- a 15-year-old modern-day Latin student finds himself completely immersed in an ancient Roman story (set in 211 AD)
- battle scenes, suspenseful moments, strong masculine themes, occasional humor
- convo: a student is mentally disrespectful to his teacher (mild), a mother goes behind the father’s back, battles, deaths, wine mentioned, punishments briefly mentioned (stoning, crucifixion, etc.), describes several murders of Christians*, a romance and marriage (all appropriate)
- language: x1 ass
- includes handy glossary and timeline (55 BC – 451 AD)
Type: chapter book
Ages: a mature 10 and up
Author: Douglas Bond
*The Christians were murdered in front of crowds in various ways: burned alive on hot iron, stabbed with fire forks, a 7-year-old boy is whipped to death with a cat-of-nine-tails, a young woman is abused by each soldier in turn “while the crowd gawked and cheered,” lions end her life. This was about two pages of the book, in chapter 16.
What a page-turner! As long as your reader understands that Christians were (and are) tortured and killed for their faith, I believe this book approaches that theme responsibly for the intended age group. The majority of the story focuses on different aspects–betrayal, complicated battle plans, and much more. Be ready for martyrdom conversations, though.
There is a Christian thread from time to time, but the book certainly isn’t overly evangelistic. I believe we are meant to assume that a certain someone comes to faith, but it’s not spelled out. Overall, this component was quite well done and will definitely encourage Christian readers in their faith.
As long as your child is old enough for the above notes, I am very happy to recommend this book. Read it when studying Ancient Rome, or to light a fire under your Latin student, or for a boyish birthday book. Five stars!