Ancient Times

This weekend I also finished Saturnalia by Lindsey Davis and it was a great read. I like the way the lives of the characters are in the fore with the mysteries taking a bit of a back seat. Unfortunately my neighbor read one of the Falco books and felt like she was missing something. While it is fun reading it as a series, someone should be able to read any of the books as a stand-alone. There are a great many references to previous stories which must make it confusing for a first time reader.

I’m also at the end of the second (and final) season of Rome. There is one more episode left and we have the Battle of Actium, Marc Antony’s death, and Cleopatra’s death to deal with. I would like to see a few more people die as well; most of them are really nasty. While I praised the historical accuracy in the first season (and the producers took a great deal of pride in their set) the second season is playing fast and loose with the truth. But I think it’s amusing the way they work the characters of Vorenus and Pulla into every major event. They even had Pulla kill Cicero in his villa instead of while he was fleeing to the coast!

A little detail like that is no big deal, but then they totally re-worked Marc Antony’s relationships and the death of Brutus’ mother. I also resent the overall grimness of Rome. According to the show, every woman is a scheming bitch and every man has killed someone just for heck of it at one time or another. I would rather think of Rome like any other big city. There are nice people and not so nice people but everyone is just trying to get along in life. There are always Lindsey Davis’s books if I want a more pleasant portrayal of Rome.