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Wow, they just don't write books like that anymore! In many places it really reminded me of Ben-Hur, but with much more Roman feel to it than Hebrew. The story kept me intrigued throughout, and from what I've read of Roman culture and history (it being a bit of a hobby of mine lately) it seems to me that he very well captures the feel of what it was to be a Roman, confronted by this strange sect of Judaism called Christianity. I felt immersed in the fear and debauchery of Nero's reign to an incredible degree. Everyone involved (from Nero to the Christians) seemed human, believable and well-crafted.
If I had to give a criticism, it would be that while the first three-quarters of the book excelled at being down-to-earth and believable, the last quarter contained way too much Catholic mystical idealism and preachiness. Halfway through the book I was consciously admiring the way that the book had such an appealingly Christian feel without being trite or preachy, but it started to lose that by the end, in my opinion. Somehow I doubt that martyrs enter into a heavenly trance where they don't feel pain anymore right before dying, so reading about that kind of thing started to throw me off. Anyways, that was a minor issue, and didn't keep me from enjoying the book: still a solid 4 stars, in my opinion.
If I had to give a criticism, it would be that while the first three-quarters of the book excelled at being down-to-earth and believable, the last quarter contained way too much Catholic mystical idealism and preachiness. Halfway through the book I was consciously admiring the way that the book had such an appealingly Christian feel without being trite or preachy, but it started to lose that by the end, in my opinion. Somehow I doubt that martyrs enter into a heavenly trance where they don't feel pain anymore right before dying, so reading about that kind of thing started to throw me off. Anyways, that was a minor issue, and didn't keep me from enjoying the book: still a solid 4 stars, in my opinion.