Cyn V. (rook) reviewed on 9/8/2010

Absolutely terrible. I could not even finish it, which is truly saying something for me. I ALWAYS try to finish a book, just in case it had a rough beginning.

Had I wanted a dry read on machinations of Roman politics, this would have be a top-lister. Since I was expecting a fiction story with at least SOME entertainment, it can barely rate above "I managed not to throw it at the wall in disgust."

Bear in mind, this arises from a purely personal dislike for the style and "voice" of the author. The subject matter was obviously VERY well researched; the author simply could not put it in a format which I found worth reading.
There were terribly long passages of exposition on Roman politics and geneology which might have been intended to add dimension to the story, but instead wore on me to the point of skimming.
The few times the author managed to tell a story using character development and interaction, I found it necessary to return to the previous such moment in order to understand who the characters were! That, sadly, did not always help. Many times, the author jumped, without any form of segue, into the POV of a heretofore unknown and unannounced character.

Truly terrible book. I cannot recommend it to anyone.

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