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jlynnelseauthor's review
1.0
The opening "about the author" piece was hilarious! I thought, wow, this is going to be a witty and fun story! But without a clear goal after 100+ pages, I just didn't want to keep reading. There are so many other books out there! This book just does not carry the time period or interesting characters, sadly.
Nero was a tyranical and cruel emperor. While he increased the arts and had a reign of peace abroad, there was much more chilling episodes to his reign. And while I've never had a problem with stories revolving around these ancient rules and exploring their motivations, etc., this book is just a little too sarcastic and "ADHD" for my tastes.
First of all, the main two characters (one being Nero) are just plain mean to each other. They're cussing up a storm and responding to each other like they hate each other (and perhaps they do). I know people cuss, but this was a bit overly done for me. And their just so nasty! Its not fun to read after 50 pages.
Second, the narrator steps back and forth through times so much that I'm never sure where the actual story is supposed to take place. I read 144 pages, and the goal/point of the story was still unclear! The plot never intersects with significant events in history (in fact, it tries to avoid anything interesting about the time period) and only mentions emperor changes as if saying, "oh yeah, this is supposed to take place in ancient Roman times. Emperor check!"
The characters are 1-dimensional. The narrator is sarcastic and funny, but there is no substance to him and no redeeming qualities besides being "lucky" to get out of situations time after time. His brother has him hold the knife which the brother than kills himself on, and there are no resonating emotions about this other than the initial shock. Its frustrating how there is no emotional reaction to this other than "losing control of bowels." The two main people are constantly mean and theiving and escaping, and there are no discernable emotions to either one, again, besides mentioning bowel movements along with fear. That seems to be the author's only references, bowel movements or spitting.
If the author wants to explore the mind of Nero, I'll read it! But the characters had no other motivations other than running. It was just not as intersting as I had hoped! There were good one-liners, but not a good story that pulls you in and keeps you reading. I returned it to the library without finishing it.
Nero was a tyranical and cruel emperor. While he increased the arts and had a reign of peace abroad, there was much more chilling episodes to his reign. And while I've never had a problem with stories revolving around these ancient rules and exploring their motivations, etc., this book is just a little too sarcastic and "ADHD" for my tastes.
First of all, the main two characters (one being Nero) are just plain mean to each other. They're cussing up a storm and responding to each other like they hate each other (and perhaps they do). I know people cuss, but this was a bit overly done for me. And their just so nasty! Its not fun to read after 50 pages.
Second, the narrator steps back and forth through times so much that I'm never sure where the actual story is supposed to take place. I read 144 pages, and the goal/point of the story was still unclear! The plot never intersects with significant events in history (in fact, it tries to avoid anything interesting about the time period) and only mentions emperor changes as if saying, "oh yeah, this is supposed to take place in ancient Roman times. Emperor check!"
The characters are 1-dimensional. The narrator is sarcastic and funny, but there is no substance to him and no redeeming qualities besides being "lucky" to get out of situations time after time. His brother has him hold the knife which the brother than kills himself on, and there are no resonating emotions about this other than the initial shock. Its frustrating how there is no emotional reaction to this other than "losing control of bowels." The two main people are constantly mean and theiving and escaping, and there are no discernable emotions to either one, again, besides mentioning bowel movements along with fear. That seems to be the author's only references, bowel movements or spitting.
If the author wants to explore the mind of Nero, I'll read it! But the characters had no other motivations other than running. It was just not as intersting as I had hoped! There were good one-liners, but not a good story that pulls you in and keeps you reading. I returned it to the library without finishing it.
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