The Bookwyrm's Review of Forgotten Soldiers by Joshua P. Simon

Author: Joshua P. Simon

Length: 265 Pages/ 8 Hours, 57 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Joshua P. Simon/ Podium Audio

Release Date: December 14, 2014/ May 19, 2017 (Audio)

Narrator: Steven Brand

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 Stars

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I happened to pick this book up on sale, but was a bit over whelmed with review reads at the time, so I was only able to listen to it recently. It turns out I should have gotten to it sooner, because wow, what a story! The themes of this book hit home, since I served in the Army with the last of the Vietnam era vets, who told us of returning to a divided country that didn't want them, and had a skewed image of what they had done while deployed. This book was an emotional roller coaster for me, but in the best way.

PLOT SUMMARY

The Kingdom of Turine has been at war with the neighboring empire for a decade.  Included in that army are a large amount of conscripted soldiers, among whom is a special group of soldiers who work for the commanding General as his special ops group. This group is led by Sargent Tyrus, himself conscripted at the beginning of the war, and the brains behind most of the General's strategic wins. He is also one of the rare people immune to magic, a valued trait in a soldier. When the enemy reportedly finds a magical relic that will win them the war, they mobilize for a full scale attack against the Turine forces. Tyrus convinces the general to deploy forces to flank the invaders, as well as sending his unit behind the lines to try and get the weapon from the enemy. Sneaking through enemy territory, they find the sorcerer's encampment where the relic is held, and after an intense struggle, manages to win the day, including killing the enemy's top sorcerer. 

Returning the weapon to their camp, they find the enemy has surrendered, agreeing to become a vassal state to Turine, as long as they promise to bury the relic and forget it exists. Not so shockingly, the King wants the relic studied, and Tyrus sister, Ava, his unit's mage, goes with the relic to the capital while Tyrus and his unit are released from service, along with several larger units.

As the group of soldiers returns home, they find as they go that they are not welcomed as conquering heroes, but looked at as akin to rabid dogs that were killing innocent civilians, raping and pillaging their way through the war, and now just wanted to return and take what the people who remained have. This leads to soldiers being attacked in a small city when they stopped for the night, and them having to fight their way clear. As the soldiers continue on, the party grows smaller as soldiers return to their various homes, until its just Tyrus and a few of his squad left. Reaching the road to Tyrus's farm, they separate and Tyrus heads for his farm to be reunited with his wife and children.

Tragically, this isn't what happens, and Tyrus finds that his hopes and dreams are destroyed as his farm has been sold, and his family shattered by a series of events he had no knowledge of, since the army has had an information blackout for the past 5 years. In fact, the army messed up and sent a message that Tyrus was likely dead, and this forced his wife to make decisions that eventually led to tragic results for her. Determined to reunite with his family, he finds his children indentured to his childhood enemy, a rich bully, and end up on the wrong side of the law after fighting him and his bully boys to get his kids back. He and the children are trying to leave town when Tyrus runs into two of his former squad mates that found a similar welcome for them, and as they are about to leave town, a mob approaches to stop them.

 Its here where the story gets crazy, as a portal opens, and Tyrus's sister Ava pops out, telling them they need to leave town immediately, since the king's magicians are about to mess with the relic and bad things are going to happen. All of a sudden, there is a flash from the direction of the capital, and people collapse into seizures. Tyrus and his kids alone are ok, since they have  immunity to magic, but the townsfolk are wrecked, and Tyrus has to decide if he and the family should run for it or help the town. This leads to wild series of events, as the blast was just the beginning of what could possibly be the end of the world if Tyrus doesn't do everything he and his people can do to try and stop it, all while dealing with a village that wanted to string him up not too long ago. His decisions will have greater consequences than Tyrus could have imagined.

CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING

The characters in this are such a treasure. I think Tyrus may be one of my favorite all time characters in fantasy. He is such a tragic character, having to deal with so much loss and horror, and yet he still finds ways to struggle past and remain functional. He's such a well rounded character, with his flaws given just as much light as his strengths, making him resonate with me as a reader. The secondary characters are also fully realized, his old squad mates especially reminding me of people and times I had in the army. They just come across as real flesh and blood characters. The villain is a bit of a trope, the rich childhood bully grown into the town bully, but he doesn't go overboard with it, and he is still effective as the foil to Tyrus. 

The world building is a solid as you're likely to find in a fantasy novel. Turine is basically a fantasy version of the US during the Vietnam War, as soldiers returned to scorn and derision, just trying to return to the lives they were forced away from, shattered by what they experienced in the war. The prose describing these places and situations is just fantastic, really drawing you into the world, which is all you can ask of any author creating a new world. It's just done in such an impactful way, you can't help but feel you're right there in the middle of the action.

NARRATION

The narration is ably handled by the talented Steven Brand. He is one of my favorite narrators, and this is just another example of why that is. He does such a fantastic job of creating individual voices for the various characters, breathing life into each of them. His narrative pacing is some of the best in the business, with a crisp delivery that really keeps the story flowing, and his accents and tones are perfect for the story. I can't wait to hear him narrate the rest of the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was a difficult review for me, because I really did feel so badly for Tyrus and his fellow soldiers, having served with soldiers who had been through similar situations, and having heard their stories. Tyrus returning to tragically find his hopes dashed was a gut punch that when it all finally unfolded it actually left me in tears, and considering I have the emotional intelligence of a rock sometimes, that says a lot for the talent of the writer. I can't recommend this book enough to fantasy fans, and I'll even make a specific recommend, something I usually won't do. If you liked Peter McLean's Pries of Bones series, which starts with a similar premise but then goes a very different path, this may very well appeal to you. Definitely one of my top 10 all time reads of any genre.