The First Village is a great look into the later years of the Roman-occupied areas, and the many changes that were coming into Wales.
This historical fiction piece was well done and well written. I enjoyed the entire book, (although there were a few times I felt it was a stretch), but the plot and the overall tone was enjoyable. For those who enjoy history, this is a fun read!

A wonderful intertwining of fact and fiction provides the backdrop for a suspenseful love story well written with engaging characters the author i a good job researching the life and times of the people of present-day Wales hundreds of years ago making this a historical read at the same time. I recommend to all historical fiction lovers

Being a fan of authors like Lindsey Davies, Robert Harris, etc. I do have a thing for ancient (e.g. Roman) History. Therefore I had high hopes for this book. Woe!

I got to Chapter 9 – where they were *still* talking about, maybe, perhaps, going to their boss in regard to looking for the tottie he’s been dreaming about. I stopped there. Can I have a little more action please, and less as to why he’s not shagged the local freed, rich, woman who may or may not be giving him the run around?

It can/could have been good – other reviews imply it’s great later on in the story. However, I really couldn’t wait. Too much talking, too much dry exposition, too little stuff happening….Unfortunately, too little to keep me engaged….

Set in AD 383 this book brings in history, geography (set in southern Wales), a little religion and romance. What an unexpected joy to read!

General Magnus Maximus is set to take all the Roman army out of Britain and back to Rome for his own ambition to become Emporer. Before he does this, he is still looking for a woman of his dreams and his lieutenant Flavius, and two centurions Severus and Caradocus are sent to try and find her.

These three set off on a series of adventures, with plenty of references to the good things the Romans achieved whilst they settled in Britain for 300 hundred years. With place names, sometimes a map of the region may be required and if using a Kindle a simple Googled map may help?

Plenty of other excellent characters are brought in, and there is plenty of humour e.g one centurion is using a fork for the first time and he exclaims that these items ''will never catch on'.

As for the sudden departure from British soil, has the author mirrored the probable Brexit scenario with us leaving the EU?

For me this book had everything and thus 5 stars. Thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read and review.

The First Village by Ian N. Evans is a fictionalized version of England/Wales, aboupt 383AD, during the time the Romans vacated the area and Magnus Maximus became Emperor of the West (most of Europe). As a lover of history, this book appealed to me. It was difficult at first with so many unfamiliar names, but after making my way through the first chapters, it began to make sense. As always, the bog facts are accurate, the lesser characters and situations are not.

Flavius Arcadius, a native Celt, who is Magnus Maximus' right hand man, doesn't see a good outcome when Magnus and his troops leave Wales. He has decided to recruit a couple of like-minded men to help him disappear at the right time, without exactly deserting, so he can arrange the local gentry to survive the withdrawal of the only government they had ever know. He was to do this by taking advantage of his closeness to Magnus, who has been having a reoccurring dream about a beautiful Welsh princess. Flavius volunteers to find her, never
believing that she really exists.
Overall, this was a fine book. Evans has a good imagination rooted in historical fact. It might have happened this way. If not, the journey was a good one: positive, loving, creative, and possible. I don't recommend this book to everyone, but to those to whom it will appeal, it is an excellent read. I recommend it.

I received a free ARC of the First Village. All opinions expressed herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thefirstvillage

An interesting but ultimately disappointing book. Set near the border of Wales, just as the Romans are leaving the island (late Fourth Century), the book focuses on three men, two senior officers and a centurion. The trio ventures into Wales to find the girl in their general's dream, only to find that she does exist.

Many interesting adventures ensue once she runs away with one of the men. The deterioration that happens when the Romans leave creates opportunities to form a new kind of society in the border town.

I really enjoyed all of this. What's a serious fault is the last 15% or so of the book. The is no crisis and one of the main characters does something for which, I'm afraid, little motivation is given. Another main character just disappears and everyone takes these bizarre events at face value.

Given the earlier writing in the book, the reader had every reason to expect better than a book that seems to run out of gas and stop instead of ending.

The story essentially covers the later part of the Roman occupation of Britain, focussing upon what is now Wales, set in AD 383. The general of the Roman Army, Magnus Maximus, has grander ideas for himself and heads off with his Legions to try to become emperor of the Western Empire. Other than being infatuated with a dream woman he gives little real thought to what would happen to the natives and Romanised people left behind. Three of his officers come up with a plan to try to find this dream girl as they do have concerns about those being left behind and really want out of things anyway. They do in fact, much to their amazement, find such a girl, the youngest daughter of a local chieftain and they fall into conflict with each other as a result. At one level it all gets a bit silly and farcical - she runs off with one of the officers, falls for him and on to a logical end, Papa chieftain wants revenge, the other soldiers start thinking about consequences, However, the story is mainly about the effects of the disappearance of Roman military on locals - a market economy suddenly without the market or at least the money and support and authority. There are well-off people in villas and they start thinking about self sufficiency with the story suggesting that they grew little - archaeological evidence would strongly contradict this. This was a period when Romans had mostly become Christians although the old Pagan gods were still worshipped - a time of generally remarkable tolerance in fact. There is therefore a lot of discussion about trying to do good unto others, helping those less well-off and so on. There is certainly a lot of thoughtful and thought provoking dialogue going on amidst the slight silliness. The characters are well-drawn overall; personally I like the Roman names and was pleased to see the towns, forts etc having their Roman names retained. As far as I'm concerned they fall easily from the tongue but that's probably helped by having worked on Roman sites across Hadrians Wall and northern Britain for over 30 years. At first the modern dialogue and every day speech sat oddly with the Roman theme but after a while it fitted better - after all the reader isn't going to read Latin, High or Low, so colloquial conversations between fellow soldiery comes over better with modern " kick their backsides" type comments. An engaging read and I really felt for the main characters at the end. Thanks to NetGalley and Vanguard Press for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

so sorry to tell but this book is one of the most boring i have ever read, the characters are not interesting and the plot is not clear...... maybe this book for not for me, i generally like th historical fiction
thank you for sending me this book.

Not a bad book but not my cup of tea as it fell flat.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.