Review: The Soldier of Raetia by Heather Domin

Title: The Soldier of Raetia

Series: Valerian’s Legion: Book One

Author: Heather Domin

Publisher: Self-Published

Length: 284 Pages

Category: Historical, Ancient Rome

At a Glance: I bought this book because of a 2 star review of it on Amazon. To be fair, the reviewer seemed to like it up to the point that the storyline took a romantic turn, so it’s not like there was a lot of risk involved for me. In the end, I liked The Soldier of Raetia so much because of the way the romantic elements played out against the brutality of war and the fragile thread that separates life from death.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: Rome, 10BC. Manilus Dardanus, a new soldier from the provinces, applies for a military sponsorship with Cassius Valerian, the general of a small legion patrolling the northern frontier. Idealistic and naive, Dardanus has a lot to learn about the life he has chosen, and at first the brusque and reticent general seems the least willing candidate to teach him; but gradually a bond begins to form between this unlikely pair, one that neither could ever have imagined. Over the course of a blood-soaked summer in the wild, as Dardanus struggles with coming of age and Valerian wrestles the ghosts of his past, battles and betrayals on every side threaten to end that bond—and possibly their lives.

Review: Heather Domin’s The Soldier of Raetia is, by the author’s admission, not entirely accurate in its historical details, but the liberties she takes weren’t obvious to a plebe such as myself, and there were no misplaced anachronisms that would have led me to believe the story was fiction rather than fact. I believe a reader would have to be a scholar of, or at least have a more than passing interest in, this time period in order to pick out the historical accuracy from the author’s imagination, and I admit that reader is not me. While I do have an appreciation for Rome’s past and her influence on our modern civilization as well as her dominance on the world stage before the fall, I enjoyed reading this novel because the author has an engaging voice and tells a compelling story that passes for realism in a believable way.

Under the rule of Augustus Caesar, Rome’s reach was vast and its military skill and might was unparalleled. Domin focuses on these points—the training, commitment, precision, the coordination and ferocity— and does an impressive job of conveying how awesome a sight those legions were on the battlefield, how intimidating and dominant, without bogging down the narrative in arbitrary minutiae. But one of the things I truly loved was the way the author used dialogue to tell this story. Intelligent characters and smart dialogue worked together with the story progression to reinforce my deep appreciation for it.

The romantic elements in The Soldier of Raetia complement the setting, so if you do decide to give this novel a read, fair warning not to go into it expecting a soft and tender love story. While Dardanus is young and does tend to wear his heart on his sleeve, perhaps even hero worships just a bit, Valerian is the consummate Roman General. He is older, battle hardened, life weary and has suffered a loss in his past that has made him wary of allowing himself to feel a deep emotional connection—apart from the care of his soldiers—to anyone again. Much of this novel takes place in the leadup to a confrontation after the grisly massacre of a patrol party for which Valerian is determined to exact vengeance for the purpose of teaching the aggressors a lesson about the dangers of attacking Rome, so the feelings that he begins to develop for Dardanus set against this backdrop, feelings that he is determined to tamp down and deny, creates a slow burn amongst the politics and military power play, which I loved the juxtaposition of.

This period in history was no stranger to male lovers, although there was a nuance and definition to those relationships. Some men married for love, some to further their lineage, and some continued to carry on affairs with their male lovers after marriage, so it’s not surprising that the relationship in this novel evolves and is also encouraged by the brothers-in-arms who want to see Dardanus and Valerian give to each what the other needs. The longing Valerian and Dar feel for each other, and Valerian’s efforts to discourage those feelings while Dardanus tries not to make it obvious that he’s fallen for his sponsor and general, gives the story some emotional heft. There are mitigating factors involved, not the least of which is their twenty-year age difference and the fact Dar’s father hopes that Valerian will adopt Dardanus as his heir—this was a customary practice for younger sons and is how Augustus became his great-uncle Julius Caesar’s heir and successor. That their relationship evolves for Valerian in a way that made him realize what he would be losing at the point he nearly lost it is believable. The battlefield is not the place to regret missed opportunity. When Valerian is able, finally, to admit Dardanus is more to him that just a soldier in his legion, the emotional payoff is worth the wait.

I bought this book because of a 2 star review of it on Amazon. To be fair, the reviewer seemed to like it up to the point that the storyline took its romantic turn, so it’s not like there was a lot of risk involved for me, but it just goes to show how arbitrary those star ratings can be. In the end, I liked The Soldier of Raetia so much because of the way the romantic elements played out against the brutality of war and the fragile thread that separates life from death. The bonus is that Domin’s writing is engaging and so easy to sink into. The near-deadly event and then ultimate betrayal that moves the story forward for Dardanus and Valerian hit point-blank as it was meant to. The brothers in arms who featured most prominently added to the story with charm, personality and a fierce loyalty to Rome, their brethren and their general.

You can buy The Soldier of Raetia here:
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