Rating: 
Summary: Good story, but take notes
Review: This is kind of a strange series, but a pretty good one. It places a pre-empire Roman legion into a fantasy world, in an empire called Videssos. Videssos is made to be exactly like the Byzantine Empire of earth, with the exception that magic is a real force in Videssos's world. There is much opportunity for irony, as the main Roman character reflects on how his Rome would never do certain things like Videssos, while the reader knows that Videssos is exactly what Rome becomes.
All of the other countries and peoples in the series are analogous to real-world cultures contemporary to the Byzantine Empire. And there are a lot of them. That's why I say take notes. There are so many characters in this that it's easy to get confused. But most of the characters are fairly well developed, and come off as unique individuals. Turtledove uses some stereotypes to give distinction and identity to the cultures in the series, but for the most part, it accomplishes that goal without becoming overbearing.
However, as the series is after all a fantasy, Turtledove makes one culture a race of devil-worshiping barbarians. As all the fantasy-world cultures are analogous to real-world cultures, this means that he's implying that the Yezda's real-world counterpart are uniformly evil. I don't think this was his goal. I think he just wanted to propose the idea of what if the enemies of the empire really were as the empire saw them. With that in mind, I think the series will be more enjoyable for those sensitive to such matters.
The focus of the series is on personal interactions and intercultural politics. The fantastical aspects are fairly low-key. The magic that brought the legion to Videssos is never really explored, and never explained at all. There are no elves, no dragons, and no maiden-kidnapping monsters in the world Videssos occupies. All of Videssos's monsters are human. In this regard, the series is very enjoyable. Turtledove creates realistic characters with realistic motivations and means, and the reader can understand and sympathize with most of them throughout this book and the series.
The Misplaced Legion, and its three successive novels in the Videssos Cycle are worth reading. It should appeal to fantasy readers and history buffs alike.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the most enjoyable series ever.
Review: This is the first book in a four volume series that I rate as one of the most enjoyable in all fantasy literature. It is, as other reviewers have commented, basically a first century BC Roman legion thrown into the eleventh century Byzantine Empire, with a bit of magic added for good measure. Videssians are the Byzantines themselves; the Yezda are Seljuk Turks; the Makurani are Persians; the Arshaum are Mongols; the Halogai are Vikings; the Namdaleni are Normans, and so it goes throughout the books.Turtledove's borrowings extend to place names as well, some of which are carried over without alteration from real place names of the Byzantine Empire. Even specific events are lifted from the pages of history. Two Roman legionaries, for example, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus are taken, along with their rivalry and deeds, right out of Caesar's Commentaries. The Videssian Emperor, at one point before a battle, stumbles in front of his men, who gasp at the evil omen. Equal to the occasion, he grabs a fistful of sand in each hand and declares that he has a tight hold on his country. Students of history will recognize this as something William, Duke of Normandy was reported to have done when he arrived in England, just before the Battle of Hastings. But don't let all this fool you into thinking the series is too unoriginal to bother with. These "borrowed" details merely serve to flesh out the story and the fictional world in which it's set. The story itself is quite original, and highly entertaining. What's more, the "fish out of water" motif of the misplaced Roman legionaries allows the author to focus on a great deal of detail of this world without all the exposition seeming tiresome and distracting, and this fine detail also helps to lend the fictional world a greater aspect of reality. The real strength of this series, however, is its characters. It's a highly character driven story. Never before or since has Turtledove drawn such detailed, unique characters. They really come alive for the reader, each with a distinct, and usually likeable personality, but each with believable, human flaws that also make them convincing. More than anything else, it is the realistic characterization that makes this series worth reading. I picked it up back in '87 when it first hit the stands, and I've reread it countless times since then. It's one of the few series with which I can do that. And each time I finish it, it's with a real sense of regret that it's finished. Those of you who are about to read these books for the first time, how I envy you!
Rating:
Summary: One of the most enjoyable series ever.
Review: This is the first book in a four volume series that I rate as one of the most enjoyable in all fantasy literature. It is, as other reviewers have commented, basically a first century BC Roman legion thrown into the eleventh century Byzantine Empire, with a bit of magic added for good measure. Videssians are the Byzantines themselves; the Yezda are Seljuk Turks; the Makurani are Persians; the Arshaum are Mongols; the Halogai are Vikings; the Namdaleni are Normans, and so it goes throughout the books. Turtledove's borrowings extend to place names as well, some of which are carried over without alteration from real place names of the Byzantine Empire. Even specific events are lifted from the pages of history. Two Roman legionaries, for example, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus are taken, along with their rivalry and deeds, right out of Caesar's Commentaries. The Videssian Emperor, at one point before a battle, stumbles in front of his men, who gasp at the evil omen. Equal to the occasion, he grabs a fistful of sand in each hand and declares that he has a tight hold on his country. Students of history will recognize this as something William, Duke of Normandy was reported to have done when he arrived in England, just before the Battle of Hastings. But don't let all this fool you into thinking the series is too unoriginal to bother with. These "borrowed" details merely serve to flesh out the story and the fictional world in which it's set. The story itself is quite original, and highly entertaining. What's more, the "fish out of water" motif of the misplaced Roman legionaries allows the author to focus on a great deal of detail of this world without all the exposition seeming tiresome and distracting, and this fine detail also helps to lend the fictional world a greater aspect of reality. The real strength of this series, however, is its characters. It's a highly character driven story. Never before or since has Turtledove drawn such detailed, unique characters. They really come alive for the reader, each with a distinct, and usually likeable personality, but each with believable, human flaws that also make them convincing. More than anything else, it is the realistic characterization that makes this series worth reading. I picked it up back in '87 when it first hit the stands, and I've reread it countless times since then. It's one of the few series with which I can do that. And each time I finish it, it's with a real sense of regret that it's finished. Those of you who are about to read these books for the first time, how I envy you!
Rating:
Summary: Best book in the Videssos Cycle
Review: Turtledove won me over when I first read this series ten years ago. His attention to detail and character development continues to draw me to his other books. You get a feeling that he spent more time on this book than many others. I couldn't put it down. A must read for Turtledove fans.
Rating:
Summary: The legionaries meet the ultimate challange.
Review: With a flash, a detachment of a Ancient Roman legion is transported from Gaul to Videssos, a magical land on a world far from Earth. It is a time of desperation in Videssos: their armies have been weakened from years of political power struggles, nomadic hordes are invading the westlands, hired mercenaries are considering self-employment, and the latest Emperor sits new on the throne. This book, 1st of four, sets the Romans in Videssos, establishes the politics, history, attitudes, and conflicts in the Empire, and ends in a history-changing battle in the westlands
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