classical civ

Vestal Virgins in “Brides of Rome”

The historical events of Brides of Rome have been covered so many times in other novels. It's really hard to bring…

1 year ago

The Rome of Fall

The Rome of Fall, by Chad Alan Gibbs, blends 90s nostalgia, small-town football obsession, and Julius Caesar for a strangely…

2 years ago

“Apollo’s Raven” by Linnea Tanner

Excerpt from my review over on Online Book Club a while ago: Apollo’s Raven by Linnea Tanner is historical fantasy,…

2 years ago

Libertus The Pavement-Maker: Dark Omens

I've read most -- but not all  -- of this series, so when I find one I haven't gotten to…

2 years ago

Feast of Sorrow

Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King tells the story of a kitchen slave, Thrasius, and his owner, the gourmand Apicius.…

2 years ago

The Price of Freedom: A Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain

The Price of Freedom is the seventeenth in Rosemary Rose's Libertus mystery series. By this point, the pavement-laying crime-solver is…

3 years ago

Trade Secrets

By now, whenever Marcus and Perilla start talking about having a relaxing time, I'm pretty sure someone's about to find…

3 years ago

Medicus

In Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire Ruth Downie uses the tensions between Roman army and British locals to create a…

4 years ago

The Chef’s Secret

The beginning of The Chef's Secret starts a bit slowly, or maybe I was just disappointed that it wasn't set in ancient…

5 years ago

Solid Citizens

Before receiving David Wishart's new novel Solid Citizens, I'd already read Ovid, Germanicus, and Sejanus, also Roman mysteries by the…

6 years ago

Finished Business: Marcus Corvinus #16

David Wishart's "Finished Business" is the sixteenth in the series, so Marcus Corvinus is aging a bit now, and becomes…

8 years ago