The Eternal Mercenary (Casca, #1) By Barry Sadler
This story is quite amazing. Casca Rufio Longinus is the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus' side with a spear. For this, he is cursed with immortality. This book spans the first 130 years following his curse, much of it spent in slavery. Part of Casca's curse is that he'll always be a soldier, too. The rest of the series focuses on different points in military history all across the world, from ancient times to the present.
What strikes me about the story is the bittersweetness. He establishes friendships and romances that can never last, and the characters he meets in each book will likely never return in a later story. All he has are his own memories.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Historical Fiction Wonderful! Pleasantly surprised with this author and his book! I loved his music, and his bravery and patriotism, but this expands that respect and admiration. He puts, in my opinion, a new facet into historical-fiction novels.
The writing is smooth, and easy to understand and follow, even the Latin portions. There are not a lot of characters or sub-story lines to follow, so that allows the reader to stay attentive. He is articulate and imaginative. I found myself actually looking forward to book #2 while only half-way through #1!
I have recommended this book to my son, a high school history teacher because of the historical-fiction, and his love and respect of the military.
Casca is a warrior that I would love to meet today! That is how real Barry Sadler made the hero to me!
Well done, good and faithful servant, well done! Historical Fiction Bad writing, bad history, bad plotting, zero characterization, badly done, misogynistic, jingoistic while appealing to the most primal basest part that resides in all of us all the while making the reader less than who we were before reading this wanna be less than pulp trash. I'm on to the next chapter in this saga because I'm happy to let my mind go to trash because just maybe the world will rise above those who want to 'make America great again', and save us from the ethos that permeates this trash.
Oh yeah, I should mention this series is available for free at Hoopla and I work on the New York Times or Los Angeles Sunday crossword puzzles while listening to this incredibly insignificant except for 12 year old boys series. Historical Fiction So happy to see this as part of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited; otherwise I would never have had the chance to read it. Why do the paperbacks bring such a high price online or anywhere for that matter? What makes them so special?
Casca is just a man doing his job. Because of this he is cursed to live as a man constantly at war. Never getting sick, wounds heal at a terrific rate, and never being able to die. Becoming a slave, a gladiator, a slave yet again, and finally as freeman he is ready to be quits of Rome.
Reads very straight forward like any men's adventure books I've read in the past. Written plainly without flourish; simply enjoyable. So compelling.
Now be forewarned. This is not an offensive book. But if you wear modern sentiments on your sleeve, well, you will find quite a bit to complain about. Don't be that person.
Recommended!
Historical Fiction Ok truth be known I only read this because it’s late in the year and I’m trying to speed it up and reach my reading challenge goal. Iv’e been reading a number of lengthy novels lately and wanted some simple mind-bubblegum to chew on this time and as I recall I read this one once before oh like 30 years or more ago. It’s not fine wine improving with age, my youthful male fantasies were fired up by this years ago now it’s like watching some 60’s sitcom it’s light and campy but I can’t believe how much I use to enjoy this stuff. Anyway if your male age 12 to 25 go for it you will probably enjoy it and the historical fiction part is not that bad, otherwise if your a woman there is nothing in this for you that you would find interesting and most people might find it more just typing than writing and lacking much of a plot in the end it’s probably the reader more than the eternal solider who suffers the most in this series. Historical Fiction
Casca is straight up pulpy shlock. It's non-apologetic about it, and keeps a decent pace, which are probably the only things I'll find to compliment this book on.
Certainly not the prose, which is functional at best. The book has many occasions where 70's slang wreck the suspension of disbelief in this Roman-era story. I know we don't know how people actually sounded in the first few centuries of Rome, but the least an author can do is try to minimize how much the characters sound like people from the year the book was written.
And I definitely can't compliment the research or historical accuracy. Barry Sadler appears to care about ancient fighting and Asian philosophy, and that's about it. Everything else comes off as a bit slipshod, using little more than a half-remembered history class anecdote or a perfunctory flip through an Encyclopedia.
All these issues would leave me with a humorously cheesy 2 - 3 star read, were in not for the reality that Sadler appears to be a huge bigot.
Looking through reviews, I found it interesting how many pulp enthusiasts bring up the sexism and racism, only to sort of shrug it off with excuses, like saying it was just a sign of the times.
No. That's crap. He was a huge racist at the time of this books writing, and he's an even bigger racist now. And it's all in the most cliched terms popular with macho writers of the era. There's heavy orientalism all over the place, because the only Asian in the story of course teaches him martial arts. The sections featuring the yellow man seem fitting with all the guys in the 70's and 80's who loved to exoticize everything from the far east, or the orient as they probably prefer. I imagine a lot of crappy tea sets and wall scrolls purchased in China town, a dog-eared copy of the book Shogun, and some cheap replicas of terracotta soldiers. It seems weird for a guy who actually served in Vietnam, but I'm guessing he mostly enjoyed the prostitutes.
Also, the only black character in the whole story is the sort of stereotype I expected from an African character written in the 1870's, not the 1970's. The black character, Shubala, literally reminisces about raping and sacrificing a blonde white girl and sacrificing her to his dark gods. And what's sad is they still get more personality than any woman in the story.
