Even though I had read most of Sven Hassel books, which I love, one of the few I was missing was his first one: "The Legion Of The Damned". But a few months ago I managed, at last, to get a copy (although a little crappy one) which I quickly devoured.

"The Legion Of The Damned" is, as I previously said, the first book written by Hassel and it is clearly different from the rest of the series. During the story of the book some of his comrades, when their lives are threatened by the enemy, remind him he has to survive to write a book about their experience and the horrors of war common soldiers live everyday. And that's exactly what he did and what this book is about, even more than the rest.

Although told in an autobiographical way, the stories in the novels of Hassel are a mixture of fiction and his real experiences during World War II. Which parts are true and which parts are fiction is not really important, the important thing is they are always a reminder of the stupidity, brutality and nonsense of war (as well as amazing war stories from the point of view of German soldiers), and this is, in my opinion, the one which tries harder to make readers think about that.

As a fan of Hassel books there are a lot of things I enjoyed or found interesting, like the moment when Hassel meets Porta and Old man, the absence of the Legionnaire and Tiny, and other things I don't want to spoil.

Not my favorite of his novels but great, as always.

my rating: