This is Saylor's version of the history of Roma, starting from when it was merely a campsite for traders along the salt routes, and ending in the days of the Caesars. I enjoyed the very old details and stories because I hadn't heard them before, but once we reached the time period of 100BC onward, most of the material was familiar and even some of the little characterization stories that Saylor uses were repeated from his "Roma Sub Rosa" series (or vice versa). This wouldn't be a problem for someone who hasn't read the RSR series, and it may not be a problem for a person with a less obsessive memory.

I have two main complaints. One, Saylor's characters speak in expository sentences. Actually, paragraphs. One asks a question of a friend, and the friend replies with an entire history of the topic so the reader can catch up. I understand that it's necessary for the reader to know the backstory, but I'd prefer an anonymous narrator. All these characters talk SO MUCH they must bore their friends to tears!

My second complaint is that Saylor focused this book around the generations of a family who worshipped the cult of "Fascinus", basically, a penis with wings who appears to them in a dream. I know that this representation indicated abstract topics like "life" to them, but I still can't imagine men, women, and even Vestal Virgins walking around with a golden winged phallus around their necks.