Tras sus peripecias por Palmira, Macro y Cato regresan por mar a Roma cuando una inesperada y violentísima tormenta los lanza a un escenario dominado por el caos. Creta acaba de ser víctima de un terremoto devastador que ha acabado con casi toda autoridad romana en la isla, y sus habitantes intentan sobrevivir como pueden en un ambiente dominado por la miseria, la violencia y la anarquía. Cuando Macro y Cato intenten tomar las riendas de la situación e imponer un mínimo control sobre la situación, descubrirán que el hambre, el riesgo de epidemias y las carencias de personal sanitario suficiente, son solo males menores.

Some of the dialogue seems far too anachronistic for the time period. The plot is pretty good, as are the characters. The way characters swear, or otherwise say or refer to things just seems a bit to modern and doesn't fit into the timeline for romans. ( )

This is not a book I would normally choose to read but I was glad I did.
Its the story of Marco and Cato they with a boat load of other Romans get shipwrecked in Crete after an earthquake.

The slaves are rebelling chaos reigns and its up to them to sort out the mess. A slave called Ajax is leading the revolt. Marco and Cato have crossed paths with Ajax before and it was them that executed his father. Ajax wants blood and wants to kill his old adversaries.

Marco and Juila (Catos girfriend are held hostage) Cato has to go to Egypt to enlist reinforcements.

A large battle commences Julia and Marco are rescued, Marco joins in the fighting. Ajax escapes he will be hunted down in the next book though.. Good read this was quite interesting and I could imagine what it was like 2000 years ago. ( )

Another enjoyable and fun read about our two heroes as they battle Rome's enemies. This time it is slaves, slaves who use the opportunity provided by a destructive earthquake on the island of Crete to revolt against their masters, and attempt to free themselves. With a little help from the governor of Egypt and some daring do, Cato crushes the rebels, saves his girl, and his friend, but is then despatched to chase down the slave leader, following him across the Mediterranean. An Odysseus like conclusion.

To the same quality as the previous books in the series. I will admit the tension about the fate two centurions (though Cata is appointed a prefect by the end of this novel), is hard to find. It is obvious that if any two people survive a disaster it will be these two. They have survived so much thus far. ( )

One of the best in Scarrow's series about Cato and Macro, two Roman legionaries, to date. I've been reading them more or less in order, and the last few, though entertaining enough, have felt a bit formulaic. Gladiator though is a return to the form of the early books in the series. The plot is well constructed, a cut above the usual Roman military tourism. Central to the plot is a slave revolt in Crete, and Scarrow succeeds in portraying the perspective of both the rebel slaves and the Roman soldiers. Yes, much like C.S. Forrester's Hornblower series, or Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels, this is about characters who mysteriously play a central role in just about every campaign of the wars they live through; yes, there are quite a few battle scenes; yes, they're not great literature. But, like Hornblower and Sharpe, they're engagingly written, with a good eye for historical detail. ( )