Disappointing. Quite well-written on a technical level, but very little character development over the course of the story; at the end, none of the characters have grown or changed in any way. I wanted more resolution, especially of Caius' story. Also, I found the relocation of Polycarp from Smyrna to Rome to be unnecessary (why not just invent an analogous character?), and Polycarp's relationship with Regina to be a bit odd (father-daughterly, except with a weird sort of sexual tension going on?). ( )

Here's the thing I've found about the two books in this series so far: although they involve zombies, and the awful horror of having the living dead walk through your life and your town, the subtext is a lot deeper.

In this instalment, Stant Litore examines what happens when a rigid man cleaves to what he considers to be his honour, even while his actions cause destruction and heartbreak. He looks at what happens when a truly honourable man comes up against the belief system of the world he lives in - ancient Rome - and how the grinding stones of politics attempts to destroy him. He looks at two women, both broken in their past, and how they deal with the present when it starts to devolve - one retreats into a false vengeance and betrayal, another finds her courage and her loyalty shaken through fear, but never shattered.

As in the first book, zombies are the catalyst for events, but the characters drive the story into places that haunt you. Set in a time long dead, this book makes the people of the time real in every sense. ( )