Was looking forward to this book as the concept really looked exciting? First off, I am not in any way a student of Roman history! The biggest problem I had with the book was the constant references to various Roman characters and places – I found this very hard to follow but would understand that Roman history buffs would not have an issue with this. The chase around Rome Marcus Clodius Ballista tries to reach the Emperor Gallienus in my view got very monotonous. The action scenes were well written and exciting and the ending kept you on the edge of your seat. You did get a sense of the brutality of the times where life seemed to be cheap. There was no attempt to get Ballista to be a “nice guy” as he randomly culls anyone that gets in his way! The other problem (although less of an issue as it is fiction!) is the amount of injuries that our hero receives – bear in mind this is set over a 24 hour period and still has enough left in him to continue the fight to the very end. The final point I would make is that the Emperor Gallienus seems like a chap that you may not want to risk your life for!! Overall worth a read and will pick up another of Harry Sidebottom’s books in the future.