I, like all our generation, have waded deep in innocent blood. And yet I shrink from the task you set me, in part because I am conscious of my own inadequacy, in part because the thought of venturing into the gloomy cave of memory fills me with fear, foreboding, and self-hatred. What can I say? I cannot deny you, all the less because I am persuaded that your History will be immortal, and this makes me all the more anxious that my name should be, however vestigially, associated with it. Scauraus is the perfect conduit for the reader into this lethal world, bringing alive for us all the murderous sexual intrigues of a fascinating era then he held one of the daggers against his throat and began to sob, and his secretary Epaphroditus stepped forward. "How ugly and vulgar my life has become", he said, but still couldn't bring himself to. "Nero picked up two daggers and tested their points.
![nero s heirs alan massie nero s heirs alan massie](https://wolbongreview.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/caesar.jpg)
This chronicle of treachery and passion is rendered in prose of the most riveting kind, such as the depraved Nero's attempt at suicide: A remarkable year is reviewed in letters by Scaurus, once the lover of both Vespasian's son and daughter. The turmoil of civil war (and a nationalistic uprising in Judaea) has produced a new Emperor, Vespasian. In the new one, Nero's Heirs, set at the beginning of the year 66, the despotic Emperor Nero has committed suicide and already three of his successors are dead. His narratives of intrigue in the Roman Empire are always totally compelling and the large readership they have acquired is no surprise whatsoever. "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.There is no doubt that Allan Massie has incontrovertibly established himself as the master of Roman historical fiction and the heir apparent to Robert Graves. 'In Nero's Heirs, Allan Massie beautifully paints the picture of the tumultuous events following Emperor Nero's enforced suicide.the story romps along with the main characters interacting realistically in the hedonistic Roman setting.Massie's pacing is superb, and the attention to detail stunning.Nero's Heirs shows what life was really like in Roman times.' 'Nero's Heirs is about politics, which is another way of saying it is about human nature.Like asll the best novels, it's about the human condition'Ī truly chilling piece of work ( Catholic Herald) Nero's Heirs is not really about Roman history at all like all the best novels, it's about the human condition ( Mail on Sunday) Here is a master of his craft ( Glasgow Herald)
![nero s heirs alan massie nero s heirs alan massie](https://p.calameoassets.com/191009125351-2909b052f058e8c3a3b4cf9156232133/p1.jpg)
Although Massie seems to identify Walter Scott as his father figure, he has Stevenson's ability to create tension, or to write an adventure which also tantalises the mind' His ancient Rome is a quirkily imagined place, with more in common with Tolkien's underground or even with the intergalactic universe of Star Wars than with the Rome of Gibbon or Montesquieu.It can be read at various levels, and makes an excellent thriller. 'Massie provides fiction enriched by imagination and intelligence, but it is fiction which has teh quality of fable as much as of recreation. It is a brilliantly composed canvas, teeming with urgent life. 'There's wit flying about here as well as butchery and men crawling to save their skins'Īn entertaining, gripping read ( Sunday Times) Massie enthusiasts need not hesitate-and new readers will find this a perfect entrée to his writing. "Scauraus is the perfect conduit for the reader into this lethal world, bringing alive for us all the murderous sexual intrigues of a fascinating era.
![nero s heirs alan massie nero s heirs alan massie](https://p.calameoassets.com/210926114418-5181295a02f319bebdc111a857ae3bea/p1.jpg)
This chronicle of treachery and passion is rendered in prose of the most riveting kind, such as the depraved Nero's attempt at suicide: "Nero picked up two daggers and tested their points. There is no doubt that Allan Massie has incontrovertibly established himself as the master of Roman historical fiction and the heir apparent to Robert Graves.