A Great introduction to a historical figure I had never heard of Vespasian below starting this book, and assumed that he was a fictitious character in the same vein as Sharpe or Hornblower, just in the Roman era. Obviously I was wrong, for he in fact became Emporer of Rome after Nero (kinda). This added a level of intrigue to the story for me, obviously this book is only the beginnings of his story, as there are another 9 books in the series. But it's definitely got me hooked. At times I got a little exasperated with stone of the tropes and plot conveniences used, but I'm giving Fabbri the benefit of the doubt, after all this was his debut novel.