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A review by gilroi
Arms of Nemesis by Steven Saylor
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I really enjoyed the first book, so I was genuinely surprised by the precipitous dip in quality between novels.
I don't know if I'm just especially sensitive to pacing, but this book's pacing was just awful, treacle-slow even though the fact that the characters are running out of time-- have little time to begin with, to save the lives of almost a hundred people!-- is constantly remarked upon. The investigation crawled at a snail's pace until the final ~15% of the book, in which all was revealed in monologues (something I don't generally love but understand is occasionally a staple of mystery fiction). The denouement happens off screen. The final few chapters are retrospectives where characters discuss events that have already happened for the benefit of the reader. The ending is ultimately saccharine, far too much for a book that is trying to highlight the evils of slavery.
Ultimately, the book felt weirdly like a cozy mystery, which is not what I go to for fiction set in Ancient Rome.
I was thoroughly disappointed. If the next book in the series wasn't about an event in Roman history I find interesting, I'd tap out completely.
I don't know if I'm just especially sensitive to pacing, but this book's pacing was just awful, treacle-slow even though the fact that the characters are running out of time-- have little time to begin with, to save the lives of almost a hundred people!-- is constantly remarked upon. The investigation crawled at a snail's pace until the final ~15% of the book, in which all was revealed in monologues (something I don't generally love but understand is occasionally a staple of mystery fiction). The denouement happens off screen. The final few chapters are retrospectives where characters discuss events that have already happened for the benefit of the reader. The ending is ultimately saccharine, far too much for a book that is trying to highlight the evils of slavery.
Ultimately, the book felt weirdly like a cozy mystery, which is not what I go to for fiction set in Ancient Rome.
I was thoroughly disappointed. If the next book in the series wasn't about an event in Roman history I find interesting, I'd tap out completely.