Delicious backstabbing drama

 

 ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ I always feel a thrill when I get my hands on historical fiction written by Conn Iggulden. No boring, staid stories of ancient times, here. It's all action, deceit, plotting and pure drama. If I'm honest, I have sparse knowledge of this time period beyond slim factoids of Caligula and Nero so was interested to understand how it all comes to pass in this, the first of a trilogy.

Nero takes us to tumultuous Rome where politics is a dangerous business. So much life and cunning trickery has been breathed into the characters that orbit those with power. At the heart is Agrippina, the great granddaughter of Augustus (the first Roman emperor), whose ambition drives much of the narrative. Tiberius rules at the opening of the novel but that moves swiftly on with no four-year cycles as Emperor. Things move at lightning pace in ancient Rome, where treachery hides behind every column, so no time to get too complacent.

It feels indulgent like a soap opera crossed with Game of Thrones. Rich descriptions of a by-gone time and way of life underpinning the brutality of the political arena at that time. Pure catnip in this taster with far more to come. I cannot wait!