![]() ![]() Could it be Avitus, the sailor whose daughter died after being bitten by a rabid dog while he was at sea? What does it have to do with the slave trader, Venelicius? Or with Caudius, one of the wealthiest merchants in Ostia? Flavia Gemina and her friends Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus, are determined to find out. ![]() Someone is killing the dogs of Ostia and stealing their heads. However, the Roman Mysteries are very popular. A planned series of twenty? How does one know that one's going to write twenty books about the same character before the first has even hit the book shops? It all sounds very mercenary to me, very book-as-product-sod-inspiration-or-literary-ambition. The Thieves Of Ostia is Lawrence's first book, one of a planned series of 20, apparently. Recently upbraided by a Bookbag reader for sins of omission, including missing reviews of books by Caroline Lawrence, I decided to get stuck in. Flavia Gemina, a Roman sea captain's daughter, is about to embark on a thrilling adventure. Those interested in really good historical fiction for children should look at someone like Geoffrey Trease instead. Think Cadfael for kids and you're about there. ![]() It's a perfectly acceptable piece of genre fiction for children, but is no more than that. Summary: The Thieves of Ostia is really not worth all the hype attending it. ![]()
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