The fall of Nero as seen by the palace freedmen/freedwomen and slaves.

The tone was rather uncertain in places when what seemed to be a build-up to violence involving a main character just fizzled out, not through being defused but just not happening. Apart from that, it was an imaginative and entertaining story. ( )

Brilliant! I never thought if read a book about Rome under the Romans but it was so well written, funny and well paced that I loved it. The characters are brilliantly drawn. I loved the portrayal of Nero and Sporus. I loved the uptight Sabinus too and even cried at the end! ( )

A breezy, light-hearted look at the last years of Nero's reign, this novel was a sort of "Upstairs, Downstairs" conception of those living and working in the palace. One of the Praetorian prefects, Nymphidius Sabinus, is the driving force for the final coup to dislodge Nero from his position, leading to Nero's suicide [admittedly assisted by his secretary, Epaphroditus.] The no-nonsense Nymphidius Sabinus is the de facto ruler in the interregnum until Galba should march in from Spain. There's a sweet friendship between Philo, the secretary's bashful freedman secretary and Teretia, his landlord's daughter. The writing was really witty and humorous; I found myself chuckling all through the novel--at the action and also at some of the turns of phrase. The author's characterizations of everyone were very well drawn; each had well-defined personalities. I'm eager to read the other books in the tetralogy, all of which concern the "Year of the Four Emperors", 68-69 AD.

Highly recommended. ( )

Interesting idea to tell the story of the coup against Nero from the inside by the palace slaves, however the characters are bit too cliched and the book swings between being the story of the coup to being a simple tale of love and lust .. ( )