Review - Memoriae by S.P. Somtow

Note: Due to a health issue, the author published the third book of this trilogy in two parts. This is the review of the second part, titled “Memoriae.” If you haven’t read the first part yet, the completed third book can be purchased as a single volume titled “Damnatio Memoriae.”

Sporus and Nero return to Rome from their trip to Greece, but Sporus knows that Nero’s days as emperor are numbered. The young man may technically be free, but he knows that won’t necessarily protect him from the many enemies Nero made in the senate. The only thing Sporus has going for him is that the people still see him as the “empress” but that won’t save him from the fate we already know is in store for him.

The Nero and Sporus “trilogy” concludes with the death of emperor Nero and the chaotic year that followed it, which saw no less than four men take the throne. The sequence of events described in the book seems to follow the widely accepted history of the time, although I’m sure at least some license has been taken with the details, particularly of Nero’s death.

Sporus is a fascinating character. We know he existed, but very little else. His beauty, or at least his resemblance to Poppaea, must have been extraordinary to captivate so many powerful men. However, he must have had a good head on his shoulders to have navigated the ins and outs of the Roman power structure for as long as he did. Of course, at the end, Sporus was still a slave, in reality if not legally.

Ancient Rome often gets romanticized, even when it comes to an infamous character like Nero. It’s easy to forget that the empire was built on slavery. Slaves had no rights. They were property, and their owners could do with them whatever they wanted. That included mutilation, such as when Nero has Sporus castrated.

“Memoriae” is only available from Amazon (commissionable link).