The women in Casca have two functions, being whores and getting raped, often both. Only one woman in the whole story who he enters into a relationship with is met when he debates whether or not he should let bandits rape her, and decides to intervene mostly because she has nice legs. He generally doesn't even say her name, mostly referring to her as woman, probably because Sadler kept forgetting her name.
So I don't really feel compelled to read more of these, and I don't think it's okay to just ignore all the problematic elements. There's tons of great adventure stories, many of them predating Sadler's work, that are not horribly bigoted, so there's no excuse for muddling through Sadler's awful opinions. This book is like trying to watch a movie while a racist old man gives his opinions on every actor that's not a white male. It's not like Sadler even came from a specific point of view with a thesis that you could argue with, just off-handed, lazy stereotypes littering the entire novel.
There are better ways to get your pulp fix. Unless you're just a fan of vintage racism.
For those who are curious what quotes really got to me, I found myself highlighting provocative passages as I read for my book club. I have sorted them below by category:
On people of other races:
“He had, however, apparently seen something in the legionary that told him to leave well enough alone, so Casca had not had the pleasure of whipping his ass. But the yellow man was something else – and fair game.”
“Looking him over, Casca grumbled to himself in his normal manner, If that big black bastard bumps me just one more time in the chow line, I'm going to rip off that oversized piece of skin he is so proud of and shove it down his throat.”
“Like a beast of the desert or jungle, Jubala watched and waited. Patience was a necessary virtue for survival in his tribal lands. He waited and prepared. He made sacrifice to his gods, those terrible beings of the night and the jungle. Two days before, when he had been permitted to go out on the town, he had cornered a young blonde prostitute of no more than fourteen years… He felt a shiver of pleasure run over him as he relived the moment when after he had taken his pleasure of her and she lay at his feet whimpering and bleeding she had looked up through tear-streaked eyes and asked for the denarius he had promised. Jubala felt a sexual thrill run over him as he remembered picking her up from the floor of her dingy room by the Tiber and covering her mouth with his hand while he took his knife and slowly slid it into her stomach, savoring her pain and death spasms as he drew the blade up slowly, ever so slowly, her back arching so that her intestines spilled out on the floor. He sacrificed to his gods, and in the ritual of his people he had ripped out her still-beating heart and eaten it while she still trembled... Good, he thought, good.”
“Shit, Casca thought, that black's trying to work on my mind. Well, I got news for you, boy. That bullshit don't play with me.”
“Meanwhile, Jubala watched all that went on, and his heart was as black as his face. One day he promised himself, One day, white dog...”
“Jubala stood, hands and feet manacled, his head erect. He was filled with pride... like a wild beast from the country where he was sired... the essence of primitive force.”
This ain't no fun, man. I wish to hell I hadn't let my old man hype me on that return to Israel jazz. I wouldn't be out here now trying to blow up a bunch of ragheads.
On the topic of women:
“After what Salome had done to him he was not about to let something like Sporus's hurt feelings interfere with his getting some of that good Armenian pussy. That luscious thing had one of the prettiest… ”
“The night officer said I could take off – and now I find you two taking it off. Well, right now, young soldier, you are going to pay for messing with my woman – and then I am going to slice her ears off so she won't ever listen to anyone else's bullshit.
“The senior MP pinched her on the butt and whispered in her ear, Later? Rheza nodded and rubbed her ripe tits along his arm. After all, a girl needed a protector.”
“Hydra's nine heads, that woman's tongue could make these Greek goats give cheese instead of milk. If only she wasn't so much bigger than me I would give her a sound thrashing and gentle her. He chuckled to himself. I wonder if I could talk her into being in on the robbery? He laughed out loud at the thought. Casca would have his hands full with her.”
“You are the first friend I have had in fifty-five years. That is not a small thing. Go home, friend, and do yourself a kindness and beat your wife.
“Minitre was at the dock, waving farewell, pleased with himself. After all, he had participated in a great adventure. Even better, he had taken Casca's advice and beat the hell out of his wife with a stout rod. Surprisingly, instead of counterattacking, she had become instantly meek and anxious to please.”
“Rome exhausted herself like some great whore on blood and slaughter.”
“Not that he was averse to such things as a little healthy ass slapping in the heat of passion when he was well-mounted in the saddle.”
“They were pathetic. They had no idea at all of what it took to get him aroused. If Salome were still alive she could have made a fortune teaching these high- class whores how to use their equipment”
Your little man Crysos died well enough for you. He told me nothing. But I still had the satisfaction of using him like a woman. In your name I told him I was doing it. He screamed like a woman, too.
“The crowd went insane. Several women climaxed in their excitement and tried to throw themselves to the arena below.”
On the topic of his muscles:
“He was glad to have those extra pounds of muscled-up beef.”
“Casca was a solid knot of sinewy muscle and tendons.”
“After all, I am a pretty healthy hunk of beef, and you would be in real trouble if they sold me by the pound. Laughing, he touched Minitre's shoulder gently.”
“Apparently he liked the man's looks ... tough... his carcass well-scarred from many fights... heavy- muscled... confident.”
