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Master And God. By Lindsey Davis (2012)

by Lindsey Davis(Favorite Author)

3.64 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1444707345 (ISBN13: 9781444707342)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Hodder & Stoughton

review 1: There might be a good novel somewhere in this confused mess, but this isn't it. It's two stories which don't really fit together, except that Davis has shoehorned them into the same book -- a romance between a Praetorian Guard and a hairdresser to the imperial court, and the story of how Domitian became so paranoid that eventually those around him had to stop him for his own good. I wish she'd gone for the latter; the former is incredibly contrived, with so much telling rather than showing, no real sense of what draws the two characters together or why they suit each other, and ridiculous misunderstandings which keep them apart until their inevitable happy ending.Whereas her portrayal of Domitian is initially sympathetic and fascinating, and attempts to understand how an... mored why he might have come to be introspective and suspicious. I would have loved to see more of what it was like for Domitia Longina to be married to him (especially when their child died and during the Paris affair), and how others in the court and senate felt about him. Davis could even have used her guard and hairdresser as a window on that world, if she wanted -- there's no reason why Lucilla couldn't have done Domitia's hair, and why Domitia couldn't have confided in her as Davis tells us rich women often did with their hairdressers. But instead the book gradually veers away from Domitian and towards the tiresome love affair between Vinius Clodianus and Lucilla, with Domitian's actions seeming increasingly arbitrary and inexplicable. And yes, partly they were increasingly arbitrary and inexplicable, but Davis makes no attempt to get inside his head; she just charts what without any attempt at the why.For all its detail her Rome doesn't feel quite Roman, either; I think it's that all the trappings are there but the attitudes aren't quite right. Everyone feels very modern in how they think as well as how they speak, and there's a weird lack of religion (apart from as window dressing) or slaves as active characters. There are imperial freedmen, and Lucilla keeps a couple of slaves as assistants in her beauty salon, but we don't see much interaction with them, or slaves in any other role or household. People talk about slaves but few people seem to actually keep one, and it adds to the sense of these people being 21st-century westerners in togas.I gave it two stars rather than one because I like her ear for dialogue, and masculine, soldierly dialogue in particular, plus the food seems authentic (chicken Frontinian is a real dish!) and there are bonus references to 'The Girl I Kissed At Clusium' and the Legio IX Hispana getting wiped out in Caledonia (always a winner with this fan of Rosemary Sutcliff!), but I wouldn't try her Falco books or anything else she's written; the writing style is too clumsy and there's too much telling rather than showing. Is there anyone out there who's written a good novel about Domitian, though? Because that's something I would genuinely love to read.(oh, and last of all: Pliny the Younger a prig devoid of emotional imagination?! As if.)
review 2: I enjoyed this story, for the most part. I am not terribly fond of romance stories but the secondary plot of Domitian's rule and subsequent assassination I found the more interesting. Many of the characters were real people involved in the conspiracy against Domitian, although they might have a completely fictional description that was only because of a limited amount of historical records. Still I am glad that I read this. less

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