Rating: 
Summary: A better writer than Sadler but not a better storyteller
Review: This book was a terrible dissapointment. The author is a skilled writer and has a greater grasp of the English language than Sadler ever did but what he doesn't have is the storytellers gift. This book was dull and uninspired, far too much time was spent describing unimportant details or simply spending page after page describing Casca eating and getting fat or someother sedentary activity. Sadler's books moved with a dynamic energy, never seeming to dally on a point but always rushing forward too some new instance of action or excitment. This book completely lacked that thrill.
Rating: 
Summary: A reasonably good start
Review: This is a long overdue restart of a really promising action-adventure series that ended with the authors untimely death. It is certainly not the series at it's height; lacking the clarity and imagination of Casca's sojourn among the Aztecs for example. It is, however, a reasonable start and I for one will buy (at least) the next few to give the author(s?) some time to work his way into the character. I get the feeling that the current author got the sense of the series from a "Bible" prepared by the publishers, rather than from reading the series itself. There is misplaced constant emphasis, for example on scarring, that gets a bit "old" quickly. There is also little reference to his past military skills and the battle scenes are done quickly as though the author really wanted to write a love story rather than an action adventure. I don't get the feeling that the author feels comfortable with details of swordplay, tactics (or fighting in general) that Sadler, the original author, had down cold. For example, here Casca is in a position to introduce new tactics to a primitive people and just stands there waiting to get back to his orgy at the hut. The real details are relative to the romance which is not the thrust of the series. One suspects that the author was expecting a cover with someone who couldn't believe it's not butter. In essence, I always wondered if they would restart this series, and I will certainly support it (for a couple more books at least ) in hopes of it getting some writing that captures the sense of actual combat and the excitement and wonder of the earlier entries. Worth trying, but for a long term thing it needs mucho work.
Rating:
Summary: A complete waste of money
Review: This was the worst 6 bucks I have ever spent. I had to force myself to finish this, thinking "it has to get better". After waiting ten years for a new book, this is an incredible disappointment. The author cannot write or tell a story. There's only filler. The author gives complete details about the bathtub, but leaves out little things like when and where the story is taking place or what happens to the Oba at the end of the book, but then again, maybe he did, but I was too bored to notice or care. This series used to contain nonstop action, not this constant introspection. He made Casca sensitive. To the Publisher: 1)Pay some real money for an author who can write! 2)Hire some editors. Not only were there inconsistancies on the same page, but spelling errors as well.
Rating:
Summary: Casca: The Defiant
Review: Unlike most casca books, casca seems to be a supporting character in this book. The brotherhood normally could only mean the brotherhood of the lamb....now a different one shows up....whenever the doc has anything to do with experiencing casca's past, usually they meet....and at the end the good doctor finishes by giving the impresion he will write it all down and forward a copy to his old co...dr (col) landries)...was his tie in here out of context or just a way to show the readers that you had read one or two of his books (sadler) and know some of his characters names, but not their motives or how they fit in the grand scheme of the book....please reread the series to get a better feel for casca, how he deals with those of his past, his ways of communicating those stories, and how casca lived....no just a byline headed to an end...but actually what casca does and experiences...
Rating:
Summary: The worst thing I have ever read
Review: When I saw that the Casca series was again going to begin, I was very excited. I have always been a big fan of the series and have missed it. And I got the new book, eagerly read it, and was more disappointed then I have ever been. The main theory wasn't too bad, the history seems right (although I have a degree in history and still am not sure when and where this was supposed to take place)and it was interesting to see more interest taken in what makes Casca tick. But that was the only good things. The only character that I could remember, a few minutes after puting the book down, was Casca; the other characters had almost no development and nothing that made you notice them. The death of the protaganist was just so thrown in I had to go back two pages to make sure it happened. The other enemies I couldn't tell you who they were. And I qustion Casca being trapped underwater for years at a time. I was extremely disappointed, and can not understand how anyone has been able to give a rating above three stars. Normally when I do not like a book I sell it to a used bookstore, this one is going to the Goodwill. No one else should ever have to pay anything close to what I did for it.
Rating:
Summary: Some Good, Some Bad...
Review: While overseas many years ago I borrowed a friend's copy of a CASCA book. Enthralled with the idea behind the character, I spent the rest of that summer hunting down and reading all 22 books. After Sadler's death I figured that someday, somebody would continue the series. Well, here we are and I greet Casca's return with a mixed reaction. Barry Sadler may not have been the greatest writer, but the one thing he could do most of the time was tell a story that you wanted to see to the end. None of the original CASCA books are great literature and some of them were downright turkeys, but for the most part he kept you coming back for the next one. This new entry in the series has a promising start, and I agree with those reviewers who note that Mr. Dengelegi has attempted to add a new level of characterization to Casca. This I applaud, for after 22 books something new added to the mix can only help if it's done right. However, the middle portion of the book bogs down horribly. Page after page of Casca eating, bathing, flirting with the servant girls, eating some more, bathing some more, flirting some more with the girls, and then we do it all over again. This part of the book covers more pages than the initial scenes and Casca's brush with The Curse combined. I found myself skipping ahead and looking for the pace to pick up...never a good sign when one is reading any book. The story picks up speed toward the end, but by then it was probably a lost cause for me. Being as this is the first attempt to resurrect the series, I will watch for the next Casca book. One mixed effort won't ruin the potential entertaiment value the character represents for me. Hopefully that's true for other Casca fans.
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