A review by gilroi
Roman Blood by Steven Saylor

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 

I occasionally grow excessively tired of historical fiction about ancient Rome; it's all shining columns and glorious empire. What feeds the empire, one never seems to ask, but Steven Saylor breaks the trend. His Rome is dirty, not in a gritty grimdark way, but in the naturalistic bent that claims all cities, modern and pre-modern. His Rome is the center of an empire that knows something is rotten at its heart, but cannot keep itself from consuming the weak, the poor, the enslaved, the displaced. This is a Rome worth reading about, even if, at times, it's a little too neat.

There are certain 'off' historical details, as in any historical fiction; all of them were, I believe, included to further the point of the novel: the vices of imperialism, the way corruption erodes every corner of the world.

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest