The start of a series all about the great Roman Marcus Aurelius and Gauis. A historical fiction book that really brings his past to life and gives you a glimpse during the times of the Roman Emporer.
I love seeing him as a child especially as it shows some of what he went through including being bullied and abused by others. I also think it shows a lot of great time frame references that talk about life in those times. He also didn’t hide that fact that corporal punishment was common back then as well. There are many references to it in the first couple of chapters.
I think it makes for a compelling read that they don’t shy away from something that now is not used for the most part and was common place then.
I am impressed by the writing style which seems modern but also truthful to the timeframe. I think this will be one of the better reads as it doesn’t really go mystical at all but does go more into the life and how harsh it is.
The story is a great one and I think he is a perfect writer for historical fiction as he has such great way to explaining things as well as describing some of the tactile senses that we use daily. Describing the smell of the city was what had me going as well since you are never sure just how they will describe these ancient times since sewage systems were not the way they are today.
I really enjoy the medicine part of the Roman Empire and how they show that it is very different than what we do today. Amputation for one of the characters had me cringing at what had to be done and the comments of the doctor. It is not something I expected and certainly had me feeling uneasy.
The constant threat of flogging or scourging or other punishments is definitely not expected but goes to show you the time of this book and how vicious the top people could be. Ordering flogging for trivial offenses seemed common even such as distracting someone who was training when she was doing her job.
While the book ends at a point which makes sense I really wanted more as it felt that there was so much left unsaid during this time and I hope that they will go through more of his history in the other books.
Crazy Canadian Writing 