Scan barcode
gilroi's reviews
534 reviews
The Undefeated by Una McCormack
2.0
This isn't a story about slavery, it's a story about white guilt, which I don't personally find a very worthy topic. A story about slavery should be centered on slaves, but this one takes it's sweet time glamorizing the life of rich slave owners and how they can come to regret-- but not end-- their participation in the slave trade. All the slave characters-- genetically enhanced humans-- are portrayed as mysterious others with inscrutable goals. The fall of the slave-holding planetary government is written as tragic.
Two stars for competent prose.
Two stars for competent prose.
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
3.0
An excellent work of historical fiction, showing the lives of the Roman underclass. I wish more books were written about people history would rather forget, especially since the lives of slaves and prostitutes were unusually well-documented in Roman history. All the characters are real and varied, and the author deftly avoids a lot of the worst tropes associated with this sort of story. My only complaint was feeling the ending was a little rushed, but the last chapter more than makes up for it.