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Master and God

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Master and God

By: Lindsey Davis
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble, Clare Corbett
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About this listen

It is AD 81. The Roman emperor Domitian seizes power. Afflicted by classic paranoia, the self-styled Master and God sees enemies everywhere - and he is right. The Senate loathes him, his advisers are terrified, he cannot trust his wife, and barbarians menace the frontiers. As he vents his suspicions, no one is safe.

Gaius Vinius Clodianus survives physical and mental scars to reach high rank in the Praetorian Guard. Flavia Lucilla tends the privileged women at court; when Domitian's inherited talent unravels into madness, she loses her patron cruelly. In the haven of their shared apartment, Gaius and Lucilla find solace together, yearning for normality while living in a Reign of Terror.

Moves against Domitian are begun by his own household. Lucilla has to watch Gaius choose between love for her and risking death; between his sworn duty to protect the emperor and killing Domitian for the good of Rome. The plot careers close to exposure. Rome teeters on the brink of its Golden Age. A group of unlikely conspirators must now act with decency and courage, whatever the personal cost.

Master and God is the epic story of a despot whose contemporaries wrote him out of history. Told in Lindsey Davis' sardonic style, it is an intimate portrait of resilience, friendship, and love.

©2012 Lindsey Davis (P)2012 Hodder & Stoughton Fiction Historical Fiction Witty Resilience Rome

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All stars
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A thoroughly enjoyable experience. I particularly enjoyed the two narrators' performances, especially in dialogue.

The story itself is more of romance with the thriller plotting plot tacked on the end, but it does build up to it.

More romance than thriller

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I loved the story, which was interwoven with historical accuracy.

Loved the characters and the fact that there were two narrators.I think audible should do this more often! Thoroughly enjoyable !

Superb!

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but a good read nonetheless. Convuluted, with the usual twists and turns Lindsay Davis is so good at writing into her novels but in the end, this is a love story and Romeo does get his Juliet. I love that Lindsay makes her women capable and feisty. What I found difficult to listen to though was the narrator's voice used for the main female character.. that grated on me somewhat. On the whole a book worth listening to or for reading.

A departure from the Falco character...

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Loved the story (always happy to be in Lindsey Davis' Rome) and the performance, looking for more titles performed by these narrators now :)

Great story and performance

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. But with reservations.

Any additional comments?

I think this came across as a bit of a 'pot-boiler' for Lindsay Davies. The usual characters are on parade, but the humour falls a bit flat. I have read many of this series and enjoyed most of them more than this one.

Good, but not the best.

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A good mixture of fact and fiction, I really felt I understood what life was like in Domitians empire

Very illuminating

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When I selected this audiobook, I was intrigued as to how the narrative would be split between the two performers. Rarely did the change between them seem odd, but always the interplay between the two main characters was convincing. On reflection, it is hard for the memory to be tricked into thinking it had been a radio play. This is not a criticism. They bring and breathe vitality to the characters and the story. For me, depictions of Rome were less engaging (hence the dropping of one star overall) than when characters were involved, especially showing their development. The two performers are excellent and entirely credible. Lindsey Davis shows, again, that there is more to her writing than Falco. Embrace this audio-book and the adventure it affords.

Enhanced Listening with Two Performers

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Think "I Claudius" merged with "Much Ado About Nothing", mix it with Davis's excellent writing style and sprinkle with the reality of historic first century Rome and you will be some way to appreciating what a superb novel this is.

The basis of this novel, as the title suggests, is the reign of Domitian, not one of Rome's better emperors. It opens in the aftermath of the eruption of Vesuvius and takes us on a journey of almost twenty years. In Davis's usual way, real historical characters are entwined with those of her rather idiosyncratic imagination. The main protagonists are neither hero nor anti-hero, but beautifully crafted flawed human beings doing their best to get by in a Rome in the grip of an increasingly insane emperor.

The use of two narrators, which can sometimes grate on the ear, works extremely well and the delivery adds depth to the characters.

This novel will be an instant hit with those who are already fans of Davis's books. For anybody who has not yet come across her work, I would seriously suggest that they give this novel a chance. I can guarantee that nobody will regret their choice and will come back to this book again and again.

Simply Superb

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A break from Lindsey Davies other series but written with the same fascinating grasp of the Roman world.

Excellent standalone novel

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This was a very interesting and unusual way of telling the history of the Roman Emperor Domitian. I enjoyed it very much.

Interesting

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