Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: After genuinely enjoying the Anteros series from Bunch and Cole, I was pretty eager to get started on this "Find" from a used book store.It never happened. I kept waiting for some Bunch magic to occur, but nada. Complicated characters that I just didn't care about, unresolved issues from the opening chapters (as far as I could see), an antagonist that was uninspiring, and a fairly flat ending. By half way or so, finishing this became a labor. Bunch is definitively talented, this work isn't. I will not be finishing this series. I am currently really enjoying Bunch's "Seer King".
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: After genuinely enjoying the Anteros series from Bunch and Cole, I was pretty eager to get started on this "Find" from a used book store. It never happened. I kept waiting for some Bunch magic to occur, but nada. Complicated characters that I just didn't care about, unresolved issues from the opening chapters (as far as I could see), an antagonist that was uninspiring, and a fairly flat ending. By half way or so, finishing this became a labor. Bunch is definitively talented, this work isn't. I will not be finishing this series. I am currently really enjoying Bunch's "Seer King".
Rating:
Summary: Ick. This is awful.
Review: As the world's greatest STEN fan, I was excited by Chris Bunch's return to the world of science fiction in his new series, starting with THE LAST LEGION. Although I've avoided the Alan Cole fantasy works (blah), I feel justified in saying that either the magic that STEN had was solely from Mr. Bunch's co-author's hands, or from some combination of the two. This book is just not good. I could feel no identification with the main characters of the book; they were too-rapidly introduced and too silly in their natures to be even moderately interesting. The dialogue is ridiculous, and has the sound of someone TRYING to emulate the conversation onboard a troopship. Sure, STEN wasn't exactly high art, but at least the characters made you feel what they felt; the Last Legion feels nothing. Sorry, Chris, I had really high hopes for this series. Maybe I'll try again someday, but after two attempts to make it through the first book, I gave up and returned the three books (THE LAST LEGION, FIREMASK, and STORM FORCE) to the store.
Rating: 
Summary: Violent military science fiction, unflinchingly told.
Review: Chris Bunch is masterful at creating a universe that is vivid and full of potential for military battles, spying and intrigue. It shows mankind at it's very worst--as violent and mindless automatons where even the heroes (anti-heroes?) are stereotypical losers with very few redeeming characteristics. Testosterone laden and full of meticulously arranged military strategy, the tale is unflinchingly and well told in a style which has shown the author's growth from earlier books. If you are a fan of military sci-fi, and enjoy authors like Rick Shelley and Gordon Dickenson, then this would probably be more to your liking than mine.
Rating: 
Summary: Reminiscent of the Sten series
Review: Excellent work, best of Mr. Bunch's work since the Sten series with Alan Cole. Much more gritty and realistic approach to his heroes, written by someone who seems to know what really goes on in covert operations. I found the ranking a little too cute, since the structure seemed the same as today, with just an alien sounding name. I think it would have been as effective and easier to keep up with if the ranks had been in english. Excellent work, could not put the book down. His humor had me laughing out loud at times!
Rating:
Summary: Reminiscent of the Sten series
Review: Excellent work, best of Mr. Bunch's work since the Sten series with Alan Cole. Much more gritty and realistic approach to his heroes, written by someone who seems to know what really goes on in covert operations. I found the ranking a little too cute, since the structure seemed the same as today, with just an alien sounding name. I think it would have been as effective and easier to keep up with if the ranks had been in english. Excellent work, could not put the book down. His humor had me laughing out loud at times!
Rating:
Summary: A new Military SF book.
Review: Good book, quite engaging. Not a derivitive of the Sten books, but essentially built with the same technical know how. The characters are not saints, but are people. People whose story and actions quickly grab you and draw you into the story. Character development that doesn't bore you, but actually helps to let you get to know the characters. Bunch proves that he has the know how to write good, believable action. He also proves that the good guys do not always win (at least on the first try). He is a master of incorporating everyday politics (ie, backstabbing and stupidity) of human beings into his characters. All in all a good effort, I really enjoyed reading this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Bit of a let down
Review: I loved the Sten series and I found the premise of this one interesting. But..... Sadly it seemed to lack everything that made the Sten series so good, perhaps the influence of Chris Cole was missed too much. Boring characters, confusing and dull adversaries and, in my case, a bored reader. I wont be bothering with the rest of the series....
Rating:
Summary: Bit of a let down
Review: I loved the Sten series and I found the premise of this one interesting. But..... Sadly it seemed to lack everything that made the Sten series so good, perhaps the influence of Chris Cole was missed too much. Boring characters, confusing and dull adversaries and, in my case, a bored reader. I wont be bothering with the rest of the series....
Rating:
Summary: Bunch's solo military SF debut
Review: I've been a massive fan of Chris Bunch (and his co-conspirator Allan Cole) since I got ahold of their fantastic 'Nam war tome, A Reckoning For Kings, back in 1988. I was surprised one year later to stumble across the now-famous Sten saga in 1989, and avidly read the entire Sten series as a result. The first thing I will say right off the bat is that Bunch w/o Cole is not as good as Bunch with Cole. The same can be said for Cole w/o Bunch, as I have read both authors' solo works. The collaborating minds of Bunch and Cole are capable of putting together some of the finest true-grit war stories I have ever read. By themselves, neither author has been able to capture me in quite the same fashion as when I first read the Sten books or A Reckoning For Kings. Having said this, Bunch's The Last Legion is a competent piece of military SF and a great start for what is obviously going to be an arced series. The arc itself has its highs and lows, but the first book is quite good in my opinion. Like other reviewers it was impossible for me to not be reminded of the Sten novels, but I think this is just Bunch's general style carrying over, not a knock on the plot, and I would recommend this book to any reader fond of military SF--regardless of whether they have read any Sten or not. Hard SF readers are sure to be distracted by some of the scientific faux pas that crop up in the book. Bunch seems to confuse solar systems with galaxies when discussing the scope of the Legion's parent government, the Confederation, while at the same time he employs a very generic Hyperspace drive that is never fully explained nor expounded upon. Both no-nos in the land of Hard SF nitpickers. But The Last Legion is a great entry-level SF book just the same. One that I would put in the Christmas stocking of any teenager or college student, especially if he or she was already hooked on a television or film SF franchise like Star Wars, Baylon 5, or Star Trek. Young SF readers are not born in a vacuum after all, and The Last Legion and its other companion books in the series would be an engaging break-out read for someone ready to graduate beyond media SF. Lord knows the Sten series was a huge break-out read for me, in the days when my entire SF diet was composed almost exclusively of Star Trek. Thanks to the Sten series I started reading other and different SF besides Star Trek, and pretty soon my tastes advanced and I was reading Card, Niven, Bear, Asimov, and other greats. In summary, The Last Legion is not perfect, and it is not the best I have seen from Bunch, but it is classic Bunch just the same and anything Bunch writes I will read.
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