politics and some characterizations and some of the battle scenes and tactics to be interesting and realistic. However, too often I would find myself with my eyes rolling up in disbelief at some of the plot devices. To illustrate a few:When a Roman legion locked shields and moved forward it was a highly trained killing machine. Nothing would stop it except orders from a tribune or legate or death. In the book the Sugambrian chief, Adalbern , and his seven year old son, Berengar, ride back and forth in front of the legion shouting insults. That stops the legion in its tracks allowing most of the trapped Sugambrians to escape. One could just as easily stop a modern day tank by yelling at it. (Major eye roll.) The Roman eagle standard was the life and honor of the legion. They would protect it to the death. And, if death was imminent, they would bury it rather than suffer the dishonor of allowing it fall into the hands of the enemy. In the book, the standard bearer has fallen. Rather than raise the standard again the legionaries just leave it until a seven year old boy comes in, hacks through the wooden shaft holding the eagle, in full view of the legion, (the scene is depicted on the book cover) and then goes running back across the empty field until his father comes riding up on a horse and pulls him up and away. (Another major eye roll.) This was all in the first few chapters of the book. I could go on and on with similar unbelievable plot devices that occur throughout. There are just too many that took away enjoyment of reading. It would be fine if the book was geared to pre-teen boys. As an introduction to Berenger and his further exploits as, I assume, an adult in later books of the series, it was just too overdone. If the author would have simply made Berengar a normal seven and later eleven year old boy rather than an adult barbarian warrior in a child's body, the book would be worthy of at least four stars. I gave it three stars but could easily have given it two stars but there were some parts I did like. Good fiction should have realistic characters and events. I shan't be reading any more of this series.BTW, After the Romans have invaded Sugambria and burned villages, destroyed crops and livestock, killed many of the men and sent the women and children off into slavery as retaliation for the raid that Adalbern led into Gaul, I am surprised that he is still chief of his tribe. Apparently no one blames him for the misery and destruction he has brought to his people. You know, Alderban, that raid might not have been such a good idea.

Born already has a three-book series published, the Norseman Chronicles. Rather than pigeonholing himself into a specific era (Viking-era conquests), the author is building on techniques that allows him to blend history with fiction in a believable manner. This time, taking up a story that is 1,000 years earlier than his Norseman books.The book basically takes place at the time when Drusus embarks on a series of campaigns of Roman expansion into Germania, right at the birth of the Roman Empire. There is an afterward in the book which discusses various historical facts and how they are used in the book. There are a variety of embellishments and extrapolations. There is some simplifying of the overall history to drive the story, rather than getting bogged down in historical minutia.There are several maps provided in the book, which the author rightly affirms the necessity to provide. It is in these types of books that I kinda miss dead-tree books, where I could quickly flip back and refer to the maps, which I found myself referring to fairly often. I ended up making a bookmark, so I could jump back and forth.I found the book to be very well edited, altho I did spot a few errors (typos, and a couple of pronoun pileups that may be a source of ambiguity), but I'm not letting that weigh into my rating here. I guess I'm just "that kinda reader"...While Roman history may not at the very top of my personal favorites, the story does evoke a desire to learn more about the actual history depicted in the book. I find that to be a good sign that the author has engaged me beyond the words the author is delivering. I think that's probably the most important thing to consider: the impact a book (or books) might have once you are finished reading the story. Looking forward to more.

I had my doubts about this book, as I've been disappointed with most of the cheap, self-published novels I've read on the Kindle, especially those of the historical fiction variety. But Mr. Born's clever story-telling really impressed me and his characters kept me entertained and engrossed, so I feel compelled to sing his praises. What I enjoyed most about "the Wald" was that the structure of the book switched perspective between Romans and Germans, blurring the destination between protagonists and antagonist. Although I was definitely more interested in the German side and was initially a bit put off by some of the early chapters dealing with the centurian, Septimus, Born still managed to get me invested in the Romans' story as well. Mr. Born should also be applauded for using 3rd person narraration, as opposed to the 1st person memoir style that many historical novels employ. I should also note that the editing, grammar and punctuation in this book are much better than what you would normally find in these kind of self published e-books. All-in-all, I think I found this book to be about as good as the average Berard Cornwell novel, which is no mean feat considering that the author has a day job. Keep up the good work, Mr. Born. BTW: I'm going to buy "the Norseman" as soon as I finish this review.

I haven't read the author's 'Norseman' series, but might be tempted after enjoying this exciting and gripping story. This goes back to the start of the Roman army's involvement with the Germanic tribes, well before the disaster of the three legions, and introduces Arminius, the architect of that episode, as a young boy.It is very well written, in American English, with the occasional American term jarring slightly; this does not interrupt the flow (though I was startled by the use of "pet" instead of "patted" on page 100 - ouch!). The narrative bowls along, and keeps the reader gripped. I greatly look forward to further episodes, and am delighted to add this author to my watch list.

An decent read if you have any interest in Roman history particularly to get a feel for how the Romans may have been viewed by the tribes they conquered. Would have been better had there been a little more diligent proof reading and editing as some of the phrasing used doesn't quite fit the context of the story. One phrase really detracted from my connection with the story and characters. One of the protagonists "made nice with his enemy" particularly jarred.I also felt unable to connect with any of the characters as there is little development of the personalities and a lot of repetitive descriptions have been used. I became very bored with the "great bear of a man" being used to describe Adalbern. I found it difficult to side with any of the main characters as I didn't care enough whether they survived or not.Overall it's worth a read and I feel Jason Born will develop over his career.

Right from the very beginning I was involved in this novel. Set in a period and place that not enough has been written about in novels, and telling the story of Rome crushing German tribes into submission. The story is told from a Roman point of view and a German tribesman's point of view, with only the tribesman's point having any validity by todays standards.This novel was exciting, I imagine historically correct (?), and at times sympathetically told when necessary,it was a superb read!

The more you read this series the better it gets really couldn't get on with anything else till I had finished the series really good gives an interesting point of view of Rome and its expansion that isn't normally covered in books that are about Rome and its armies and that has always put me off being that I main interest in pre Roman british history but I enjoyed this and if you try it I hope you do too :)))

I saw this on the recommended list and took a chance and it was well worth it. It kept me interested throughout wanting to know what happened next. There is a good mix of action and adventure seen through the eyes of both sides of the conflict and it is well linked with history. The only negative I have is to do with the repeated curse by the elder - not offended just thought it was a little silly.I look forward to reading the next instalment in the series.