“He headed east toward the Forum, his well-muscled hide drawing more than one interested look from the Roman ladies,”
“He spilled his seed into the bellies of faceless women as if trying to find something that could not be…”
“…the wife of a senator. She had given him fifty gold denarii for one evening. She had garlic breath, but nice legs.”
“The sounds of her breaking up were like a woman – or horse – in pain, as…”
On the matter of weird phrasing for historical fiction:
“Their commander had lately got a bug up his ass, and the general consensus was that the old bastard was bucking for a promotion; he had the troops out constantly, doing facing maneuvers and close order drill. Casca didn't mind.”
“That old fart had about as much compassion and sense of humor as a pit viper with hemorrhoids.”
“The Tenth Legion had a reputation for kicking ass and killing, a reputation that was well-deserved.”
“He got all the rejects... the troublemakers and murderers. Damn top management... don't know what they're doing.”
“Casca had not had what you might call your standard buddy-buddy relationship with the patrician class.”
Now, what the crap is that about? Is that all you can do? Can't you say anything?
Historical Fiction Back in the early 80s a Marine I served with could not stop talking about this series.
Better late than never.
Audiobook: What a mix. A little noir, a little gruff, a lot bloody... and it comes together nicely. Historical Fiction This book is over the top ridiculous (women spontaneously orgasm when they see the main character fight because he is so manly) and yet it is so unapologetic about its ridiculousness that I can't help but enjoy it. Casca is a good example of the pulp art form unleashed from the shackles of the social constraints of the early twentieth century and brought into the late twentieth century. It revels in the excesses that early pulp would only be able to hint at.
In other words, if you are looking for a really good book then pass this one by. If you want an overload of unadulterated brain candy then I couldn't recommend this more. Historical Fiction I could not get enough of this series when I was younger. For a fifth grade boy, what is cooler than a series about an immortal mercenary killing & sexing his way through the centuries? Yeah, that's right, not much. Alright, for clarification, a fifth grade chunky nerd boy. Historical Fiction Barry Sadler’s The Eternal Mercenary’s cringe-worthy moments overshadow the pulp entertainment.
You know that Jesus fella? Son of God, crucified for the sins of the world, rose from the dead? Yeah, that guy. Well, the Bible records a Roman soldier piercing His side with a spear to make sure He was dead. In The Eternal Mercenary, that’s the main character, Casca. In this series, Jesus condemns Casca to remain as a soldier until the Second Coming. Casca can feel pain, but he can’t die. The Eternal Mercenary opens during the Vietnam War, where some medical professionals are examining a soldier with a severe brain injury. Given that this soldier has fragments of a mortar shell lodged in his brain, he should be dead, but upon closer inspection, his skull and brain seem to be healing themselves. Most of the novel, however, is a flashback of how Casca came to be. Though it’s the best plot route for the time period—with Casca becoming a gladiator—I would have rather had the Vietnam story.
When it comes to action movies, I don’t have high standards. Stuff blows up; I’m happy. It doesn’t matter if it’s mindless entertainment. With pulp reads I’m the same way—I just consider them a good break from my literary preference and I don’t sweat the details. So… what’s the problem? Well, I’d say if you’re anything other than a white guy, you may have a harder time getting past the issues here. So the women in the novel: pretty much just there for sex. That may be a reality of war, but there’s barely a female presence in The Eternal Mercenary and what is there is insulting. One prostitute gets a man murdered in front of her, then is immediately attracted to the men who take liberty in searching her BECAUSE SHE’S A HOOKER AND HOOKERS LOVE SEX ALL THE TIME, SEE? Sure, she could be the type of broken woman who just happens to fall into that category, but not with how the rest of the women (rare as they are) are in this novel. The most important woman in Casca’s multi-millennial existence gets four pages. I don’t think she even has a line of dialogue.
When it comes to different races, you have the stereotypical Asian mentor. There’s also a horrible black gladiator with horrible descriptions, but, um, at least Nero says he’s got a beautiful black hide? If you like descriptions of muscular men, Casca has you covered, too. You should probably flex while reading this book. Anyway, there’s 30-something of these Casca novels. We’re coming up on 40 years of these books and they’re still being published. Sadler had his crew of ghost writers. The guy who took over? He has ghost writers, too. It seems like a lot of words to stem from… this. Despite all that, I’ll give Sadler credit: Even though Casca can’t die, he does fear being buried alive, etc., so that keeps some tension in the read, but really, turn off your brain and your standards and turn on your appreciation for Casca killing and/or humping anything that gets in his way. Two stars.
Historical Fiction
When they flew Casey into the hospital at Nha Trang, the medics were sure he’d die. That he didn’t was only the first surprise.
The second, bigger one, was that Casey had been fighting for two thousand years, ever since that day on Golgotha when he put his lance into the side of the Man on the Cross.
“Soldier, you are content with what you are. Then that you shall remain until we meet
again.”
So does Casca’s journey begin, a man who cannot die, does not age, and knows no skill but those of battle. He becomes The Eternal Mercenary.
The Eternal Mercenary (Casca, #1)