Andivius Hedulio

Not a bad book at all. A young Roman aristocrat is forced by court intrigues to go on the run, including time as a disguised slave. It pulls few punches, not idolizing the time period, the high Roman empire, nor condeming it. Of particular interest are the passage on Emperor Commodus, his skill at chariot racing and fighting in the Coloseum. He is not presented as a fop but an accomplished athlete. Worth your time if you like old Rome.

Although it gets off to a bit of a slow start, now that I'm about half-way through this novel it has me thoroughly hooked. Set in the late 2nd Century A.D., in the reign of the Emperor Commodus, the titular narrator recounts a series of adventures and misadventures which begin when he first manages to gets crosswise with two powerful families and then is falsely accused of treason. Accompanied by his resourceful Greek slave Agathemer, the young Roman aristocrat goes on the run and encounters strange coincidences, good fortune and terrible reversals, and a variety of interesting characters, taking the reader on a fascinating tour of both the upper crust and the underbelly of Roman society at the zenith of the Empire. Definitely worth reading, if you enjoy historical novels about Rome, especially since most tend to be set in the Late Republic and Early Empire.