It's been a busy couple of weeks, so not much time for reading.
Following up The Catiline Conspiracy, I decided to try a Roman mystery by a different author, Lindsey David. Her novels are set a little bit later, in the time of Vespasian, but it's still the time of the high Roman Empire. Overall, the book didn't do anything for me. Davis has obviously done her research; there are a lot of details about Roman food, housing, and so on. But the characters felt like modern Britons playing in a meticulously detailed set -- they never felt to me like people from another, somewhat alien, culture.
I haven't finished Jim Butcher's Academ's Fury yet, but it's another fun popcorn novel. Lots of excitement and heart-stopping moments, and Butcher is just good enough to keep his plot under control. He'll never win any writing prizes, but he achieves his goal, and that's more than can be said of many books.
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