Tom Holt is the author of such comic fantasy classics as WHO'S AFRAID OF BEOWULF?, EXPECTING SOMEONE TALLER and OVERTIME, and of historical fiction, including THE WALLED ORCHARD and ALEXANDER AT THE WORLD'S END.
Holt's comic-historical novel begins with an irresistible premise: that Nero, ex-Emperor of the Romans, is now traipsing round the ancient world with a 'tickler' of bath houses (where clothes are stolen via a long pole and a hook), a down-at-heel con man. Add a large supporting cast and the search for some lost treasure and the result is very entertaining - even if the main plot takes a while to get going. Holt's conversational style, arguably sometimes distracting in its knowing manner, has great immediacy and charm, carrying the reader swiftly through a series of events, comic and fantastic. Characteristically, the author wears his period research lightly throughout. Nero and his travelling companion Galen are an excellent fictional duo, making this a highly recommendable book.
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