*3.5 ( )

Historic/science writing that is accessible and fun for modern audiences is more than casual writing and f-bombs -- the "get a load of this guy" winks and jabs at Roman names got tiresome really quick. I learned some interesting facts about how the ancient legal system treated murder, but overall, this book felt a bit too hampered by the author's patter. ( )

This is a very readable look at murder in ancient Rome divided (mostly) by victim type. The author differentiates murder early from mere homicide, and so it deals with not only what we as a culture consider murder, but also what the Romans did during their reign.

Overall, it's a good time, though I found the book's demarcation by type (women, slaves, emperors) difficult to ground myself in any time period as it obviously ranges so many centuries. Again, this works in its favor for the most part--It's fun and interesting to read by broad themes (who doesn't want to read about killing people with magic?), but it's more frustrating if you're a perfectionist and don't have a strong grasp of Roman history.

It ended up inspiring me to pick up Mary Beard's SPQR, but you might not even care about the larger history, so do with this as you will! It's a great podcast-like, easy read, but not anything to go crazy about.

Quick note: I LOVED the casual tone Southon struck and I could tell her educational background inspired it. There's nothing worse than stodgy classicists, and I would love to attend a lecture by her if not on the other side of the continent. This stuff is cool and fun and should live on, and I'm glad this is popular and readable. I'm just a (bit of a) snob. ( )

It was a decent enough read, but the style was not to my liking - the occasional f-bomb seemed out of place, or like an academic trying too hard to be hip. It dwelt a little too much on the Roman cultural minutia that I found less interesting. I stopped reading about halfway through - I felt like I had learned what I needed to know about murder in ancient Rome. ( )

I highly recommend this one if you're at all interested in murder, Rome, or history at all. It's really interesting, irreverently funny, full of pop culture references, and also surprisingly poignant. Despite the jokes, Southon doesn't pull punches — she's straightforward about how misogyny was rampant, that the grandeur of Rome was built on the backs of slaves and the only surviving writings from Rome are from the 1% of the 1%. ( )